Comments regarding Gardens Alive!

Ordered from Gardens Alive! and received confirmation 4/19, stating UPS order would be received 5-7 days. As of 4/26, not received. Per call 4/29, order had not been shipped and would not yet be shipped. Catalog states, "Call before noon, we'll ship today!" Not in my experience. I called before noon (twice), and they claimed they could not ship today (even though the items were in stock), despite what the catalog says. They stated they are behind and understaffed; customer service has no managers to help resolve customer complaints and is "not allowed" to transfer calls to anyone else. Finally in frustration, informed them I would contact the FTC (interstate commerce issue, false promises on catalog) - they did not consider such a report to be important. If you can, find someone else to order from. I won't ever order from them again.

Last year I ordered fruit tree spray, beneficial nematodes, and Escargo. Hard to tell if the nematodes survived, I wanted them for Iris, decided not to purchase nematodes this year, but the Escargo worked great!! And I purchased another bag this year. Then I happened upon the clematis sale, thanks to DG. Used the coupon from my book, and no problem, even applied it to shipping. April 18 I received 15 Clematis from their sale, had the neatest shipping carton I've ever seen. The box was in rough shape, but the clematis were small but happy and healthy, some even with buds. Cost me very little, and I am delighted, if not for them I would not have 15 new clematis!

I've ordered from them before and shipping was rather slow. Email response poor. After checking around I found that their prices are quite high. I recommend shopping around folks.

I have ordered fertilizer and bug control products from Gardens Alive in the past and have always been happy with them. I just received 3 mini roses I ordered from the web site. I was immediately disappointed before I even opened the box. They came from Spring Hill. I know of Spring Hill's reputation. The roses were supposed to be premium potted plants, but they are tiny and they look like a hand full of soil was tossed in the pot when they were shipped. I had planned on planting them right in the ground but I am afraid they will not survive. I went back to Gardens Alive's web page and nowhere do they tell you the roses are coming from Spring Hill. If I had known that, I wouldn't have ordered them to begin with.
I have e-mailed them with my complaint but have not yet received a response.

Ordered the clematis special and used the coupon on my catalog. Was extremely pleased with plants and the packing is something I wish every company would adopt.
will order again.

I am new to online ordering for garden products but I have been extremely satisfied with Gardens Alive! I ordered 3 Clematis and they arrived when scheduled and in beautiful condition, they even started growing before I could get them in the ground! I also ordered 3 Lilac and they also arrived in great condition although one of them seems to have died. I emailed Gardens Alive! (Since they do not have an 800 number) and explained the situation. They gave me an immediate response and said they would send me another.I have since ordered more plants. I am very pleased with the prices Gardens Alive offers, the customer service (when I have spoken to them on the phone) has been good, their response to emails is generally quick (maybe 2 days) and the quality of the plants have been great. I look forwarded to ordering from them in the future and would recommend them to you. Thank you for giving us gardeners a place to communicate and share our views. Word of mouth is the best form of getting information about companies and their services.

I made my first order ths year. The order was split into 2 shipments to coincide with their use dates. My beneficial nematodes may be a little early, but will apply them tomorrow and pray. I am very satisfied with their service and products. I trust them to supply me with the organic products I need.

i ordered some soap shield and clematis from there online catalogue. the sent the soap shield first and i'm pleased because i'll need this before the clematis can go in the ground here. i found there catalogue very informative. being a newbie to gardening it was like reading an organic gardening book, full of information about diseases, critters and such. i'll definately order from them again.

I have used the catalog for years. Upscale but reliable for serious gardeners like myself. Their retail store is on Rudoph Way in Lawrenceburg and should not be missed. It has everything for organic gardening, their bookstore is phenomenal, and they have a large inventory of birding supplies. The store is a jumping off point for some of the best birding in SE Indiana wetlands, and their sales people walk the talk. They now own Brecks, Michigan Bulb, Henry Fields, and their annual garage sale should not be missed. I can vouch for their products as a gardener, lepidopterist, birder, and concerned Earth watcher.

I ordered some ladybugs and Gardens Alive goofed up and sent them last week (early Jan. in zone 5 is no place for ladybugs.) But after I alerted them to the error, they promised to switch the shipment so that it will arrive at the right time in spring.

A little pricey. They don't always let you know what is organic what isn't in their catalog.
Always had good results with products, but seems to take forever to get their shipments

Garden's Alive products work. I'm an organic cynic with a background in science; I believe in research and results. So do the folks at Gardens Alive. The stuff is pricey, but it does what it says it does. Amazing.

I find their catalogs a little obnoxious…. it seems I get a new one every other week. However, it is interesting reading and very informative when it comes to garden pest. I’ve even been able to ID a few critters with their catalog. They have a wide range of organic (and some not so organic) fertilizers, pest controls and supplies. I’ve ordered a few different products and have been pleased overall.

Great for the hard-to-find items. Just received my Copper/Rotenone mix from them, shipped quickly!

I have ordered form Gardens Alive! and love their products. The Roses Alive just kept bringing lots of blooms all summer. I have never had such luck with my roses since moving to western Washington! Another product I love is the Soap Shield fungicidal soap.

I ordered lady bugs (1999) and praying mantis cocoons (1997) from Gardens Alive! After 1 year, I'm finding little lady bugs everywhere. I still find a praying mantis here or there but I plan to buy a few more cocoons again this fall. I their "natural" approach, catalogues are informational and have a nice variety of products. I think their merchandise is great!

Hi, I placed an order for some rose & tomato fertilizer and other items. All came neatly packaged and in a timely manner, I mailed a check 2nd to the last week of March & just received my items this week. Week of April 2nd. Plus they had sent a catalog with a $20.00 coupon, so I did really good money wise.

I am a new Gardens Alive! customer and have been very happy with the 100% Spring Organic Lawns Alive! fertilizer. I have also purchased some WOW! Plus, Turf Alive! and Turf Alive! III grass seed mix as well as some house care products. The Spring Lawns Alive! was powdery, but has made my poor lawn (which had apparently been weakened by several years of Scott's Turf Builder products and its temporary benefits) into one whose grass is currently VERY thick and green! Since I do not live too far from Lawrenceburg, IN, I am spoiled by my ability to stop by and purchase products at the Retail Store on the way between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. I appreciate the customer friendly desires of the staff there! I think I'll be a customer for life!

This company is great because the garden supplies that they sell are organic products. Every product that I have ever bought, I have been satisfied with.

I have used several of their products with good result, including the nematodes for ridding my lawn of grubs (successful after two seasons). And it's good to know that I did not have to kill all the worms to do it. Recently I learned that they now offer 24-hour phone order service, a real help since we live in the Pacific time zone and I don't always think of what I need until evening.

I have used their Flowers Alive! and Tomatoes Alive! products for the past three seasons and the results have been wonderful. The size of plants and yield of my Brandywines increased dramatically in the seasons I have used Tomatoes Alive. These plants become monsters - almost too many tomatoes (as if you can have too many Brandywine tomatoes)! As for the flowers, we measured foxglove at 5.5', almost 6', and when the main stalk expended itself, it grew multiple flowering side shoots. The bees were deliriously happy!!! They are pricey, but I use only organic products, I've been happy with them and see no reason to risk another supplier. Besides, at the beginning of the season, they always offer $20.00 off an order over $40.00; I stock up for the season, and the coupon pays for the shipping.

I had a problem in my very large back yard with fleas! Nothing worked and some poisons killed the wild birds. The fleas hopped merrily on. Until I tried the beneficial nematodes from gardens alive. Not only did the fleas vanish but the numbers of the dreaded Japanese beetle were drastically reduced. They also sent me a free sample of Tomatoes Alive. I tried it on one plant and it did make a difference. I recommend them highly.

Have ordered much stuff from here. Have been very happy with their quality of products. Customer service is excellent. A premier company!

I have ordered for 7 or 8 years from Gardens Alive. My orders always arrive in good shape and on time. I always like the products. My only beef is the prices! The shipping charges are high enough (in all fairness, they tend to be shipping heavy items) that I try to order all my needs for one year at the same time. Gardens Alive! also tends to have unique products you can't buy elsewhere. So I guess I'm stuck paying the price

Great catalog for the organic gardener. All products ordered were received promptly and worked very well (including the live lady bugs and beneficial nematodes).

FYI - ordered lots of stuff from Gardens Alive. Their Tomatoes Alive! And Flowers Alive are awesome. So are the botanical insecticides! Yes a little pricey...but worth it in the long run. They also have a new line of pet food and supplements. Now this is not your line - but have tried the geriatric dog formula on my dog. Honest to god she has stopped limping and acting sore in the morning, her coat is shiny, her eyes are bright and she wants to play ball and swim just like she used to. Pretty amazing.

The very best lawn fertilizer made! Just be sure to order their original formula; the newer version is so fine it's nearly a powder - difficult to spread.

Tomatoes Alive and Flowers Alive worked wonders. I find Gardens Alive prices and shipping to be high. I'm looking for other sources of organic fertilizers, etc. So far, the one's I've found have been located on the West Coast.

I've ordered from Gardens Alive! a couple of times. They ship correctly described merchandise that works as advertised, but tend to have prices that are somewhat high. If you can't find what they sell elsewhere, then buy from them.