Comments regarding Secret Garden Growers

Received 8 plants today (2 are begonias which will become house plants). All are healthy and good sized. Packing was meticulous and didn't even lose any soil. Some of the most unusual specimens I've seen in 60 years of gardening, all in one place. Wish I'd found this place earlier and wish this was just one zone warmer. Hope to order again

4 Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty.' Cross-country, early June. In great shape. Big. Well packed. Beautiful.

First time ordering from them. Plants arrived quickly and in good condition.

Posted on April 22, 2022, updated May 15, 2022
I ordered six plants from this nursery. Two had very little top growth and three were root bound. I emailed Pat about the tiny ones and he indicated they were just emerging, 2 year plants and he had checked and they have good root systems. So, hopefully, they well do well.
I also loosened the roots some on each root bound plant; so hopefully they will be OK as well. Like many nurseries, they are somewhat short on staff now and that is probably why they were not moved to larger pots.
I will change my rating once I see how well these plants do in the next month or two.

Ordered a hard to find native plant Gillenia Trifoliata (Bowman's Root) and a few other plants. They all arrived in good condition and according to my desired shipping date. The plants were not plugs, but well rooted and fully grown plants. Thumbs up.

Ordered a gunnera tictoria and astilboides tabularis, both came very healthy and ready to go. I appreciate the added notes for the plants that was very helpful. Also they were well packaged and shipping arrived on time, I couldn't be happier!

Ordered two Prunus Incisa 'Kojo no Mai' sakura saplings. Both arrived healthy and well packed (plenty large containers with moistened newspaper covering the dirt, everything was then wrapped well). The tips sheet included had solid advice for planting. Transplanted them to larger containers and the roots looked healthy with no signs of binding or wrapping. Will definitely continue to purchase here for anything I can't find from local nurseries.

The order went out promptly and the plants were in great shape and have been doing very well.

Plants were in Excellent shape and very vigorously growing. Shipping was received in two days. I would reccommend purchasing from Secret Garden Growers.

I'm having a hard time rating my sole transaction with this company--an order of four plants. Guess I would have to go with somewhere between a neutral and a positive. Things got off to a bad start when I unpacked the plant I was looking most forward to first, Aucuba japonica "picturata". In an effort to fit the tall plant into the box, someone had FOLDED it practically in half. Yes you read correctly, they FOLDED it. Now I have a two dimensional Aucuba that looks like one of those old fashioned TV antennas that are going akimbo in every direction. It would have been so easy to just use a slightly larger box to accommodate the plant. After all I did pay almost $20.00 for postage. The two Agapanthius were healthy. very potbound and practically impossible to get out of their pots. Lastly, The Polygala appears a bit chlorotic, being an odd yellow/green color. Sometimes chamaebuxus and its forms are a bit yellowish, so I'll let that go.

However, I can't let go of some of the comments from a little insert in the box, "important information about your new plants". Here's a little excerpt, the capital letters are theirs: "DO NOT bring your plants inside; DO NOT put your plants under lights. DO NOT leave your plants in their crammed pots for months and send us a photo of dead plants.". When I read this for the first time, I felt like I was being scolded. I mean what are they going to do next, send me to bed without any supper?? Not to mention they are dead wrong here. Sometimes I receive plant orders far too early to be planted outdoors in my zone. In those cases, I have successfully kept the ordered items in the house for a few weeks, on a cool porch. I have also kept plant orders for short periods in the house under lights. OF COURSE, the plants Secret Garden Growers sells are not designed for "home culture", I am just saying an experienced grower could keep them inside with some care. I have also kept orders in their original pots the entire season. They need careful attention to watering, as they will dry out very quickly, but it can be done. I agree that it is not Secret Gardens problem if the plants dry out due to the buyer's negligence. However, this whole "care sheet" reminds me of "How to be a good customer" by Plant Delights Nursery, another high handed piece.

Would I order form Secret Gardens again? That's a tough one. I have a shrub which looks like a pressed herbarium specimen which may or may not recover. The Agapanthus were reasonably good value, but they are easy to grow in many gardens. Hopefully the Chamaebuxus will become more green when planted in the ground. I would ask that they use a bigger box for shipping and that the plants be less root-bound. In short, I was "underwhelmed" by my Secret Garden Growers order. Hopefully, others will have better luck.

ordered several plants this summer which arrived well packaged and super large......very happy.....just placed another order.......be patient....this is a small nursery not a factory........

Plants ordered on a Wednesday were shipped at the beginning of the following week as specified on the website, and received the following Thursday via USPS Priority. Plants were carefully packed to retain moisture and were well secured within the packaging. Was the $19.50 shipping charge worth it? Considering that the flat rate for a large USPS Priority box from my zip code to Canby, OR is roughly that same price, I find no basis for complaint. Shipping live plants is always a delicate matter. This vendor was both meticulous and timely in filling the order. I am completely satisfied.

Because I live not far from the nursery, I asked if I could make an appointment to pick up my plants rather than having them shipped. Easily arranged and plants were waiting for me when I arrived. I also selected more while I was there. All plants looked great and were a nice size and staff was more than helpful. Will do business with them again.

I needed to email Secret Gardens about my shipping address and got a super-fast reply. When my plants arrived, they were as fresh as if they had been shipped that morning -- and I'm in a neighboring state! The plants arrived simply packed in recyclable materials, too. Now as I watch them grow in my yard, I'll think of this nursery in Oregon -- and I wouldn't hesitate to order again.

I'm in the process of placing my second order. Based on my first, I think I have a new favorite mail-order nursery.

I've had generally good results ordering plants online, but GW certainly is helped those stats by pointing me in the right direction where before things were more hit-or-miss. This forum turned me on to another quite well rated company that starts with B and ends with e and prints slick catalogs, and I've had generally good experiences over nearly a dozen orders with that company and gotten very nice plants. No complaints.

I say all that to say this: The plants I got a couple of weeks ago from Secret Garden were a notch better which I almost didn't think was possible. They came from Oregon to Pennsylvania, emerged from the box extremely well packaged and the plants were huge. The dianthus which was the plant I was most looking forward to was full and healthy and the pot was actually bulging from the rootball. Another flowering perennial had buds on it which actually opened after transplanting, which I found remarkable. I had a brief email exchange with one of the owners or managers and found her thoroughly pleasant and helpful. All in all a great experience-- and since the selection is so good I'm sure there will many more orders in my future. Enthusiastically recommended.

I ordered four specimens of Geum rivale (a beautiful and little-known plant that's really hard to find) from Secret Garden.

The box arrived today. I found four carefully-packed plants with lots of growth. I was enormously impressed with both the specimens and the packing. (It makes the crushing shipping charges a little less painful to bear. And of course, that's not their fault; we live in an enormous country.)

Clinton Corners, NY
Zone 5

Just received my plants of Iris 'Gerald Darby.' They are the only growers of it in the US that I could find. I find it incredible that such a great plant is not more widely available.

Very nice plants at a reasonable price. Communication was good. Plants were well packed and shipped promptly. Recommended.

Awesome customer service. Prompt and personalized. Plants were way bigger that expected for seedlings. Plants were well packaged, and arrived in great condition, even considering the high 90's temp we were having. I will definitely be a returning customer.

First time buyer (Zingiber Mioga 'Dancing Crane'). Service was outstanding starting from the immediate e-mail confirmation that order received, when it would ship, notification of shipment and ability to track it (UPS). When my plants arrived, they were in perfect shape - well supported, enough moisture packed with plant via damp newspaper. Complete instructions for immediate care and planting were included. I am hooked! Will be watching for more interesting offerings from Secret Garden Growers.

This is my first experience with mail-order plants, as we have an excellent nursery in town that carries tons of perennials that grow very well here. However, it's the end of the season, so availability is limited. Furthermore, I live much higher than my zip code would indicate, and the bed I wanted the plants for is exposed to continuous north winds; hence, I needed plants that would thrive in a colder zone number than people usually use for our valley. I submitted my order in the evening; that night, I realized I had counted wrong, so I sent off an e-mail the next a.m. to see if I could add to the order. I got an almost immediate positive reply. The plants arrived today, two days after shipping, sent priority mail. Of course, I had been careful to select a grower who is just one state away. The six plants are absolutely gorgeous. They were amazingly well-packed, with damp newspaper wrapped around the base of the stem at soil level to help keep the soil moist. The pots and the paper were encased in plastic, and the top of the plant was carefully wrapped in newspaper for protection. They were then packed in an appropriately sized carton and arrived with everything except one blade of grass (just slightly bent) in perfect condition. Can't wait to see these green babies come springtime. I would definitely order from Secret Garden Growers again.

Their website is well-organized. The plants shipped were packaged beautifully and the plants were gorgeous, excellent size, terrific condition. I can't recommend them highly enough!

Fast shipping. Plants look very nice when arrived. Customer service was prompt when I inquired about the shipping date.

I received my plants 3 days after I ordered them. They were in generous pots and in great condition. They are a good size- big enough that you won't forget you planted them but small enough that they weren't cramped in shipping. Customer service was prompt and I will definitely be buying from them again.

I had a great experience with this company. The communication was excellent and they went above and beyond to ensure that I was completely satisfied. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again. I highly recommend.

I ordered several plants that I had had problems finding locally (and in some cases online) including Japanese Forest Grass 'Albostriata" and some Epimedium. I paid extra for 2-3 day shipping as they are in Oregon and I am in New York; the shipping costs were worth it to me as I could not find some of the plants elsewhere. The plants arrived promptly and in very good shape, well packed and healthy. When one of the boxes did not arrive with the other two, I contacted Secret Garden Growers and they checked up on the shipment and the third box came the next day. I will definitely order from them again.

I am really pleased with the plants I ordered and received promptly. I will certainly be back for more. Karen Mcilroy Puyallup, Wa.

Have ordered twice from this company. The plants received are lush and healthy. The shipping is very fast. This company is the best and their customer service is outstanding. Recommend Secret Garden Growers.

I ordered 2 plants and thought the $15.00 for shipping was a bit on the high side until they arrived today... I have never seen plants packed so well! Not even a leaf out of place. The plants themselves looked great, a very nice size for the price. I am all around impressed with Secret Garden Growers and I will be shopping with them again soon!

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the plants I ordered and the extra care taken in packaging them for shipping. It was refreshing to deal with real people that went out of their way to provide personal customer service. Their plant selection is amazing...I will definitely be a regular customer!

Got my order today...I was so excited! So many rare and unusual selections to chose from. Felt like Christmas unwrapping each plant...all big, healthy and well rooted, packed with care and absolutelty undamaged. Loved the personal touch and prompt communication; it is obvious these people really love their plants and care about their customers. I do a lot of plant mail order and dealing with these guys was really refreshing! Will place another order soon - highly recommend this company!

My order arrived today with all plants looking green and fresh despite having spent the MLK weekend at the post office. Plants are good sized and well rooted. Communication was great. I would definitely recommend this company.
Jane Osborne