Comments regarding Gardens Alive!

I received a $20 off anything (including shipping) coupon in the mail, so I figured I would give them a try. I ordered Encarsia Formosa for control of greenhouse whitefly. The cost including shipping came to just under $21 – so all I was putting at risk was a dollar.
The E. Formosa arrived (promptly) a few days later in a padded envelope. It will be a couple of weeks until they hatch, so I can’t tell if they are in good health or not. They included good documentation on usage and also included a sheet on distinguishing greenhouse whitefly from sweet potato whitefly. My only complaint would be that the status of my order on their website stayed at ‘in progress’. Even a week after I received the item, the status stayed at ‘in progress’.

We ordered two products, sending in a $20 coupon plus s/h. After 6 wks. we had no response so I called. They had no record of our order although they had had no trouble cashing our check. After 5 more phone calls and mailing them a copy of the check, we finally received our order. We will not be ordering from them again.

I ordered with the $20 coupon which I think is great so that you can get to know the company. The order came in fairly quickly with the Escar-go and the plant markers that I ordered. However, I am receiving email from both them an Spring Hill(I ordered from them as well) and I had only given my email because they said it was for order confirmation(which I got from Gardens Alive but not from Spring Hill). They did not mention that it was so they could SPAM you all they can! Gurney's same way! Truthfully if I had $20 to spend I would not spend it on the 48 markers I got(was supposed to be 5O, who cheats on plant marker?) and the 1 1/4 lb of snail bait. Too expensive and too much email. I doubt I will order again.
To the person who gets too many catalogs, put them in a manilla envelope and send them all back, it will be worth the postage, lol.

i placed a first-time order and recieved it in days... i'm happy with them:)

I received a catalog with a coupon for $20 worth of free merchandise. I ordered a bird feeder that cost $19.95, so I only paid for shipping. After waiting for my order for about a month, I called their customer service line to find out what was going on. They notified me that my order had been shipped weeks ago, but because it appeared to be either lost or stolen, they immediately reshipped it at no cost to me. I received the reshipped order within 1 week. Since I have free long distance on my cell phone, I avoided paying for the call to customer service.

I have ordered from this company several times and will continue to do so. I wish they weren't quite so expensive, but the coupons help. I love their "Bullseye" product. It's the only thing that has kept the squash vine borers and pickleworms off my plants. Also, the kelp meal is great. Shipping is fast and I've had no problems with incomplete or wrong orders.

THEY CAN'T DO MATH IF THEIR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT!!! I was recently introduced to this co. from a friend and heard nothing but good things. I order from them twice, and twice they could not do their math; leaving me with a balance in my invoice bill. However when I explain to them about my problems, they fixed it right away. Just make sure when you order from them, that you print out a copy of your shopping cart invoice and save it. So when you come across this problem, you'll have evidence to support your standing. Finally their products are great! And I love their $20 or $25 discount, but their merchandises are a bit expensive. Nevertheless I will order again.

I recently placed an order through their website. No problems whatsoever. The order arrived within a week or so. A good internet experience!

GARDENS' ALIVE WEBSITE IS STILL NON-FUNCTIONAL. I have purchased from this company in the past and have been TRYING to purchase from them through January, using a catalog arriving immediately after Jan.1. Their website has been non-functional continuously. I have made a long distance call to them to ask WHEN the website would work...very casual and indifferent response. I RESENT PAYING FOR PHONECALLS when I pay an ISP for computer service. Dave, please forward my complaint to the CEO. 1/29/04

I've been very satisfied with all of my orders. The products are good and service is excellent. The $20 coupons are't bad either.

If it were not for the price, I would order MORE products from them... I LOVE their seed starting soil: easy to work with and provides excellent results. Can't do without it now! I also order some other organic products (neem-away, soap shield, bulbs alive.. etc). My husband orders the lawn fertilizers (Spring and Fall Lawns Alive) and likes them.
Love their informational catalogs.. and their $20 coupons!!!

I have ordered several times from this company and have been very pleased with the service. I really like their products. If you like organic gardening, you will like this company. I have only ordered fall pansies from them. They arrived promptly and were very well packaged and healthy looking plants. They are doing well. I'm sure I'll order from Gardens Alive again.

SPAM Alert!
It seems to be impossible to get off the e-newsletter list. I have asked 3 times, and have been told twice that my name had been removed the list, yet still continue to receive the newsletter with a frequency that can only be described as SPAM. The newsletter is in reality just another ad for the company.

Note to Gardens Alive: if mailings were less frequent, say once a month rather than more than once a week, I would not consider it to be spam, and I might then possibly buy something.

I've ordered several items from Gardens Alive and I'm very happy with the products and fast shipping. If you have fruit tree's you need to try Fruit Trees Alive All-Natural Plant Food. My apple tree's produced 2x bigger apples this year and they were very tasty... Here's a link that if you spend $40 you get $20 off of your order...

//www.gardensalive.com/index.asp?sid=100309&AID=8063077&PID=916798&bhcd2=1062012134

I have ordered products from them for a number of years. I especially like their Escar-Go slug and snail bait, much cheaper than Sluggo and just as effective also non-toxic. Good company to deal with but for the life of me I can't understand their connection with all the other lousy companies (Springhill, Gurney's, Michigan Bulb, etc.)
Unlike their sister companies, Gardens Alive delivers a good, quality product in a timely fashion.

Their products work. Great selection. Informative and educational catalog. Reliable shipping.

I have used their W.O.W. corn gluten lawn weed supression product for the past four years. I garden organically, and was looking desperately for such a product. Between the corn gluten weed germination suppression and leaving the lawn clippings on the lawn, I have just about eradicated the dandelions. The stuff is kind of pricey, so I only buy when there's a $20 coupon and use 10% "membership" discount. Shipping is high, but with the discounts, still works out to less than toxic commercial weed-and-feed products. Corny trade names are a bit much, but someone at the company's catalog division is having a good time, apparently.

I grow mostly ornamentals and most of their products are for food crops, so can't attest to most of their products.

In general, I've had good luck with them.

Ordered several natural fertilizers and some nematodes, all arrived promptly and all are working out great, great products and selection.

I ordered Surround at Home Crop Protectant for my fruit trees using the 20.00 coupon. When the ordered didnt arrive after a month, I called them up, and got an extremely friendly, helpful woman on the phone who looked up the order, told me it had gone out right after I ordered it, and she is very sorry it never arrived. She resent it, and it arrived 4 days after I spoke with her. When I purchase from a company, my main concern is customer service. When a problem can be handled this well, in such a friendly manner, without any kind of attitude, or hassle, they jave shown themselves to handle their business in the highest regard.

I ordered soap shield, some beneficial insectes, grub away, escargo and some antifungal stuff that I mixed in with my seedling soil. The antifungal stuff worked great, I didn't have any fungus grow on the seedlings treated with that product. The insects are great. They have higher prices for the Milky spore than does my local nursery. I've had a positive experience with them.

I ordered from this company and feel that I can say that you can trust them. My order was filled and delivered in recored time. The shipping cost's weren't a ripoff.

I received their catalog on 04-22-03.It contained $25 in
coupons and bonus cash.That night I tried to use the discounts on their web site and was advised that they had expired.I e-mailed them that the discounts did not expire until 05-23-03 according to the cover of their catalog.They did not respond to my e-mail.I had ordered from the in 2001 & 2002 with success.Their products are
a little pricey but previously the service was acceptable.
I do not feel that I will do business with them again.

THE DEFINITIVE MAIL-ORDER SOURCE FOR ORGANIC GARDENING. Garden's Alive's prices are reasonable, not the lowest prices, but competitive. Their products are top-notch, offer superior performance and come just as advertised. Delivery was prompt and products came undamaged and wrapped perfectly for security. I also like that they offer frequent discounts and promotions. This allows you to buy a large quantity of organic gardening supplies at good prices.

I discovered Gardens Alive several years ago, and have enjoyed doing business with them ever since. I have purchased many products from them, from insect control to fertilizer, and have discovered that most important quality these various products share is that they work! As advertised!

I must admit I am a bit baffled by the negative comments I've read, since I have never seen Gardens Alive offer for sale any actual plants, the closest I've seen in this area is grass and ground cover seed.

I will certainly continue to do business with them for as long as I have a lawn or garden.

I received a catalog recently from them with a scratch-off on the front which would be a discount. Mine was (guess) $20. It was indicated that if my order and shipping total
were less than the $20, the order would be free.

So I called and ordered bee attractant, and the order came out a bit less than the $20.

While taking my order the rep asked for my credit card information. I asked why if the order will be free.

She then agreed she didnt need that information.

The package arrived a few days ago, approximately 1 1/2
weeks after the order was placed.

I am satisfied with the deal.

I have been ordering from Gardens Alive for at least four years and have been very pleased with their products, service, and their catalog.

I ordered two garden collections in July for fall planting in 2002. Both arrived in early September (dry, hot weather in Los Angeles) The plants were either dried out sticks or mushy, moldy messes. I was instructed to plant them anyway and they would be fine. It is now March. I cannot even find a single shade garden sprout or even the rotted bulbs. As for the wisteria, daylilies and lavender- not a thing even once showed any signs of recovery.

I have requested a refund and sent my original label in- nothing.

I placed an order with them last year for some plants and a bird feeder. The bird feeder was OK but the plants were abyssmal. They all died within weeks of receiving them. They have a money back guarantee posted on their website and I wanted my money back for the plants. Every time I called, the person who answered the phone said the manager would call me back and they never did.

I've been very happy with their organic gardening supplies, but the plants I ordered through them were in terrible shape when they arrived and they all died within a month. I will keep ordering supplies, but no more plants.

I used their $20.00 coupon to order earthworm castings and nematodes, along with the $5.00 off offer for a $35.00 order. The castings were received 9 days after I mailed off my order! The bag was bigger than I expected, so I was very pleased. The packing slip says the nematodes will be shipped 3-12-03 so I'll update this review when I receive them.
I haven't received any junk mail, and didn't see where they sold plants, though the clematis offer mentioned in other reviews sounded good.
So far a very positive experience, and with $20 FREE, one can't go wrong!

We have used Gardens Alive for organic pest control supplies for a number of years. We have been most impressed with Soap-Shield fungicide on roses to prevent black spot & mildew with good success. It does need to be applied on a regular basis and works best as a preventative. We also use W.O.W.(With Out Weeds) organic lawn food which keeps the lawn lush looking but we've only seen limited weed control here in New England.

I like Gardens Alive!, I've used their fertilizers and some other products with good success. I received one product with a ripped bag and they promptly sent me a new bag. Only problem I have with them is, as others have said, their prices seem very expensive and their shipping is way overpriced - especially for PARCEL POST (their normal shipping method). For these reasons, I look elsewhere first, then buy from them if I need to.

What really bugs me about this company is that they add you to their database and start bombarding you with catalogs without even asking. I have ordered three times, and at last, I have requested not to be put in the database, and then I still get the catalog, plus the catalogs of their marketing network, a situation that they say cannot be corrected in less that 6 to 8 weeks. This means about an entire bag of wasted paper at least, assuming those partner companies are not giving your address away as well. I find this utterly disrespectful, plus it says a lot of how much they care about the environment, in my view. I don't think I will order anything from them in the future. I cannot spend that much time stopping the junk mail they generate.

I ordered 2 dwarf pink elf hydrangea shrubs from these folks several months ago - I wanted to give the plants a chance before I reported. One is dead and the other is questionable....I have seen one flower which was deformed. I will not order from them or any of their companies again. The special pricing seems to mean you get small, unhealthy and ultimately useless plants which won't last.

I ordered two clematis "Flammula". They arrived as bare root and upon planting they subsequently rotted. I was not impressed with their quality. I requested by letter a refund or replacement in June. I never heard from them and called them more than a month later. They said they were sending me a gift certificate. I requested my money back but they said I had to send in the gift certificate with a letter. I will not be ordering from them in the future.

Gardens Alive.com is great for organic gardening: natural fertilizer and beneficial insects at low prices. Only thing I don't like is that they sell BT, which is a GMO. They shouldn't sell that if they want to bill themselves as environmentally friendly.

Have used the products on and off for years, always with good results. Prices are premium, but periodic $20-off coupons and "membership" that gives you 10% off help. Turf Alive! III grass seed works well in my Zone 6 yard--slower growing, deep-rooted; overseeding my lawn with it has really helped with recent droughts. First place I saw corn gluten meal ("WOW") available for weed suppression.

Especially for those new to organic gardening, the catalog is a GOLDMINE of information (just remember some of it is there to sell products). My main complaints is the general pricing; I have not experienced unusual shipping problems that others have shared here.

I put together a coop for a special on clematis.
I put the order in on January 18th, and they were supposed to ship them week of march 25th, according to my zone.
In the meantime, I also received a catalogue with a coupon, which indicated "$20.00 dollars off your next purchase, if your total comes to less than 20.00 the order is free" so I ordered a clematis and 9 hellebouros, and it was absolutely free. They came 2 weeks later in excellent condition, the clematis was packaged in a very dandy case,the hellebourous also were very healthy and good sized. However, the large order of clematis (58 of them) still had not arrived. I called them and they said that the order was improperly entered into their computer, she changed it, and said it was backordered, but that I should be receiving them in 2 weeks. 1 week later, I received them by fed ex (3 huge boxes no less), in the best of condition, all 58 clematises were packaged in those dandy cases. I gave them a good drink of water, and packaged them up and sent them on their various destinations.
The odd thing was, that most of the plants were very good sized, a few were mediochre, and a couple were pretty dinky size wise.
All in all, I would say it was a good experience, (getting plants free always is) even though thy were late in shipping.
I would recomend you try this company.

i ordered a special they were running rose bushes for $3.89 you had to order 3 of the same kind so i ordered 3 different kind i should have recieved 9 total but they shipped 1 each i called long distance them told them the mistake the girl reordered i waited 10 days the order came only 3 plants arrived instead of the 6 they owed me. i don't think i will be ordering from them again.