Garden

[nomar]

Both companies have been more than fair and very polite in replacing any lost plants I have had. This year I am only ordering 2 sets of Cottage farm Sun Patients. This will be my third year having them. They are spectacular plants. In pots they do need watering everyday in hot weather and when they get large. And they do get big as bushes. I just got through ripping out 3 lilac bushes I bought from Roberta's. They grew all right, but they became invasive and took over the flower beds. Supposed to be small and flower with lilacs all summer. They stayed small, but spread and the flowers were teeney tiny. But, I like both companies for their customer satisfaction. If one is polite to them, they will treat you politely also.

[Puppy Lips]

I have purchased from them at least twice (don't remember which company) and both were a complete failure -- bulbs from which flowers never came up or came up once and died. I will never purchase anything like that again from QVC. I don't watch any of the gardening shows anymore.

[terrier3]

Buy local whenever possible.

A specimen plant here and there from TV or online is OK...but NOT your whole landscape.

BUY. LOCAL.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I'm a professional nurseryman. I've spent my career tending for and selling plants. I've had success with Cottage Farms in my own garden. Mail order plants are always a little dicey.

I once worked as a gardener for a well-to-do and somewhat famous couple; we ordered via mail as well as locally, depending on the circumstance. Not CF or Roberta's, that i can remember, but some of the other well-known vendors.

At my home, I plant what suits my need at the time. Gardening is an exercise in patience and the process requires foresight. There are elements of complexity that are only mastered through experience. There are lots of qualified plant people in the field that can help.

[JustJazzmom]

Gardening is about patience-- not 'instant landscape' as I call it.

Its about having an idea and then choosing the correct plants for that idea or ideas.

I have a pretty much established landscape and there are still some things I do to add or take out and replace from years before. Maybe an azalea has died so I need another plant in its place-- or I've decided to stop babying 2 andromedas from getting lace bug. Time for something else in its place.

Or that pretty plant I liked so much initially has decided it and 30 of its 'relatives' like it there too crowding out the other 'neighbors'.

Buying locally also gives you the chance to find out if an item will work in your yard or not.

Specimen plants should be few and far between when landscaping a property. Too many and the landscape looks like a museum with pieces of 'plant works' all over the place. One or two specimens should be the norm. Always plant in either odd numbers or maybe 2 of something. Try not to plant in rows when it comes to foundation planting. Stagger it, it looks more 'natural'.

[nightnurse9381]

Buy locally!! I have not had good luck with either CF or Roberta's-- out of hundreds of dollars spent years ago, only a couple barely survived, everything else died the first year, or arrived half-dead. Never bought again after that. The plants that I've bought locally over the past several years, have all flourished. I support the local nursery near my home and I like picking out my plants, seeing them and bringing them home alive and well!!

[NAES1]

I had mentioned a few minutes ago, reference Roberta's (The q we like- love-know?) and had done some quick shopping for a plant food or nutrient solution for my lovely indoor plants across my 90 inch window where the light is the strongest throughout the day. Some plants are over 12 years old. I have tiny ivy being trailed over a large glass table, leading upward toward the ceiling, so I have very strict choices in what I buy to keep them healthy. Today, I watched about 15 minutes on the Roberta slot. The vendor quickly showed a solution that I FOUND from a surf, from last week. I actually waited for the hour show, but no one mention one thing about this micronutrient that I wanted to buy. I waited for today's show hoping that (maybe) Cottage Farms would have something similiar to what I had am almost out. The 10oz bottle had zero s/h at $26.00, but last week the very same solution was less with a s/h of $6.22.

I will buy at our local flower nursery. We have a huge landscaped back & front yard, but nothing bought from Rob. or CF. My husband helps the landscaper with the back and I do all of my plant indoors. What I discovered was: LAST WEEK WHILE SURFING ONLINE HERE, THE PRICE WAS $19.00 FOR 10 OZ. I THOUGHT THAT WAS A VERY REASONABLE PRICE. bUT TODAY THE PRICE INCREASED TO $26.00 FOR THE VERY SAME SOLUTION 10 OZ.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE WAS, YES THEY LEGALLY COULD SAY S/H IS INCLUDED, BUT THEY BROUGHT THE PRICE UP, so in hindsight there really is no 'zero' shipping.

I WAS NOT LOOKING FOR ANY SPECIAL PROMOTION OR ANY SHIPPING INCLUDED, BUT I HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING WITH THEIR POLICIES IN WORDING!

I suppose the shipping and handling [[ INCLUDED ]] was the price (q) originally had last week /per mailing. Also. what I could not understand was that the arrival date for the solution would be May 4th. 'If I would want this plant solution SOON', the cost would be around $17.00.

_Naes

[Teacups]

I don't understand why they are still on the Q and/or why people buy....most of them have bad reviews.

[Perkup]

Last year, I posted that my Everblooming Day Lilies from Cottage Farms gave me reasons to wonder if they would "ever bloom". They finally did, rather feebly in the late summer, early fall. Nothing to write home about. A couple didn't make it, even though everything else in the bed looked wonderful. So yes, I did complain to QVC. They told me that it was too late to replace them, but would report it to Cottage Farms.

Just today I received a box of Everblooming Day Lilies from Cottage - no charge for the bulbs or for the postage. Quite a surprise, but such a pleasant one. It's been a year, but apparently they kept a record and lived up to their replacement promise.

How can you find fault with a company like that? Yes, I will order from them again, and soon.

[JustJazzmom]

Please remember that most perennials sleep, creep and leap (in other words 3 year's time before you see it actually perform as described).

Daylilies have so many varieties available. I have 3 coming from Gilbert Wild & Son hopefully before the week's end.