Homebase

The Range does have a high proportion of tat per sq inch of floor space, it’s true. I do buy the odd thing in there and have had a few plants, though mostly annuals so if they drop dead unexpectedly, it’s not a big deal.

I foolishly purchased a small lamp. I inspected it carefully (lots of their stock has damage), but was unable to see it lit. Got it home, tried a bulb in it before removing the plastic from the shade, and it seemed fine. Unwound all the plastic and then found, when lit, the shade is discoloured in places, as though it has faded and yellowed. This doesn’t show when the bulb is off and wasn’t visible through all the plastic wrapping.

 

What I liked about Homebase was they (at least in my local store) employed someone to water and look after the plants. They always seemed healthy and even the ones on the reduced to clear shelf were in a reasonable state.

The Range is next door to Homebase, so I decided to have a look at their garden offering which is now branded as Homebase. Couldn't be more different - trollies of random plants that hadn't been watered and were therefore wilting and/or dead. Plants that had been blown over by the wind left to roll around on the floor. Plants that had flowered and needed dead-heading. The whole place just looked a mess. Very disapointed and I am not sure why they bothered buying the Homebase brand and spending money re-branding their garden area if they are not going to look after the stock.

Perhaps it's just my local store.

 

It may well be the luck of the draw @Matty8 .
I bought pelargoniums and campanula from my local branch on 2 days last week and they were all healthy and well cared for. The staff were watering and deadheading while I was there on both occasions.
You'd think the company would have a standard practice.

 

What I liked about my local Homebase was that they didn't water the plants and so you could get some nice reduced plants for next to nothing if you went in at the right moment. I seemed to remember our garden centre area was in full shade as well so many were starting to show signs of lack of sunlight which is an easy fix.

There is something very satisfying about saving a plant from the brink of death and taking it away from neglectful hands.

 

My The Range used to have OK plants, but the standard has truly plummeted this yr. I've been in most weeks on different days to see if I am just missing deliveries, but no. I've given up now as you have to walk the length and breadth of the store's innards to access the GC bit and I find the level of tat on display disturbing.

 

That sounds exactly how our homebase used to be. They either didn't water anything or over watered it. I think they believed lavenders were pond plants.
Chain stores tend to only be as good as the staff that work there. If the staff don't care then it shows but it seems good staff are few and far between.

 

The art of retailing died somewhere during the 1980s; loss of career potential and inept management of the burgeoning 'superstore sector' coupled with a new generation of barely educated but ever-so 'qualified' consumer destroyed it.
It will never return.

 

And pelargoniums.