DIY shops

On a happier note. Up until fairly recently my local Homebase was pretty much the same as many others discussed in this thread - plants were unwatered and uncared for - on the verge of a gruesome death. However, I popped in there the other day and low-and-behold the plants were looking thoroughly healthy and the range seemed to be a little more extensive than before. It may be that this particular store has management in place who actually value their products that they sell. Or, they have an employee who cares about the plants...
They ought to be congratulated!
Kind regards
Roy

 

ROYSTER THEY FOOLED YOU. PLANTS WERE JUST DELIVERED AND SOLD AS END OF SEASON SALE :confused:

 

It may be Fancy but they were not in a sale. The plants just seemed to look much fresher than before and not only that - there was a Homebase employee actually tending to them while I was there. Now that's a first!
Kind regards
Roy

 

its a cover up to show the public they care :D :D

 

Fancy, it may have been a cover up as the top management had word I was going to be attending and that I am a thoroughly and utterly valued member of the GC community!
Cheers
Royster

 

we are really lucky with our homebase in portlethen they have a lovely girl in there that knows what she is talking about
her plants are terrific, well looked after ,and she gives good sound advice.

 

We have a new Homebase in town and I went to get some seed potatoes. Had a look at the primroses ....I have thrown better on my compost heap. Its not that they have not been looked after, but its poor variety grown in a greenhouse. You know the sort few, big flowers crammed into a tiny pot.
Looking round and an assistant asked if he could help me. Now this wasn't a Saturday boy, he was nearly as old as me. So I thought why not? So I told him that my wife had told me to look at some cloches and see what i thought.
Seeing his blank expression I then had to explain, at length, what a cloche was and what it was used for. If I had had a pen or pencil I would have drawn him a picture.
He took me to the shelves where he thought they might be but it was obvious he did not know whether he was looking for something 3 inches high or 5 feet high. I spotted them and I must say he was quite nonplussed at the sight of them. They weren't what i wanted anyway.
If they are going to have a gardening section you would think they might try and get at least one employee who is a keen gardener...there are lots of them out there.

 

I know what you mean Geoff, its all a bit infurating, they dont seem to train their staff properly.
Just wonder how much they pay them, bet its not much. :(

 

Royster: I have worked in Homebase in the garden centre and I don't think i have received any formal training. But I was taking good care of the plants and enjoyed immensely to work amongst them.
And in the hot weather, we would have a healthy shower under the hose pipe !

 

Uh, should have read this before I posted about Homebase!! Evidently I was right, they don't give their staff any formal training in looking after flowers and plants...so I do rather wonder why they HAVE a Gardening section anyway???!!! I mean, it's obviously more trouble than it's worth to them.... :(
Maybe DIY stores should just stick to DIY!!!

 

yes, that is the advantage....I quite often buy houseplants in the local Homebase that are reduced because they look a bit feeble. I've given up asking the staff for advice, though!!

 

I have to say that my experience of DIY shops in Italy has been better...well, ONE DIY shop in Livorno. We went to buy herbs for the garden of our house near Livorno - herbs that survive in a Mediterranean climate, because we're not there very often. There are a lot of super-Garden/DIY stores in Italy, and they do seem to employ people who KNOW ABOUT PLANTS!!!
Maybe they just pay them better, who knows?

 

We went into our local homebase on easter bank holiday monday this year to get some gardening bits as we had just got an allotment. We went outside to have a look at the plants to find one of the staff with a hosepipe watering all the plants when down here that day we had very hot weather and this was early afternoon when all the water would have evaporated before the plants got much of it.
We did buy a dozen pansies that were reduced in price and did not look too healthy but now they are doing great

 

Went to Homebase this morning - it had been pouring with rain all morning, but I ended up rescuing a courgette pot and a chive pot because they were bone dry - no-one had thought either to water them or put them outside in the rain!