Gardening Express - Overall Rating based on 93 reviews
Featured Reviews
Reviews (93)
No reviews yet!
Find companies you have experience with and write reviews about them! Your reviews contribute to a more transparent market and improve the reliability of companies.
Plants
I may have been unlucky in my dealings with Gardening Express but the quality of plants that I received were practically unusable. I paid £79.99 for a specimen star jasmin. It was supposed to be 6 to 7 feet. The plant that I received had less than 3 foot of growth and a lot of withered twigs. I sent photographs of the plants to Gardening Express.
I contacted the company and they did respond to say that I could return the plants at my own cost and that I'd be responsible for the plants until they received them. They advised that I insure the transport, at my own cost.
They had completely failed to deliver honestly. The plants arrived in 4 deliveries with no notification, apart from the first delivery.
I wasn't going to waste further time and in packing the plants and returning them. I had little doubt that the company would not behave honestly.
I would strongly advise against the use of this company.Arbutilon- Hybrida pink
I ordered this shrub expecting a strong healthy 50cm tall plant. Instead I received a broken 25cm tall but bent over at 18cm, never to be straightened plant with yellowed leaves. And only 6 leaves to begin with, plus a couple of brown wizened buds. Disgusting. it has taken three weeks from ordering to get here and seems to have been in the box for three weeks. They tell you to e-mail them with pictures, but do not supply an e-mail address. So how are you supposed to let them know. I feel sick that I have cheated out of a decent plant with no redress. How are they allowed to get away with it.
Order #600994065 Lavander Plants
I should have checked Trustpilot before I bough from this Appalling company. I also wish I could give this company 0 (zero) stars! I bought 10 Lavander plants FOR £40.00 and apart from 3 they are all dead. Trying to contact this company is a mission impossible as they make it virtually impossible for customers to contact them. They have a useless text message system on the website that is an absolute Joke. PLEASE DO NOT BUY FOR THIS SHODDY COMPANY
I sent an email 2 days ago and also sent a message on THEIR USELESS a messaging system with the following and no reply. “My order Your m arrived some days ago and despite being tightly packaged, the Lavander plants were looking very sad and dry, not much green or growth in them. I planted them immediately hoping that nature would do its magic. Unfortunately, apart from 3 plants, the remaining 7 are all dead!Daisy Trees
I must review as I find and say every thing was great as expected, can't under stand all the moaning people on here, we are still in the midst of a pandemic so I think they've done really well
Mrs Jones, people are not moaning, they have been robbed! Everyone is justifiably unhappy with this company for all the same reasons. I actually suspect that you are one of the bulk bought reviews and not genuine at all. If you WERE a human being, you would feel some empathy or sympathy at least for the people who have been scammed by these people.
Mrs Jones people aren’t moaning they have spent their well earned money on the promise of getting a good quality plant only for it to turn up late in a damaged box and what should be a ‘large Specimen’ turns out to be a twig. Look at the reviews on here and on Trust pilot to know that you are one of the lucky ones unlike the rest of us.
Plants
PLEASE PLEASE is there anyone human to speak to after trying to sort out my missing and damaged plants I STILL have had no response. You have made it virtually impossible to get any information
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ORDER FROM GARDENING EXPRESS .
Once your package ships we will send an email with a link to track your order. Your order summary is below. Thank you again for your business.
Your order #600916709
Placed on 13 April 2021 14:18:05 BST
Item Sku Qty Subtotal
Pair of King Sago Palm Trees - Cycad - Cycas revoluta 50-60 cms with Flared Black Planters H76405 1 £59.95
Magnolia Black Tulip - RARE Deep Purple-Black Flowering Tulip Tree S5G002 1 £49.95
Magnolia Fairy Blush - Evergreen Soft Pink Flowering Magnolia DEAL800935 2 £39.90
Magnolia Genie - Amazing Purple Black Magnolia - Giant Flowered Black Tulip 120-150cm T20011 1 £89.95
Magnolia Black Tulip - RARE Deep Purple-Black Flowering Tulip Tree - LARGE 180cm SPECIMEN T20797 1 £179.95
Cornus stolonifera Flaviramea - Golden Dogwood - LARGE SPECIMEN SP90056 1 £34.95
Cornus Midwinter Fire - Winter Beauty Dogwood - Pack of THREE Plants DEAL16027 2 £59.94
Cornus alba Kesselringii - Black Stem Dog Wood S2E005 3 £47.85
Robinia pseudoacacia umbraculifera - False Acacia 160-180cms Standard Tree T21568 1 £59.95
Nandina domestica Lemon-Lime - Brightly Coloured Heavenly Bamboo S5I004 2 £39.98
Allium Pinball Wizard P21479 7 £90.79
Nandina Blush Pink - Sacred Bamboo S5I005 1 £19.95
Fragrant Evergreen Star Jasmin -Trachelospermum jasminoides - 150-200cm Specimen Plant + DEAL16087 2 £60.00
BECAUSE YOU'VE SPENT OVER £10 YOU QUALIFY TO BUY: Clematis montana rubens - Pink Anemone Clematis C20103ico 2 £16.00
Wisteria floribunda Domino ('Issai') - Large Specimen Plant 6ft+ T108081 2 £119.90
Allium Purple Sensation - Ornamental Onion Plant P10565 6 £77.82
Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood - Large Specimen Plant SP20020 2 £159.90
SPECIAL DEAL - PAIR of Premium Quality Standard OLIVE Trees - Olea europea DEAL76358 1 £49.97
Fargesia nitida Black Pearl - Black Stem Umbrella Bamboo - 120-150cms tall B20034 1 £59.99
Paeonia Pink - Peony Bare Root BR21418 7 £41.93
Paeonia White - Peony Bare Root BR21416 7
The Paeonia pink x 7 and Paeonia white are missing
The large fargesia bamboo arrived dead as did one of the Evergreen jasmines also the cornus dogwood.
All I’m asking is for replacements OR my money back as you must be able to appreciate how much this has cost us
I have used you many times and this is the first time you’ve disappointed me. Unless this is resolved ASAP I will not be using you again and would urge anyone to be very waryClematis early sensation
Didn’t look as it should when first arrived and made complaint. Planted it and has died. I’ve contacted the company to inform them twice and no response.
£97 beg March 2021
Missing plants and half dead plants. Half the order needs to be refunded as a minimum. I “ raised a ticket” as their system requires but no response to this or email. Only wish I’d read independent reviews before purchasing. DONT waste your money with this dishonest company. It’s a con.
Box and hebes.
All my plants arrived quickly. But more importantly they were all very carefully packaged. And they are all healthy and in excellent condition. Will definitely use Gardening Express again.
Several plants over 2 orders
I bought several plants, over 2 orders, from Gardening Express. Most were perfect and have survived but a few of them were damaged so I contacted Gardening Express and raised a ticket with them, providing photos as requested. 8 weeks on I have had no response whatsoever from them, despite my trying several times to contact them. This is very poor customer service.
Cordyline australis Red Star - Patio Torbay Palm - Pack of TWO, Handsome Heuchera Collection - Pack of FOUR Evergreen Plants, Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens - Black Ornamental Grass Ophiopogon nigra, and others
I'm so shocked reading all these reviews. I order from Gardening Express a couple of times a year (max) and haven't had issues. Latest order was 5th Oct 2020 when I ordered quite a few plants to make up two winter themed planters. By the 9th Oct I had a tracking number for them. Plants received well packaged a few days later. The only plants that haven't lasted too long are the ornamental cabbages. However this might be due to the soil I planted them in as the one "spare" one I planted into my flowerbed is still alive and well. It's such a shame seeing all these bad reviews. I will admit that their website isn't exactly modern and the lack of cust services is slightly odd in this day and age. These reviews do make me think twice about ordering again, even though I've had no issues with them. Hope they sort themselves out and give the refunds that are due to people ASAP.
Received my Acer today absolutely hilarious a twig with 3 leaves exactly like the picture wish l had read these reviews first
People need to be aware that this company bulk buys reviews so you cannot trust ANY positive reviews that you read. On Trust Pilot it is quite obvious because next to almost all of the positive reviews is 'invited'. In other words, bought and paid for.
AWFUL service. AVOID THIS COMPANY. They say 3 to 5 days for delivery, but watch out for the "can take a little longer" After 12 working days (2 weeks) , they still cannot say when it will be dispatched. That is not my issue however, it is firstly they have no phone to call, no email to write and no live chat. Nightmare to contact. When I managed to get through all the Q&As and used their messenger - it took an hour to get a response. When I asked them to either postpone dispatch or cancel order because we are away in a couple of days, they said no and told me to ask a neighbour to accept. As I have no one I can ask to accept plants and look after them for a week, they said that is their policy and nothing they can do. Apparently their automated systems do not allow changes after 24 hours and assuming the plants survive while we are away, will deduct 25% of the value of the order for Admin if return is change of mind! Plus I assume I have to pay the courier!
A nightmare company and one to avoidThis Company is a complete shambles, you are unable to leave a review online unless it is 5* there is absolutely no means of contact, they take your money & do not fulfil your order, I wish I had read the independent reviews first, rest assured if you order something you will lose your money.
Absolutely disgusted with the customer service. Received my order, late!….was meant to be a tree. A twig arrived instead. Customer service is a Bot followed by a response time of three hours, asking you to upload photos which DOES NOT WORK! to be then told by an agent “I see you have left the chat” err yes as I cannot sit and wait three hours for you to respond. And then finally to be told “I can assure you the photo attachment does work”. IT DOES NOT!
Stay away from this company.£100.00 for a plant I have not received????
We have all heard of white van man well this guy is scam man.
Scam review.
Scam review. Probably written by the owner.
CEO Chris Bonnett would be delighted to hear from you - here's his phone number: 07789204796 :)
Ordered 10 Double Hemerocallis bare root in the Sale at this pathetic company. Arrived quite promptly - a polybag full of roots!!! I duly potted them on an watched them grow. Once flowered they are all single not doubles as advertised. I have grown Hemerocallis for many years and know what I'm talking about! Trying to contact this company is impossible as wanted to complain. Selling stuff under false pretenses is illegal. I see that so many other people have the same problem. It looks like I am yet another ... customer who got caught up in this scam and have no way of getting my money back or any response. I thought that Thompson and Morgan were the biggest sharks - it seems not!
Disgusting. After waiting a month they sent the wrong plant. No customer service no reply from the bot and when I tried to go the returns procedure it wouldn't let me. Left an angry review which wasn't published. They're cowboys and need to go. Also shame on you Amazon and Ebay for advertising
A pair of potted Xmas Trees
Well! I have been quoted chapter and verse this morning regarding terms and conditions.
Order placer 29th November, quoted 5 days delivery, due to Covid this may be extended to 15 days. Day 14 and the order is still showing 'Packing now'. Same as for the last 10 days. Managed to contact them on chat this morning to be told they can't give me a delivery date due to the thousands of orders they have to process. They're Christmas trees in pots ffs, pretty obvious when they are needed for. As they haven't yet been packed or dispatched I requested cancellation and a refund. Can't be done unless it is cancelled within 24 hours of ordering!! Kept repeating the same dialogue, I would have to await delivery, refuse the order or accept it and return it myself. 4 times to any response or request or threat I made. I am now in the position where I have been forced to pursue this matter through Trading Standards and small claims. Gardening Express? Wrong description.
I'm more than happy to make allowances for the current Covid problem, but a Garden Centre either has the goods or they don't, delivery services are not overwhelmed at the moment. Avoid if you want the goods in a reasonable time period.Photinia
I ordered this on 17/11 but although they took my money I still do not have my delivery and it is now 8/12, when I tried to contact them via their support ticket service no-one responded and there is no option to contact them to speak to anyone, appalling customer service provision and unreliable. I will not be buying from them again
Sansevieria
The plant came absolutely damaged. Whoever packaged it strangled it to death.
I can't even get through to customer service.
What a waste ... I spent money to not receive the plant I want. Healthy and gorgeous... didn't happen.Numerous Plants
This would have been a 0 Star if it was available! Their service isn't just poor, it is almost non-existent. I purchased some plants with 2 separate orders back in April, they arrived in May & June, sadly, some plants were dead. I wrote to them with photo’s immediately and respectfully requested replacement plants. Nothing to date has arrived and neither have I received a reimbursement. I have subsequently written to them numerous times, without a response, except for once when they said to 'bear with them during this difficult (COVID) period and that someone would be in contact with me soon'. 6 months after that initial contact, I still haven't had either replacement plants, or reimbursement. What is most irritating is that they state on their website that they are working with significantly reduced staffing (COVID) and to please be patient. But they are still able to advertise a full list of available plants for sale by way of their regular sales emails! Yes, the plants received that weren't dead have flourished, but Garden Express's customer service in the event of a problem is appalling. Buy from them at your peril.
'Autumn Crocus' bulbs
Initially I had a good opinion f this company. That has changed following my recent experience with a purchase. I bought ten 'Autumn Crocus' bulbs from them. It was then pointeD out to me on a gardening site that these are in fact part of the lily family and toxic especially to cats. Most cat owners know they should avoid lilies at all costs as a feline can die swiftly if smelling or ingesting any part of such plants. I pointed this out to G E as there is no mention of their being part of the lily family on their site. There told me to return the bulbs but do not pay for postage. As I had already paid £5.99 for delivery this would be pointless and I'd lose money. Other companies refund without quibble. I advise peOple not to buy from this company, their customer service is awful.
Various plants and a dwarf apricot tree.
Ordered on the 1/4/20. Plants arrived in good time allowing for Covid. Well packaged so we thought everything was OK. A few days later the dwarf apricot arrived. The pot it was in was damaged, the tree looked dead. We emailed for advice but got none. We took a chance and planted it. After 3 months it still looked dead so we tried to raise a ticket for help. Many tickets and unanswered emails later still no proper response. Took until September to finally get a refund.
They have numerous bad reviews. Their customer service is non existent.
If you don't want to buy plants without any hassle, avoid this company.Damaged plant and couldnt care less this company, avoid at all costs.They even packed the broken bits in the box!!!
Variety of plants
Absolute rubbish, a garden centre would throw the smaller plants to compost, wouldnt even discount as there in such bad condition, one purchase was supposed to be a red fern, was it? Of course not, they should be closed down for robbing people.
3 Corokia Cotoneaster, 1 Viburnum Tinus, collection of 5 succulents
The plants are in excellent condition, well-wrapped for maximum protection.
This is my second purchase in 6 and each time everything was fine, although I was very anxious after reading recent reviews.Various garden plants
Perplexed ... all went very well with our order in early summer, and the plants are thriving.
Have just placed another order without seeing these reviews.
If we don’t receive them within a fortnight we will contact our bank.Scam company. Avoid at all costs. They are fraudulent and steal people's money. This is not a real business, they are just out there to scam people.
Plants
I am writing to you to raise an issue about: Shopping
The issue that I have experienced was: I placed an order on 24th April 2020, I received 2/3’s of the order 3 months later, 2 of the plants where nearly dead and 5 months later we still have not received the last 1/3. I have raised over 20 tickets on the website and only 3 or so have been responded to. All others have been closed with no response. The other 3 responded to where not resolved.
It occurred on: 23/04/2020
This meant that Paying £243 for plants in very poor condition and renaming order not received with contact impossible or at least a response with a resolution has upset me and my wife hugely. We don’t have a lot of money and this was a big outlay. We pretty much ate left with nothing.
Refund the damaged items we sent pictures of, refund the items not received. I would have accepted replacements of the dead plants and ship out the remaining order, but waiting 5 months has gone beyond that option.
I look forward to your prompt response on this matter. As recommended by Trading Standards, I would like to keep a complete record of my case, so please reply to this email address.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Abbs
Review with most votes
Avoid!
Read on