Quick service

A week or two ago I ordered 200 Snowdrops and 100 Blue Bells from Gardening Direct Supplies. But for some reason I was bothered by the fact that I wasn't sure the system had carried my order properly. So this morning I e-mailed them to ask if they had accepted my order, within less than 5 minutes I had a reply saying that they didn't have my order but that I could either re-order online or they would phone me.

I tried re-ordering but had a problem again and e-mailed them telling them I had a problem. Again within less than 5 minutes my phone rang and it was Gardening Direct apologising and asking if they could take my order over the phone, which I did. I then had another e-mail from them within half an hour apologising saying there had been a problem with the site but it was now fixed. I e-mailed saying I would put through a trial order and there was no problem, now that's what I call quick action and service. And best of all, my Snowdrops and Blue Bells will arrive next week!!:D

 

Such a cynic, Dai, such a cynic:D Anyway, in anticipation of the Snowdrops and Blue Bells arriving I've been out in the garden marking the spots where, hopefully, I can fit them in:D

 

You're right, Spruce, you think 100 is a lot when you order them, but even though you usually get more than you ordered they don't seem to go far:WINK1: I think it's because they're planted in clumps as you say. Like you I've got some fully open, some close to opening and others still pushing out of the ground. I noticed that one or two of the ones that are in remote corners of the garden have bits out of the flowers, which I presume is the birds?

I'm not too bothered about them giving me extra Snowdrops for the trouble as their service was fantastic in the way they responded and the astounding speed of their response.

This is how my Acer Brilliantissimum area looked just before Christmas.



And how it looks now:







It's just nice to sit there with a mug of hot tea and look at them, and the other shoots coming out of the ground

 

Hi Spruce, I've just been out with the usual mug of hot tea and sat by the Acer looking at the Snowdrops and other shoots coming up. There's Cyclamens, Daffs, Crocus, Bluebells, Tulips, Harebells, and others showing nicely, gets me really excited.!:D

The Acer is a really nice tree. It has been there over 20 years but is slow growing and has kept itself within the bounds of where I planted it. In the early years the leaves suffered from sun scorch but it has hardened off and it has no problems now.

I don't get many slugs, but if I do they're usually monsters and I would have thought not have been content with a nibble or two of the Snowdrop petals, but you could be right, so I'll put out some beer traps so see what I get.

Apart from the "Green Tear" Snowdrop being pricey, there's one called *Grumpy" a form of Galanthus Elwesii available now and then from Cambo Country Estate in Scotland. It has two green "eyes" and a green turned down "mouth" markings on the petals, and has been sold for around £100 for a single bulb. It would make me grumpy paying that price.:gaagh::gaagh::D Anyway, that's from an article in the Amateur Gardening Magazine and I'll post an extract about in the Snowdrops in the Green Thread.

 

Yes, thinking you have bought a certain plant only to find out that it isn't but a different plant is a real disappointment. I remember buying from a Specialist Water Garden Centre a water lily labelled as "John Brydon" and actually taking it out of the water filled section marked "John Brydon" only to find, when it flowered, that it was a completely different Water Lily..........not amused. That's why I never take any named bought plant for granted and that tempers my disappointment should it not be the one I thought I'd bought!!

 

That to me is one of the dangers of buying [a} on a Bid site and buying something you haven't seen or [c} know you can actually get your money back if not all is well!.:D

 

Just to let you all know my Snowdrops and Blue Bells arrived today via Courier. As I say in my first post of this thread I was having problems trying to order online and the service I got from Gardening Direct Supplies was really good in sorting it out. Anyway, when I checked the contents of the box I found they had included an extra 100 Snowdrops, at no extra charge, for letting them know about the problem:



Now I've got to find room for the extra 100 Snowdrops!:D I will buy from them again because they're so on the ball when it comes to service and customer care.:D