Comments regarding Gary's Out of Africa (Gary S. Mikita)

As a first time customer of this company, as well as of the experience of purchasing violets by mail, I have been most pleasantly surprised. I selected Gary's company after comparing prices, size of pots, plant options, shipping costs and online reviews. Once choosing the "Grower's Choice" special of ten plants, I also included an allowed electronic note describing preferred colors and the division of the order into violets and streps. A few days later a box was at my door filled with carefully packaged plants. Each unwrapping was a miniature gift, containing healthy specimens with no broken leaves, blooms in the hoped for colors, and an additional complementary plant as well. Gary's response to the order and emails was rapid and professional. I would highly recommend Gary's Out of Africa and now can't imagine buying an African violet at Home Depot or a grocery store ever again! Hopefully these "babies" will find their light garden in Oregon as positive as the former home in Indiana!

I ordered quite a few streptocarpus. Plants were well protected during shipping and looked very healthy upon arrival. Some were already blooming. I was very pleased with the order and will definitely buy from Gary's again.

I have mail ordered plants for years and this guy does the best job of packaging to ensure a safe trip for the plants that I have ever seen. I was impressed with the health and beauty of everything in my order. He also sent me a bonus episcia that was beautiful. I will be ordering again from Gary.
5 star rating for Gary's Out Of Africa!

I should have left comments sooner.

I have placed two orders : one for Streptocarpus and the other for Kohleria. Both were excellent. The quality was outstanding.

I'm putting together another order as I write.

A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have bought plants from Gary twice and he always sends me some great plants.

I highly recommend his plants. They are very healthy and look beautiful!

I have ordered from Gary two times now (sorry I didn't leave feedback the first time, I meant to!!) and I have never seen better plants or better packing!

Last summer I ordered the growers choice of 10 Kohlerias adding a note that I liked yellow in my blooms. Even though it was growers choice he went out of his way to make sure half the plants had yellow in the blooms! And the free gift of a Pearcea was beautiful.

Recently I placed a wholesale order with my cousin of 30 streptocarpus plants. Once again growers choice and I was so pleased to receive doubles of most every choice so my cousin and I will grow the same plants! And was thrilled with the addition of a newer and popular strep!

The packing was so awesome that I merely opened the box and took out my half of the plants, then rearranged the remaining ones in the thick insulation and popped it right back in the mail to my cousin for another two days of shipping time. And the plants still looked great.

So A++++ all the way!

Fabulous! Not only did I receive beautiful plants + a just as beautiful bonus plant- but the packaging was extremely well thought through. Great prices too!Gary is a super-nice person and the whole transaction was a pleasure!

DGers, you are missing the boat if you don't order from Gary!!! He sent me 34 episcias and streps that are the healthiest and best plants I have EVER received. I will order from no one but him!!!!
I do wish I could show you the plants....the episcias have stolens and some are blooming!!!

The best plants ! Best Customer service. Gary always answer emails fast and is very helpful .
He sells the best plants ! Shop with confidence knowing you will be buying the best Gesneriads !
Happy Shopping ! Happy Growing !

Before I begin I should be honest and admit that I'm biased because he is a member of my club. But in all honesty, I have never ordered or bought Gesneriads from any vendor that can compare in size to what he sells. And not just to me, but when I saw his plants at a booth at the Chicago Flower and Garden show, they were just so much bigger than what you would normally expect, even for a show (vendors usually have bigger plants at a show). His plants are always disease- and pest-free, too.

If I could give Gary's a double positive, I surely would. I have ordered several times and I get beautiful streps, healthy, really green leaves and usually in bud or bloom,good sized plants. He does not send cutting or leaves. You get your money's worth and more.

If he had everything on my wish list I wouldn't order from anyone else. I was reluctant to order at first because he only had a very small ad in the Violet magazine and I was dazzled by the "big guys" with their fancy websites .What I got from Gary's was beautiful plants, fast efficient service,someone that answers their emails and is extremely helpful with recommendations as to care, etc. Not only that you get a free plant with each order and a really first class plant not something from the clearance bin.

His plants are so meticulously packed that it is an ordeal to "unpack" them. I think they could survive nuclear attack(but lets hope they don't have to).They are set in the middle of a box lined with thick fiberglas insulation.Each pot is wrapped in corrugated paper stapled and taped top & bottom.The base of each plant is wrapped with easter grass (I guess you would call it) and plastic so NO dirt spills out and the plants stay snug in their pots till you set them free.. The only mishaps I have had were when I tried to tear the wrappings off in a hurry and severed a leaf or two. My fault not the sellers.His shipping rate is no higher than the others .When you consider how much material & time go into packging them it is money well spent.

You can see this is a grower who cares about his plants and his customers. I have almost 70 streps now and greatest majority are from Garys.. .