Sarah Raven Cutting Garden

I just ordered some seeds from there, because I've been reading Sarah's articles about growing flowers for cutting and needing some ideas for flowery things to grow in my new garden, it seemed like a good idea to follow her suggestions for a long season of colour.
Well - (some of) the seeds have finally arrived two and a half weeks late and well after she suggests sowing some of them in the articles - although the info sheets sent with the seeds completely disagree with the article and say you should sow them about three months later!
I got no information from them about the delay in delivery until i phoned up, despite the fact they had my email address - surely it wouldn't be hard to send an email to all seed orderers? - and when I phoned the staff were often surly although I was always polite.
They've given no indication when the rest of my seeds will arrive and the current order contains a pack of seeds I didn't order, which I appear to have been charged for.
They have seeds for some lovely plants, but the organisation seems totally shambolic to me.
Feel better for getting that off my chest! Anyone else used them and had good or bad experiences? I shall be sending them an email with my comments shortly and will post about any response I get.

 

Hi Claire

What a shame you've had such a bad experience. I've rarely had cause to complain about seeds but J Parkers sent me the wrong colour plug plants once (can't remember what they were now). I phoned up and they sent me a completely new set of plugs free of charge and obviously I kept the old ones which had already been planted!

I'm thinking of having a flowers for cutting border this summer and have all sorts of packets of seeds to put in. I'll just have to read what it says on the packets!

 

Theres usually a rottweiller receptionist in most dr's surgeries. Sarah no doubt recruited her staff with the same attributes or maybe took her staff from her surgery to her seed company.

:D :D

I get all her catalogues, but have never ordered anything. I feel they are very expensive....�£6 for 5 plug plants (annuals) i don't think so. and reading your msg, they aren't likely to arrive til sept. hee hee And also getting things you didn't order but paid for, That's a good ploy!

 

Read "THE bold and brilliant garden" by sarah Raven, BUY "Colour for adventurous gardeners" C. Lloyd also his "Sucessional planting"

Then buy your seeds from somewhere else!

 

I know people who are complete fans of the Sarah Raven set-up, and get lots of stuff from it, but it doesn't appeal to me at all. I prefer the standard growers, including Chiltern, and all the specialist veg people - people who know what they're selling, and don't have "surly receptionists", or need them!

 

Yeah, I probably wouldn't go there again. She does sell some flower seeds that I've not been able to track down elsewhere, but her dahlia corms (are they corms? well, you know what I mean!) seem very expensive, and I've just ordered mine from jparkers.
I really must ring them tomorrow, or at least email, but to be honest I could do without the stress at the moment!

 

I am doing a cutting patch this year, so I was really pleased there is a series in Gardeners Corner Mag.... It gives loads of ideas, but there is no way I would buy anything from Sarah Raven's stie, as its SO expensive!!!!! I have managed to track down some of her suggested seeds by "Googling" them....... I even thought I would like to go and do one of her courses on flower arranging - until I saw the price and had a seizure!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

.... so, if anyone out there has any tips on flower arranging.....

 

Big ones at the back, small ones at the front, work on odd numbers...... that's it in a nutshell, Honeybee! And no charge! :D

 

Thanks Dendy!!!! Just need the little blighters to germinate and grow now.... and maybe there will be a photo or two in the summer....

 

If I get good service, I stick with a company! I use a particular hay company for a lot of my guinea pig things because after my first dealings, they went above and beyond the call of duty - with e-mailing to let me know what was happening and particularly friendly service! It pays to treat your customers well!

 

Jarbax, that is quite true!
Finally got round to writing them a moany email, I got a phone call last week, with an appology, but I don't know if they really understood what had annoyed me and it certainly didn't sound like they planned to do much about it... shan't be going back.

 

I won't be ordering from Sarah Raven again. Mine took three and a half weeks to arrive ( I was told it would be 10 days, and I thought that was long enough). It took three phone calls too!