Comments regarding Digging Dog Nursery

I've been buying plants for years from Digging Dog nursery. I've been to their plant sales and on the "Garden Strolls" with Deborah the proprietor. It's an amazing place. If you are ever on the Mendocino Coast you should make the nursery part of your visit. It's best to call first because it's a small family run nursery. The quality of their plants and customer service can't be beat! They are the Best!

Digging Dog Nursery is the best! I love the fact that they are a small family owned business, but boy can they make big smiles! I ordered several plants but changed my order 3 times, I am a difficult customer I must admit, and Digging Dog never showed any signs of frustration. They were extremely helpful and had wonderful advice to my many questions. My plants arrived on time and in absolute perfect condition. Their soil was moist and the packaging was easy to deal with. I think it’s just great that they use recyclable shredded paper to pack their plants in, which I will be using in my compost. I put the plants right in the ground and they are thriving! I will most definitely be ordering from Digging Dog again soon!

I ordered 4 phlomis russelina plants that I was unable to find at local nurseries. The plants arrived individually potted, soil moist. They were very healthy plants. Yes, shipping is expensive. Shipping plants is expensive if plants are to be carefully packed, shipped expedited so as to arrive healthy. I am very happy with my purchase and will look to Digging Dog for other plants that I may not be able to find locally.

I was looking for plants for different sections of our yard following a major renovation. Their site was easy to use, it saved my plant lists over many days without my having to "check out" and pay. For most items there are pictures, instructions on care of the plants and suggestions for the garden. This allowed me to make carefully researched decisions at my own speed.

When I ordered from Digging Dog I was able to pay over the phone - which was important to me. Delivery was set according to my needs. And when I had a sudden medical emergency, my plants were held until I was better.

When the plants are delivered there are some great instructions included that are geared to customers with different needs. This is super useful!

I was a bit of a secret shopper on this one. The Digging Dog team was great with me at the SFO Garden Show - even though they had no idea I had recently placed a large order. To them I was just someone who stopped by. Still they were welcoming, easy to work with and very knowledgable.

Over the weeks following my hospital stay, the team continued to be kind, thoughtful and prompt with any changes made to my existing orders. Shipping charges were clearly stated and when the order was split into three - increases to shipping charges were minimal. I was contacted with those charges prior to shipping and making changes to my dates happened easily over email. It was a very good experience.

The plants are all healthy. They arrive small, but they grow :) The roots are deep. I ordered some very hard to find plants and am pleased with the product received, the shipping and handling company used, and customer service. I will try to post again next year to let you know how the garden looks now.

I really liked this experience!

Martha Kreeger, Fremont CA

I ordered six hard-to-locate epimediums and asked that the order be sent at a later date (at the conclusion of some travel). I subsequently amended the order to add a vine. Everything worked according to plan: the two orders were merged, and everything was sent on the specified date. The bonus was finding that all of the plants were very decent sized and healthy. Very, very good packing. I will cheerfully use DD again . . . just as soon as I can find another few square inches to plant something.

Wow! Service...service...service! Digging dog makes it so easy. I could not find the Japanese Forest grass that I was looking for anywhere. Everyone told me I would have to wait until Fall. Sure enough, not only did Digging Dog have it....but knowing that i was anxious to get them planted, they called me back to say that they were able to ship it out on Tuesday, even though I called them on Monday afternoon! I have already had friends order and can't wait to keep spreading the word. It is not often that I can recommend something as confidently as I can recommend Digging Dog.

I ordered 5 Cistus (Rock Rose ) plants which are somewhat difficult to find. They arrived exactly on schedule, well packed and in superb condition. Two started to bloom in less than a week. I'm very pleased! These people know what they are doing!

First comment to those complaining about shipping. If you do not want to pay shipping, go to your local business and buy. I don't think they charge shipping.

After working with other large, unnamed, online nurseries, working with Digging Dog is a breath of fresh air. They are not big, but family run, and easy to work with. I can request my own shipping date. Unheard of with the other nurseries. And, I only want to deal with perennials; Digging Dog has the type of perennials I want. Did I mention... they communicate. I am a yakker, and I need someone that will yak back at me. It's called communication.

Simple as that: they are smaller and easy to work with; they have the perennials I want, and they will try to ship them when I request it. And the last biggie, communication. So they definitely get my recommendation, and a strong one at that. Paul

Just got my first order from Digging Dog via the internet. I was very impressed with the healthy plants I received. One was damaged in shipping. I emailed them and they are sending me another, no hassle at all. I liked that I was able to request a shipping date ahead of time so I could receive the plants at the right planting time for my area. I've seen complaints about shipping charges but they seemed pretty comparable to other online nurseries with decent plants. You get what you pay for. Will definitely be a repeat buyer.

I have ordered twice now from Digging Dog Nursery and both times have been good experiences. The Plants offered are Fabulous. They came wrapped and packaged beautifully. The Plants themselves were healhy and strong specimens. I could not be pleased more. I would and have, recommended Digging Dog Nursery to friends and would not hesitate to do business with them again. They were also helpful and friendly in answering an inquiry I had made. Great Plants, Great Business!!!!

I bought plants from Digging Dog via internet and at the S.F. Flower and Garden Show. Many of their Kniphofias, Geraniums and Clematis ended up in my garden. All the plants arrived in great condition and I had no problem getting them established. Digging Dog is one of my favorite nurseries and I will buy from them again.

I have been ordering plants from Digging Dog for almost 20 years, and they are in my top 3 favorite mail-order nurseries. My favorite is my Chinese Fringe tree, planted in 1993-In the Spring, it is a wonder to behold. My garden is filled with Digging Dog plants, and I would recommend them to everyone. Plus, I love their catalog...the plant descriptions and artwork are great.

1st time buyer. The plants came in excellent condition (better than most of the mail order companies I have used in the past). Strong root development = less transplant shock. Will definitely order from them again. Great selection of plants on their website.

Here's the comment I sent to Digging Dog Nursery:

I recently ordered 3 clerodendrum from Digging Dog Nursery and just wanted to let you know that you exceeded my expectations. The plants are beautiful and much larger than I thought they would be, Packaging was great and service was A+
Thanks so much!

For years I have been looking off and on for Sisyrinchium striatum every since I saw it in a Penelope Hobhouse garden book. Finally found it at Digging Dog Nursery along with several other plants I have never seen in my local garden centers. My plants arrived in excellent condition and are doing well in the garden beds. Cathy emailed me about a hellebore that was to be shipped later but I was going to be out of town. She made arrangements to ship the plants after I was back in town. Great plants, Great customer service. Will definitely buy from them again.

I ordered Lemon Wave hydrangeas. Once I got through the materials carefully packed around my plants I was shocked at the large size and health of the plants. Although it took me a few days to get it in the ground it did great starting on day one. I have already buried a branch to start another and I've only had this plant for a couple of months.

Thanks Digging Dog! I will be looking at your site first anytime I'm in the market for something unique!

Ordered several torch lillies and they stock some rare exotics too! They have grown very well here in Oregon and are now, huge and healthy. Their selection is superb. Just ordered an angelica gigas and the shipping was reasonable too.

I ordered 8 plants. They arrived on the scheduled date and they were packed well. (Though I did have to clean out the worm bin to accomodate more shredded paper!)

When planting the plants, I was very happy to see that the plants had large, healthy root systems without being pot bound. Two of the plants were even trying to send out runners already. Often I feel like mail-order places try to send stuff out before it's rooted sufficiently, but not Digging Dog! I will totally order from them again.

I have found several plants here that I have not seen for sale elsewhere, Dierama in particular, and have found the plants to be larger than expected and very healthy. Digging Dog will always be on my list of places to check first when I am looking for a plant. I am honored to recommend them to all plant lovers!

I recently received an order from Digging Dog Nursery.
First off I placed the order with them because they had such a fine selection of the perennials I was interested in.

When the plants arrived they were very well packed and in perfect condition (not a sign of having been shipped over hundreds of miles).

I would not hesitate to order from them again and recommend them without reservation.

RE: Digging Dog Nursery - My plants arrived quickly and in great condition. Having ordered plant material online many times, I am so impressed with the quality of Digging Dog's plants and the care in which they were packaged.

I was most pleasantly surprised with the size of the pots and root balls - very substantial! And, everything swaddled in paper shred really kept the plants "tucked in" during their journey. The Brunneras are planted, mulched, and watered; they are already settling in nicely. I am looking forward to see them reappear with vigor next spring - and have my fingers crossed that the deer won't find them as delightful as I do!

Thanks so much for the excellent customer service, prompt & knowledgeable response to questions, and top notch plants! Digging Dog is the whole package!!!

I placed an order with Digging Dog Nursery for several geraniums, a lime light hydrangea and one campanula. All arrived from CA. to MA. in very good condition accompanied by detailed instructions for planting. They have a large variety of plants at reasonable prices that are packaged in very deep pots. All had large, healthy root systems and very lush, healthy foliage considering their cross country journey. I would definitely purchase from this company again. The quality of their plants and service are outstanding.

The plants I ordered from this company 2 years ago are doing fantastic in my garden. They took off right away and I'm grateful to get some more unusual offerings I can't find locally.

I have bought from the Digging Dog catalog for over 10 years. Great plants that survive my thumb. Good service with friendly people.

I am very impressed with Digging Dog. Compared to most other nurseries I have purchased from, their plants are large, healthy, inexpensive, and well packed for shipping. They have a very interesting selection of plants and are my top choice nursery for anything they have in stock.

I am a repeat customer of the Digging Dog Nursery for the past few years. They offer a large variety of non-mainstream plants that fascinate and intrigue me. I just received my last package from them this week and was very happy with it as always. The Spanish lavenders were large and fresh and the kniphofia's were huge and just ready to burst into bloom! Everything is well packed, and they make sure to send it at appropriate times (checking weather conditions), and communicate well with customers. I know I'll be back in the future.

I recently contacted Digging Dog with one of those, "Help! It's urgent! Can you get these plants to me today?" requests that mail-order nurseries must dread. The folks at Digging Dog responded immediately. They sent lovely plants w/ well-developed root systems that arrived in Washington sooner than I had any right to expect. I enjoyed superb service, quality plants, and a fair price. I will not hesitate to order from this company again.

We have ordered from Digging Dog for the past 4 years. In the Spring of 2009, we order several items including 12 eringium giganticum. When they arrived in April, there was nothing in the small pot, but we were game and went ahead and planted them any way. We waited until the end of June and nothing had come up. I emailed Digging Dog, referenced my order..while it took a little while to hear back from them, they indeed stood by their plants and sent me out 12 new plants, no questions asked. We appreciate the specialty nurseries that offer hard to find plants and know that it is a tough business. We appreciate them even more when the plants they sell are high quality and they stand behind them. Digging Dog gets a big thumbs up from us!

I ordered 6 salvia plants over the telephone. They arrived on the date promised and were in better shape than some of the plants in local nurseries! Nicely packed, still moist and with the leaves protected. They are thriving in my garden. This is a very service oriented business and I will be getting more plants from them for sure.

The smallest perennial and the largest shrubs I have ordered have all had deepepots and arrived with exceptionally healthy root systems - Digging Dog Nursery ships the most well established plants !

TheDiging Dog plants I put into my garden last year are thriving better - larger and healther - than those from other nurseries planted two and three years ago.

While I very seldom post on blogs, as I work fulltime and simply don't have time to do this, I am writing this rave review for all who check out Daves Garden Wathdog for honest, impartial information.

Sheila

I just received my order of 6 plants and they arrived in beautiful condition and were very carefully packaged. The plants had large root systems and were larger than I expected. They gave complete instructions on how to care for plants shipped in warm weather and I was also happy with the friendly service I received via telephone. I will definitely be ordering again. Their selection of plants is terrific too.

I go back to this company again and again. In general, the plants are well sized and are securely packaged. My first orders were placed in 2007 and I've made several orders since then. I wait for the clearance/special sales and find them competitive with other mailorder nurseries. The shipping is typically competitive as well, but I only live a couple states away and am comparing them to other west coast mailorder sources. Right now I'm waiting for my 2009 Father's Day 15% off order (grin).

The only negative I can state is that they offer some really nice plants that are not hardy in my area so I need to be very careful not to be seduced by their descriptions and buy another plant that needs to be lugged into the garage every time the temperature plummets (sigh).

Last year I placed an order and included in that order were 8 Mavis Simpson geraniums. Their website stated they were hardy to zone 5. I am zone 6 so I ordered them. None of the 8 grew this year. I've been reading about geraniums and I have found that Mavis Simpson is a tender perennial and a wonderful geranium specialty company has them listed as zone 7. I guess I know why mine didn't survive. I emailed the company to let them know the information for this plant is incorrect and had it been correct I never would have spent over 50 dollars for 8 geraniums that aren't hardy to my area. I feel the least this company could have done was respond to my email. Since I have heard nothing I decided to include a review on this site.

They shipped my plants from California to New York. 3 days in a UPS box, and they weren't even WILTED! Every specimen I've ever purchased from them has come back like gangbusters the following season. I've even found plants I've never heard of before - making my upstate NY garden very unique. My neighbors are green with envy. This is simply the BEST mail order nursery I've ever dealt with.

Absolutely Fantastic!! The Plants, The People, The Service!! Everything Is Great!!

Brilliant. Perhaps the finest plants I have seen, betraying what must be well-adjusted specific and individual care. They are lush and noticably thick-stemmed. The company was very accomodating as far as shipping plants in early winter.
Under all of this, they offered not one, but five specific and hard-to-find plants I was seeking, at a price that makes me wonder how they survive.

What beautiful, healthy and mature plants I received! Could not be happier with this source! Highest accolade!

I ordered a number of plants from them and they all arrived in great shape with nice tags. They are all up and running and look great.

I ordered 17 plants and got a virtually immediate response when it turned out that a couple were out of stock. I chose substitutes and they sent a shipping date with their confirmation. The plants arrived right on time and in excellent condition, beautifully packed and labeled. Best of all, they're having a sale for people affected by the drought and I saved 15% on my order. I'd definitely order again.