The Garden Watchdog Top 5 is an annual award and at the beginning of each new year we honor the winners by placing the Top 5 badge on their listings. Most of these vendors are often small, specialty operations owned by individuals who are passionate about their favorite plant, seed, or garden accessory. They may not enjoy the large volume of sales that is required to make it into the Top 30, but their great customer service and love for their product creates many loyal customers. The rankings are based on customer reviews for the past year, so these awards are for feedback posted in 2013.
Please take a few minutes and study this list, these are the best in their speciality and they work hard to give good customer service. Many of them are smaller than the vendors that make up our Top 30, but are no less deserving. Each vendor's name is a link that will take you to their Garden Watchdog page where you can read the reviews that your gardening peers have posted. If you do not see your favorite company on this list, take a few minutes and post a review on their page. There were several categories that did not have five vendors with 2013 reviews, so we could not include that category in this Top 5 list. We have a number of countries and territories represented this year, Canada, Belgium, Spain and Puerto Rico all have favorite vendors in this list, so it is definitely an international group. This is one instance where every vote counts and we hope you'll remember that when your packages start arriving.
Bulbs: Amaryllids (Hippeastrums, Clivias and Crinums Jenks Farmer (Lushlife Nurseries)
| Bulbs: Onions and Garlic Dixondale Farms
| Bulbs: Spring-blooming and dormant potted bulbs Old House Gardens - Heirloom Bulbs
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Bulbs: Summer-blooming Brent & Becky's Bulbs | Conservatories, Sheds, Greenhouse Kits and Materials Irrigation Direct
| Fertilizers and Soil Amendments Backyard Berry Plants
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Plant Tags, Ties and Markers
| Plants & Seeds: Attractive to bird, bee, and/or butterfly Rose Franklin's Perennials & Herbs (Butterfly Bushes.com) Pedricks Corner Sweet Nectar Nursery Pietro's Pawpaws Sedum Garden
| Plants & Seeds: Bonsai
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| Plants: African Violets and Gesneriads Violet Barn (Rob's Min-O-Lets) Bluebird Greenhouses Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, Inc. Bloomin' Jungle Fancy Bloomers
| Plants: Annual Flowers
| Plants: Bamboo Bamboo Plantation
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Plants: Bromeliad Tropiflora | Plants: Bog, Pond & Wetlands In The Country Garden & Gifts
| Plants: Cacti and Succulents
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Plants: Carnivorous
| Plants: Clematis
| Plants: Dahlias Jan's Country Garden Alpen Gardens Corralitos Gardens Parks Dahlias Arrowhead Dahlias
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| Plants: Daylilies Oakes Daylilies | Plants: Drought-tolerant Digging Dog Nursery
| Plants: Evergreens
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Plants: Flowering Vines and Groundcovers | Plants: Fruit and Berries Nourse Farms Inc. Backyard Berry Plants Whitman Farms Clifton's Flower & Garden Center Rolling River Nursery
| Plants: Grape Vines & Berries
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Plants: Hardy Fruit Trees Stark Brothers Nurseries & Orchards Company
| Plants: Herbs
| Plants: Hostas Made in the Shade Gardens New Hampshire Hostas Hallson Gardens In The Country Garden & Gifts Green Mountain Hosta Nursery
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| Plants: Hoyas Gardino Nursery SRQHoyas Plant Attraction (theplantattraction.com) Steve's Leaves J & J Cactus and Succulents
| Plants: Iris (Historical & Species) Exline Iris Garden & Crafts Superstition Iris Gardens Stoney Creek Willow Bend Farm Matthews Iris Gardens
| Plants: Iris (Modern)
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Plants: Japanese Maples
| Plants: Lilies
| Plants: Nut Trees
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Plants: Orchids
| Plants: Ornamental Trees and Shrubs
| Plants: Peonies
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| Plants: Perennial Flowers Santa Rosa Gardens Lazy S'S Farm & Nursery Sooner Plant Farm (Shop Smarter Shop Sooner) Garden Crossings LLC Romence Gardens & Greenhouses
| Plants: Plumeria cuttings Brad's Buds and Blooms A Piece of Paradise Plumerias & Candle Co. Maui Plumeria Gardens Just Plumerias Jungle Jack's Plumerias
| Plants: Roses (Antiques & Species)
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Plants: Roses Modern
| Plants: Palms and Cyads
| Plants: Tropical Fruit Trees Wellspring Gardens Bay Flora Montoso Gardens Clifton's Flower & Garden Center Plant-o-gram Inc. |
| Plants: Vegetables Tomato Girl (Tomato Baby Company) Nourse Farms Inc. Johnny's Selected Seeds Cross Country Nurseries (chileplants.com) The Tasteful Garden | Plants: Wildflowers/Natives
| Seeds: Annual flowers Diane's Flower Seeds Summer Hill Seeds PoppySeed Dreams (poppyseeddreams.com) Harris Seeds DollarSeed (Dollar Seed)
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| Seeds: Asian Vegetables Botanical Interests, Inc. Kitazawa Seed Company AgroHaitai Ltd. WaterSunTogether.com Tainong Seeds, Inc. | Seeds: Heirloom
| Seeds: Herbs Companion Plants The Thyme Garden Herb Company Osborne Seed Company, LLC John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds Pantry Garden Herbs
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| Seeds: Peppers Pepper Joe's Inc. Chile Pepper Institute (New Mexico State University) Semillas La Palma The Pepper Gal Rainbow Chili Seeds
| Seeds: Perennial flowers The Sample Seed Shop Diane's Flower Seeds Summer Hill Seeds Botanical Interests, Inc. T's Flowers & Things
| Seeds: Tomatoes The Sample Seed Shop Penny's Tomatoes TomatoFest.com Ohio Heirloom Seeds Marianna's Heirloom Seeds
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Seeds: Tropicals Trade Winds Fruit
| Seeds: Vegetables Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. St. Clare Heirloom Seeds Victory Seed Company Johnny's Selected Seeds Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
| Seeds: Wildflowers/Natives
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| Supplies for Poultry Farming (Equipment & Hatcheries) eFowl.com Ideal Poultry Breeding Farms, Inc. Mt. Healthy Hatcheries, Inc. Metzer Farms Duck and Goose Hatchery Country Hatchery
| Supplies for Bonsai (Tools and Containers) Wee Tree Farm
| Supplies for Orchids (Tools and Containers) Carter and Holmes Orchids
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Supplies for Water Gardening Texas Water Lilies
| Worms & Vermicomposting The Worm Dude
| Seed Exchange or Seed Bank J.L. Hudson, Seedsman
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Signed Safe Seed Pledge Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. |
