Comments regarding Le Jardin du Gourmet (Artistic Gardens)

Posted on May 23, 2016, updated May 18, 2017
Posted on May 10, 2015, updated May 23, 2016
I have ordered seed packets from this company for years, and have been happy with the service and the product. This year I ordered plants as well as seeds. The seeds arrived first, as expected, with only one backorder which was soon filled. The plants arrived yesterday, well packed and healthy except for a few broken leaves here and there. I am very pleased, and will order more plants and seed from them next year.

Hands down my favorite seed company. Have ordered from them every year since discovering them in 2002. The sample packets can't be beat for trying new varieties and small spaces and always contain the minimum amount listed on the package, usually more. The full size packets are an excellent value and much cheaper than the bigger seed companies; I buy my companion planting carrots and parsley from them because you can't beat the price and quality. Once I missed a number on my credit card when ordering and they called me; I had a really nice chat with one of the owners (I was a floral designer and they also have a flower shop). I had never grown shallots before buying from them; I tried a sampler box with garlic and shallots and was amazed at the yield I got from the modest amount of bulbs (compared to the 1/2 to 1 lb you have to buy other places), certainly enough for my needs.

I've had very few minor issues over the years which I never felt necessary to pursue. Two different years I was missing a single sample packet (each in orders of 60+ packets, so highly understandable, and a loss of $.35 or $.40 wasn't enough of a big deal to me to bother with). Shipping time can be a little slow, but I also understand the scale of their operation and that peak time for sending seeds (late winter/ early spring) is also peak time for florists. I've never gotten seeds too late to start. They've already held seeds during the worst Northeast cold snaps as well, which I really appreciate.

Overall, this is *the* best company to buy from for small gardens. I don't know what I'll do if they ever give it up; I have a pretty small budget and I won't be able to grow half of what I do if I have to spend $3+ per packet like other places. I can't recommend them enough.

My first time ordering from them. I ordered right in the middle of the holiday (Christmas/New Year) season. It took a little longer to get my order compared to another company I ordered from; however they were responsive to my email and phone call, explaining they were out of some seeds and waiting on an order to come in. I received part of my order, with the other portion back-ordered, which I haven't received yet. I'm ok with that, given the season - it's early for me to start yet anyway. I am hoping for a positive outcome. The pkg is great and the price and shipping are also great.

I love these guys. They dont have a huge selection, but offer the perfect sized packets, especially for herbs and such. Who needs 1500 oregano seeds, anyway? And only 40 cents! The larger packets are about the size you would get from other suppliers, and at $1.05 are still cheaper than just about any of them. Never a problem with germination. Shipping for seeds is a very reasonable flat rate, no matter how many you buy.

Posted on January 24, 2010, updated January 2, 2015
Ordered a bunch of their 35 cent sample packets and a few larger packets on Jan 5 They shipped on Jan 12 and I rec'd (cross-country) on Jan 16. Generic packets with stick-on labels of what they contain, all packed for 2010. 28 packets in all for f$16.05 inc shipping. Nice selections of unusual varieties that I want to try, without commiting to a huge packet of seeds I may never use.

Always pleased!
I have bought seeds from Artistic Gardens for many years. I especially like their sample packets of seeds. They are just great when you only have room (or time) for just a few plants.
The product is always packaged and labeled well and arrives in a timely manner. Thank you.

I am sooo happy I called Artistic Gardens! I call on a Thursday and my seeds were in the mail on Monday!!! I got the herb sampler and it is outstanding. I will definitely be ordering again. The variety is amazing some item have only a few seeds, which I expected, but many packets have 75-100 seeds! Very generous for .40 cents a package! I have only planted 10 varieties but had excellent germination!

I ordered from Le Jardin du Gourmet for the first time in the early 1980s, before they became Artistic Gardens. At that time the sample packets were 20 cents each, and I was thrilled to be able to try some varieties I had always wanted to try without having to buy huge quantities of seed that I would never use.

I have no problems with the company. They have been great at shipping my seeds quickly, and answering my questions both by email and telephone. Yes, you may have to wait a few days for a response, but if it has been more than two weeks, CALL THEM!!! I promise they will do their best to make it right for you as they have always done for me.

For those leaving negative comments without even bothering to call them first: please be aware that no matter how much we may like email, and how convenient it may be, it is NOT as reliable as a telephone call, and many emails are lost in cyberspace. Take this into consideration before leaving them negative feedback, which may be entirely unwarranted.

This has always been a favorite seed company of mine. I loved gardening as a child, and when their little postcards came around with the 0.25 cent packets, I could always afford to buy plenty.

It looks like they have gone up to .40 cents a packet this year, but it is still very affordable. I like their selection of French heirloom vegetables and I've always had good germination from the seeds.

Because I am brand new to my area and to vegetable growing (very comfortable w/flower growing), I was thrilled to find a company which offers sample packets for $.35 ea. For herbs, I ordered 3 vars. basil (all germinated & grew very well), garlic chives (good), fraise des bois (poor germ, slow growth), 3 lavender vars. (only 1 germed), lemon balm (good), lemongrass (poor germ & growth), marjoram (soso), 3 vars. mints (good but slow), nasturtium (good), oregano (soso), parsley (good), rosemary (no go), sage (good), summer & winter savory (good, winter better) & 2 vars. thyme (German great, French soso). For veggies: pak choi (great but bolted early), Maxibel beans (great), 3 vars. eggplant (good but slow), 2 pumpkins (great), 4 summer squashes (all great), 3 winter squashes (2 great, 1 poor), 6 vars tomato (all great), 3 carrots (poor b/c not direct sown), 3 onions (all poor, wrong season), 2 broccoli (not yet sown), 2 cauliflower (not yet sown) & snap peas (not yet sown). For flowers, 2 poppies (no go), verbena (no go), marigolds (great) & dahlia (great). Most of the failures were due to my inexperience. I over-filled 4 large raised beds for under $20 including shipping. I'm a fan!

This was my first experience with Le Jardin du Gourmet and it was great! I ordered perennial plants online and received a quick reply that let me know when the plants would be sent. It did not take long to get them. The packaging was great - priority mail and individually packaged in brown bags with plastic covering the plants. They were in great shape. The shipping was very reasonable and you cannot beat the price of the plants! I will absolutely order from them again.

Just wanted to add my experiences with them, and all have been great. I've been purchasing seed from them off and on since 1995. They have the BEST prices for seeds, and the most DIVERSE selection of seed available for a real culinary garden.

In '95 the sample seed packets were a quarter and contained a few to many, many seeds in each. I'm not sure what others have experienced with germination, but all my seeds have grown into great seedlings then productive plants. The price for the seed packets has increased through the years (now it's .35 cents) but still very low enabling the gardener to try several different varieties that they've always wanted to but hesitated because of the seed's price.

If you are looking for cheap, generic seed in the one or two varieties you've always grown or tasted, then choose the larger companies or better yet just go to the neighborhood grocery store. But if you are looking for quality seeds in smaller packs in exotic or heirloom varieties that you've always wanted to try, then I highly recommend this place.

I like these folks. Yes, I placed my order online, and then had to phone them when it was slow; I think the previous rater who said it's best to phone instead of ordering online may be right. But as the guy I spoke to at the company very nicely explained to me, they're a four-person operation. That's not the customer-service department, folks, that's the entire company!

So since they're providing some of the cheapest seed packets on the market despite offering some really hard-to-find varieties, I personally think they're a good place to buy anyway. NOwhere else had the wonderful heirloom French chard I used to buy from Pinetree Garden before Pinetree (a.) dropped the variety and (b.) went to hell from getting too popular too fast. And the germination rate for the seeds from Artistic was nearly 100%.

(Do check out Verte a Carde Blanche, the variety in question--it rocks! HUGE, broad, very tender snow-white midribs, very large shiny dark-green leaves, rapid and heavy production, and flavor to die for. Really much prettier to me than the gaudy five-color chards, and it tastes better. A bit less hardy than some, but still often overwinters here on the zone 5/6 line; I've harvested it out of the snow.)

Great company--a little slow on the shipping, but for 35 cent seed packets it's hard to complain. They have wonderful varieties, are perfect for small gardens, and the seeds germinate beautifully. I would highly recommend this company to anyone NOT in a hurry. If you order early enough, there should be no problem. I actually got another company's seeds on the same day, after ordering them on the same day as well--so Le Jardin isn't the only slowpoke out there!

Don't bother with the catalog if you have access to the internet. It's very simple to read, but it's not fancy like many seed catalogs, just a very basic print of what they have. So if you are giving them negative feedback over a catalog, I honestly think that is silly because you could have still gotten your seeds in time if you would have just looked through their website and ordered online or over the phone.
I did order from them over the internet and talked to a very nice man a couple weeks later when I never got my order. I realized I was never charged for it so he pulled up the transaction and went over it with me and we found out it was because I had mistyped something for my card info so it never got approved. He corrected it and I got the order just a few days later. One item was not the package, but with out me even asking about it, they told me it would be mailed out later and a couple weeks later it was.
If you are expecting the type of service you'd get from a big corporation then this is not the place for you to order. But if you like ordering from smaller companies who are honest about mistakes and are friendly and will help you when you need it, then ORDER HERE!!!
I will be ordering again from them this year. Living in the city limits my garden size and these packets are perfect size and well worth what little money you'd put in them.
I highly recommend this place

I have bought from them for years,& never had a problem.
They are prompt in dealing with problems. I couldn't possibly
be more satisfied with them than I already am. As long as I am around I intend to keep doing business with them.

I ordered 22 packets by phone from this company in February. After two weeks, and after seeds ordered from another company arrived, I contacted them via email to say my seeds never arrived (nor had I been charged for them). Turns out that they lost my order and assured me it would be shipped right away when I placed it again. So, I called again, re-placed my order, and had my seeds within a week.

They were responsive each time I asked about the status of my order and I realize that mistakes happen (lost order) and am still willing to recommend them to others because it's one of the few places I feel I can really save on seeds by just ordering small sample packs for my small, home garden.

I've had nothing but success with this company. I've been ordering with them for the past several years and in fact should have the first order of this year here tomorrow. I originally placed the order on the 10th of this month. I highly recommend them... one of the great things about them is that they offer "sample" seed packets so you don't end up with a bunch of wasted seed for a small, home garden. :D

I mailed in my order 10 days ago and received the seeds yesterday. I called the company to make sure they had my order(USPS problems on my end) and the customer service rep was very friendly and helpful. If the seeds are as good as the service I'll be ordering from them again.

I think the secret to a happy time is to call in your order. My friend ordered and finally had to call and the email order had gotten lost. So I decided to take a chance and call, and got my seeds in less than a week.

You can't help but LOVE those sample packets. What a wonderful idea, and so fun to try things you might otherwise not try. I just hope they can make money doing that so we can continue trying unusual plants.

I love those little packs. Very cute.

they have always sent me a catalog when requested, and never asked for payment. the first time i heard of them was near to 15 yrs or so ago. i dont know excatly. i sent a order off a few years latter and got with no prob. loved them then.
found again a few years ago and used.
got seeds promptly. never had prob with shipping. took a bit longer than i thought should. however when i asked them about this they told me that they should be there shortly, but if they where not there in a week to call them back. however my stuff arived in a few days.
nice people

I ordered some herb/vegetable seeds for starting indoors and in the cold frame this fall. I used their web site, which was fairly easy to use. My order came to here in VA within a week by mail.

So far, I have planted several types of herb seeds and most have come up. Their cilantro seeds were a big success, with 100% germination. I was pleased because I have had trouble getting cilantro started before. Parsley, marjoram, savory, and sorrel are also up.

I love the small sample packets for the herb seeds. (Who needs 500 sage seeds?) They also have larger packets at good prices and at 35 cents each for the samples, you can afford to try new things.

When ordering from them, be sure to click on "shipping" and select the appropriate category. Even if it's bulbs which ship for free (garlic, shallots, ginsing, etc. - they don't carry flower bulbs), you should select the free bulb shipping.

In short - good, prompt service, great prices, good seeds.

I bought from them years ago. This spring I placed a seed order on the web. It arrived promptly and accurately. They have a nice selection, and I really like the small packets with the proportionately small prices. They have larger packets if you want them, but the small ones are usually plenty. How many zucchini (or other) plants do you really need in one season?

I ordered from Je Jardin De Gourmet on May 3rd. I emailed them on the 12th asking the status of my order after recieving email stating the order was in process. I got an immediate response saying the order would go out on the 16th and I could revise it if I wanted. So I added another 10 packets and changed the size on 5 of them, alot of revisions. This morning, May 23rd, I got the full order. It was complete and on time. Very reasonable price for the seeds in 1 and 2 gram lots. Hopefully people will have better experiences, like I did.

peg

Ordered several times in the last 15 years, will again, and
was pleased.

They have a rather unmpressive catalog and web presence but
they offer a fairly wide variety of seeds in mostly small
quantities which is very nice for the home gardner or the
experimenter.

This place has intrigued me for years and how they stay in
business is beyond me.

Have ordered in the past and will again and am glad there
are places like this still left.

Catalog rates on a 1 to 10 scale a 3 but otherwise, even
tho small in scope, I rate them a perfect 10.

Good germination of their seeds, and the small packets are a steal (currently $0.30 per pack). Fantastic variety of seeds. I've tried their herb plants when I lived in Denver and every plant grew and thrived. The plants came well-packaged and in excellent health.

They have an astounding variety of seeds, herbs and veggies. not so many flowers, but they do have a great annual dalhia seed! the small packets are very handy, and for 12 bucks, you can get lots of different stuff. they also have bigger packets if you wish. lots of squash and pumpkin varieties. stuff from france, and shallots. they are the first place i go!

I have ordered the small seed packets from this company several times. I have always received the seeds promptly and they germinated well. The small packets are perfect for those who don't need 100's of seeds.

I find this company to be a very good source. Customer service is great, and my order arrives on time and intact. I have had very good results with their seeds, ( havent tried plants), and I love the 30 cent seed packets.

I have been a satisfied customer of this company for several years, buying only seed. The seeds have good germination and the packets are just the right size for a small gardener. I have grown and given away so many plants raised from these seeds! No one has to know how I afford to be so generous - but of course it is the 30 cent seed packs.

I was a regular customer of Jardin du Gourmet for several years when I lived in another state. I found your webpage when I did an internet search looking for them so I could get a new catalog. Apparently the ones I should have gotten from them this winter didn't get forwarded from my old address. I like them because the have a marvelously wide variety of different, unusual seeds in small packages. I have always had small garden plots and a regular sized seed package always means wasted seed for me. The last 2 years I've also ordered their live herb plants and had very good results. Out of about 2 dozen plants I had only one casualty. Again, the nice variety is the key draw for me.

We have been ordering large amounts of seed, perennials, fruit and shrubs for the farm over the past decade. For seed, we recommend Le Jardins du Gourmet (the best for chefs and herbalists)

I don't remember how I first started receiving this catalogue which sells seeds, plants, onion and garlic bulbs, and books but what I like the most about it is you can order small packs of seeds like cinnamon basil or chocolate peppers in trial packs for 30 cents! Herb and flower plants are also reasonable. I have liked everything so far and have only lost one plant but that was my fault. I like the smaller seed quantities because - for example - what would I do with over 100 basil plants? Sometimes you only need a few seeds and don't want to store the leftovers.