Comments regarding In The Country Garden & Gifts

Ordered Clematis Rain Dance (an amazing non-vining plant) way back during winter; originally scheduled to ship May, due to my schedule I asked them to ship earlier; Josh was very prompt with correspondence and explained things well (such as the plant being dormant), then shipped the plant at my request; plant arrived in excellent shape, looks healthy and root system well developed. Very happy with experience with In The Country Garden, thank you!

Ordered 5 hostas on July 25 they arrived July 31. They were individually wrapped and packed very well. All were good sized plants for their variety and in good condition. Will be buying more plants in the future.

Ordered two mangaves. First shipment: one mangave & one something else with same common name "Spotty Dotty" as missing item. Emailed Country Garden & Gifts with photo of incorrect item and they re-shipped correct item, Mangave "Spotty Dotty". Ultimately, all (3) items were spectacular specimens & VERY well-packed. Customer service excellent.

The perennials I ordered arrived well packaged and lively. I appreciated the full-sized markers that came with each plant. The selection on the website is simple but unique and you don't have to dig for the growing specs. I received a prompt order confirmation and also multiple shipping updates, which I appreciated. The plants were shipped USPS which said the plants were to arrive on a Saturday but were actually delivered the Thursday before.

I am so pleased with the hostas I received from In the Country Garden & Gifts! Shopping the online catalog was a breeze, the personalized service was excellent, and the hostas arrived in perfect condition-- ready-to-plant with beautiful root systems. Many thanks to Josh and the rest of the staff at In the Country Garden & Gifts!!

Posted on July 29, 2019, updated August 9, 2019
I am surprised to see so many positive reviews here. I hope my experience was an anomaly. In June I received two varieties of sempervivum. They were badly packaged and arrived in sad shape, with soggy newspaper and broken plant pieces. I have ordered from various mail order nurseries over the past couple of years, and this was the worst I've seen.
The $9.00 'Gold Nugget' I had been waiting for arrived small, shriveled, and promptly died. The 'Peggy' plants pulled through for the most part, but all in all I was disappointed with what I received and I will not order from them again.

"On Jul 30, 2019 4:49 PM, In The Country Garden & Gifts responded with:

I'm sorry to hear your sempervivums arrived in poor shape! Looks like your order shipped the end of May, amidst weeks of relentless rain here in Iowa. Unfortunately, it was challenging to find stretches of dry weather this spring to ship these moisture sensitive plants. I do wish you had contacted me immediately, so we could have made things right long before now! Please email me, so we can make this right: info@inthecountrygardenandgifts.com"

Ordered a couple of Dicentra (white gold). Josh suggested waiting a few weeks for the plants to get a bit bigger for shipping. I was not disappointed...they came through in great shape and have been doing well in the garden for a few weeks now. I will be ordering again from them. If they have what you want/need I'd put them up there with the top five mail order companies I routinely deal with.

Received my order yesterday. It was well packed and the plants look very healthy. I have a new online source in the future.

I received my hosta order yesterday and soaked the roots all night. They all are in pots before 8am this morning!! Lovely looking plants with great root systems. Packing was good and all were in good condition.

Have ordered Hosta over the last four years. The healthiest plants I've ever received come from here. I've received some very nice multi-eyed plants from recent releases. New releases are typically a single eye, but a strong healthy root system gets the plant off to a great start. Excellent packing that withstands typical mail system abuse. Lately, Iowa weather hasn't cooperated with early spring shipping.

It's refreshing to know that with "In the Country Garden and Gifts", I have a reliable source for ordering plants online at a reasonable price. With Josh, I don't have to worry about whether I'm going to receive healthy plants, or plants that are true to type. Everything I ordered arrived in good shape, well-packaged and properly LABELED. When I had questions and emailed Josh, he actually responded...in person...and went out of his way to help me. I've had mixed success in the past with other online nurseries, but I have no reservations about buying here again.

This was my first purchase. My Sempervivum order arrived quickly and in good shape. In addition, Josh responded quickly when I asked him a couple of questions. He made me feel like I was dealing with more than just a company - he was a real person. Thanks!

This was my first time ordering from In The Country. The hosta's I received were just beautiful, healthy, and packed perfectly. I was VERY impressed with the size of the hosta's I received.Their customer service is excellent as well.
Thank you very much Josh! I'll be back.

Posted on July 3, 2017, updated June 1, 2018
I have made several orders with Josh in the past and have also purchased from him at Hosta Conventions. Always has large quality plants and terrific customer service! A bid selection is always nice too.

He helped secure a large order of the hosta 'Frank Lloyd Wright' for out local Hosta Society to donate to The Allen House (a premiere FLW Prairie Style home) here in Wichita KS. They were thrilled to receive them and even mentioned them on a local news broadcast.

You can't go wrong dealing with these fine folks from Iowa!

Posted on June 3, 2017, updated May 25, 2018
Although service was a bit slow I was delighted when I did receive my order. The hosta a was in great shape. A beautiful full plant. I've ordered from other places and received small barely alive plants. Not so here.

Bought several Lewisia Constant plants and they arrived quickly and in excellent, very healthy condition! Am very happy with this company.

I just ordered one plant, and it arrived today. Its roots were well protected in plastic, and the plant was wrapped in newspaper and cushioned by more newspaper. It is very healthy and was all leafed out. It was in transit for two days, so I planted it right away. I had ordered other plants from *another* mail-order company, but they were sent out too early and I had to hold them in the basement for a couple of weeks, which was hard on them. I will certainly keep Dave's in mind when I order again!

Posted on May 27, 2011, updated June 2, 2017
Normally I purchase from my local nursery, but have found when I need to find plant material that is different and unique I have to expand my horizons. I have been watching the "In the Country Garden" site for quite awhile and liked the variety of plant material. When I finally decided to place my order, I asked if it was possible to get them delivered during the last week in May, since my order was placed on the 17th of May..I thought I might be pushing it. My plants arrived on the 25th of May! The plants looked in great shape, with a nice root ball attached. Additionally when I asked a question of Josh, he responded promptly and accurately. I will be placing more orders in the future.

Excellent and personal service. My Angel Falls Hostas arrived safely wrapped and moist, and ready to plant. I look forward to seeing them emerge and unfurl.

I've ordered from Josh for the past two years and will continue to be a loyal customer. Service is outstanding and any questions I've had have been answered very promptly. The plants tend to be healthier than my own (argh!) and have had nary a problem during shipping or after planting. Simply beautiful!

This was the first time I have ordered from Josh but it won't be the last. When I ordered a certain host Josh quickly communicated they were out of stock and ask whether I wanted my money refunded or a different plant. I chose a different plant. All the plants arrived in mint condition. Thank you Josh.

I will be ordering again!

Posted on August 22, 2014, updated April 10, 2016
Posted on July 16, 2012, updated August 22, 2014
Posted on May 13, 2011, updated July 16, 2012
Josh provides excellent customer service. He answers emails promptly. My plants arrived in perfect condition with great roots. I was pleased to get hard to find plants at good prices. I will buy again from this nursery.

Today my plant arrived from In The Country Garden and Gifts.
I have known Josh Spece for quite a few years, and I have bought plants from him at conventions, but this was my first experience buying a plant from him through the mail.
I love the plant!! It is beautiful and large. I was surprised how nice it is for so late in the season!!
I ordered the plant on Saturday and it was shipped the very same day, in spite of it being a holiday weekend. It arrived on Tuesday which was wonderful. I have already planted it.
I will buy from Josh again and again. This company is wonderful!! Thanks, Josh!!

I ordered the Wedding Party Hellebore set of 6 different hellebore plants. They arrived quickly, well packed and very nice plants with nice roots. They looked like they were just dug out of his garden and given to me. Great communications as he answers emails very quickly. Very pleased and I plan on buying from Josh again (which I already did).

Just recieved my plants today, first time ordering from this nursery. I was browsing for something else when I noticed they had Spilt Milk in stock. I've been looking for this variety for years. It's hard to find, and when you do the nursery is often sold out from back orders before they even list it. The first indication I was going to be happy was the 'do it yourself' recycled shipping box- don't know why, but that always seems to be an indication of 'good things inside'! My babies were well-wrapped in newspaper, with the generous sized rootballs in damp paper and protective plastic bags. The hostas were all very well leafed out, with multiple crowns, except for the Sum and Substance. That had only 1 crown as you would expect for such a huge variety, but it was heavy and wide, with 9 good-sized leaves! 2 of the 3 dwarf solomon's seals had multiple crowns. The 3rd only had 1 crown but when I checked the rootball it was loaded with new runners all the way around! By the end of this season it should be even fuller than the other multiple crowned ones! Everything about this order, from plant selection to packing, indicated thoughtful attention. I thought I had already found my ultimate hosta source; now I have two!

Nice plants - very fresh - I would order from them again.

Ordered several hostas and they were quite lovely upon arrival. The hostas were quite large - much like I would expect when purchasing at my local greenhouse store. I have ordered from a couple other places and in comparison, those hostas were extremely small.
I will be ordering from "In the Country" again.

Great selection and Josh was very friendly, helpful and kept me up to speed on my order. The Hostas were packaged with great care and arrived in excellent health and in a timely manner. I'm very pleased with both their Hostas and their service.

Very healthy plants, good communications, good delivery time, reasonable prices.

I received a gift from this nursery and was very pleased! Nicely rooted plants, one was even in full bloom. They were so well packed that a large dent in the package that happened in transit didn't even affect the contents of the box. My gift was ordered at their busiest shipping time but arrived super quick.

WOW! Great plants were sent to us. The Heuchera "Berry Timeless" were big and healthy with blooms already on the plants. We have been gardening for over 30 years and I was pleasantly surprised. An excellent place to order plants from. Liked the way they were packed with no damage to the plants.

I've purchased beautiful hostas from In the Country Gardens, both from the nursery and via mail order. They are extremely helpful, friendly, and have a great selection of classic and new varieties. I also really enjoy their website which is easy to navigate and is filled with a wealth of helpful information about hosta growing. My recent order arrived in 2 days, after a notification of when it was shipped so I could be ready, very carefully packed with the generous sized plants, some with several eyes, in perfect condition, very abundant roots, ready to thrive! I couldn't recommend them any more highly!

I've set up this login just so I can comment on In the Country. I saw a plant called Albuca spiralis Frizzle Sizzle at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden here in Massachusetts, and I had to have one. Google found just a couple of vendors, and I liked In the Country's web site, so that's who I ordered from. Almost immediately, I got a polite inquiry from Josh thanking me for the order and asking how I had happened to find him. That impressed me. The plant came today, and wow, now I'm really impressed! Beautifully packed, in perfect condition, larger than I expected and with a large spike, ready to flower. I am really happy, and I'll continue to rely on In the Country for new plants (and will tell my friends the same).

Very nice plants, arrived in good condition, look great on their first day planted.

Posted on May 28, 2014, updated June 2, 2014
Posted on May 23, 2014, updated May 28, 2014
I placed my first order on Wednesday, May 14th. Though I was told today (May 23rd) when I called that they usually ship on Fridays and Mondays (I believe that's what she said), my order had still not shipped - 'processing' is what my account still showed.

It's the holiday weekend now, so I was told my order would have to wait until this coming Tuesday to ship, so May 27th it would finally be on its way to me, almost 2 weeks after my order was first placed - unless I wanted the plants to sit an extra day and have her ship Saturday over the holiday weekend.

When I asked why my order hadn't shipped sooner since my order had been placed on Wednesday over a week ago, the woman got a little snappy with me explaining that they had 60 orders they had to get out. She was very impatient with me as I tried to decide whether she should ship now or wait, and from all these glowing reviews I'm still scratching my head?

I'm giving them a 'neutral' in hopes that at least their plants are nice. They'll have to be REALLY nice though or hard-to-find for me to consider ordering from this nursery again. Santa Rosa Gardens is still the best online nursery out there - nice plants, timely shipping, great sales, and most importantly, courteous customer service. They never make me feel like I'm just a number amidst 59 others.

"On May 30, 2014 9:46 PM, In The Country Garden & Gifts responded with:

I'm very sorry to hear your experience was less than wonderful. You certainly are not just a number to us. We value each and every customer, as we know you have many other options for fulfilling your plant needs! Spring is an incredibly busy and often stressful time. There is so much to do and never enough hours in the day. I certainly understand why you were wondering about your order and apologize that you happened to catch us on an "off" day. I'm glad you were pleased with your plants and I hope they do well for you. -Josh"

My first time ordering from this company. My plant arrived today in great condition. Was surprised that the plant was so nice.
I ordered Albuca spiralis 'Frizzle Sizzle' I would order from this company again when I want something different. I am so glad I happend upon them from looking around on google. Thanks for a nice size plant.

I ordered Athyrium 'Ghost' and was extremely pleased with both quality and price. Plants were gorgeous and healthy and were shipped at exactly the time I requested. I will definitely order from them again in the future, especially if they expand their selection of non-hostas!

Plants shipped are gorgeous. Thanks much.

Posted on June 14, 2012, updated June 6, 2013
Received my first order today in a very timely fashion, I only ordered one Hosta as I never used them before and I am very satisfied with my purchase, I received a nice sized High Society packaged very well and was notified of the tracking number quickly. Very polite email correspondence. Will do business again as a matter of fact I already ordered a Heuchera and a trailing Heucherella from them.