There is nothing not to like about 'gardens4you.ie'. The plants were so fresh looking. The service was fast. The packing really impressed me as they not only had such a strong box, but it was divided so as to protect the more fragile plants.On top of this the prices were great, but something that I really, really appreciated (because I am a bit of a novice on plants & don't know one from another ) was the fact that for each plant that I had purchased, they enclosed a sheet explaining exactly how to plant each item along with a photo so that I knew which was which.Before I got my parcel I was thinking that I would have to go back on the website to see which plant was which and what to do with it, but this page saved me all of that bother, so I was delighted to find this sheet enclosed.I definitely give this company full marks all round and am saving up to buy some more plants.
In a nutshell: two out of four plants I received were diseased (the other two are in quarantine waiting to see if they are also diseased) and customer service was rude and argumentive when I tried to ask for my money back (which I did after I had to threaten legal action and lateral flow tests to prove the diseased status of the plants, why is it always a battle?). The customer service in question replied from the UK, the plants came from the Netherlands, I ordered from gardens4you (dot) ie.
To get a response from The UK was bizarre as it's through an IE website and I will certainly be reporting gardens4you for using an IE website to "weare" (dot) ie and the relevant authorities for abusing Irish internet infrastructure and cyberspace.
I am also calling out the nursery (ies?) in the Netherlands for their obvious poor care of plants and the many holes in gardens4you in general's Standard Operating Procedures and Policies I can immediately digress from my experience.
I tried to bring this to their attention and resolve the dispute quietly but after the experience with the UK customer service and no response from Melvin Jansen who I tried to contact I am now bringing this to the public's attention.
Save your money DO NOT buy with Gardens4you, buy local or nationally (most local/national stores are happy to order more exotic plants for you), and support the Irish economy. We as an Irish customer base deserve better than the poor service from the Netherlands and rude customer service from The UK.
In a nutshell: two out of four plants I received were diseased (the other two are in quarantine waiting to see if they are also diseased) and customer service was rude and argumentive when I tried to ask for my money back (which I did after I had to threaten legal action and lateral flow tests to prove the diseased status of the plants, why is it always a battle?). The customer service in question replied from the UK, the plants came from the Netherlands, I ordered from gardens4you (dot) ie.
To get a response from The UK was bizarre as it's through an IE website and I will certainly be reporting gardens4you for using an IE website to "weare" (dot) ie and the relevant authorities for abusing Irish internet infrastructure and cyberspace.
I am also calling out the nursery (ies?) in the Netherlands for their obvious poor care of plants and the many holes in gardens4you in general's Standard Operating Procedures and Policies I can immediately digress from my experience.
I tried to bring this to their attention and resolve the dispute quietly but after the experience with the UK customer service and no response from Melvin Jansen who I tried to contact I am now bringing this to the public's attention.
Save your money DO NOT buy with Gardens4you, buy local or nationally (most local/national stores are happy to order more exotic plants for you), and support the Irish economy. We as an Irish customer base deserve better than the poor service from the Netherlands and rude customer service from The UK.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Aug 26, 2022
We have never disrespected our customers, never. We explained and informed you why the foliage of these 2 Lonicera caerulea Morena was like this with the heat wave we have been experiencing for more than 8 weeks and the drought in Europe. You immediately refuted, refused and openly denigrated our explanations in an implausible way by taking completely irrelevant examples that had nothing to do with your initial complaint. In the end you received a refund of €15 for these 2 plants.
Our company is based in the Netherlands and the fact that we manage several sites in Europe is no secret to anyone. Our VAT number and our physical address are visible and published everywhere on the site.
We will report your review to Trusted Shop and provide our email conversation, to show that we were never rude and that your comment is simply a free and incomprehensible attack.
Verified review
Apr 25, 2022
Two of the bare-root plants I ordered were dead and rotten on arrival, and, by the look of them, I'm sure they were long dead before dispatch. The other plants were very small, feeble and GREATLY overpriced for the quality. Customer service took a long time to respond and were very cynical and no help to me whatsoever. I will never shop with Gardens4you again, and I would actively discourage other enthusiasts from doing so as well. A complete waste of money.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
Nobody can judge whether a healthy root will develop or not, it is not the size of the product that will give the final size of the plant. Your knowledge of plants was clearly limited, we gave you a clear and honest opinion, too bad you took it that way, especially since these roots were guaranteed until October 1, 2022 as we informed you.
Verified review
Apr 10, 2022
I ordered 150 lavender plants. About half look damaged and not in great health. Parts of the plant look dead. About 12 look completely dead and I don't expect them to survive.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
All orders placed on our website are guaranteed. Just take contact with our customer service we will be happy to arrange something under our guarantee.
Verified review
Aug 25, 2022
Plants arrived in very poor condition.Have waited three days to see will they come back to life. Very disappointed. Didn't survive seven days in transit.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Aug 26, 2022
We are sorry to see that the plants has suffered from the heat during the transit. Please contact our customer service we will be happy to arrange the refund for the damaged good.
Verified review
Nov 5, 2022
The most unprofessional experience I've ever had. Received plants in spring that were supposed to be plug plants, young specimen but were obviously very old and had bern kept in the pots a year too long and had gotten woody. They were nothing like the sane type of plabt i had previously recieved from them. I couldn't plant them so I asked to return for a refund and they were not forthcoming eventually they agreed. I told they they could puck up the plants as I needed to buy new ones. They said they couldn't afford to pick them up. I placed an order this week, they cancelled it twice without any correspondence and when I enquired I got a nasty letter from them telling me they wouldn't sell to me because I forced the guarantee, demanded a refunding and kept the products. I used the guarantee this offer and now they have blacklisted me. The email and all the transactions have been poorly eroded and very unprofessional
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Nov 7, 2022
Your last complaint about the lavender was unfounded. We asked you to wait at least 2 months in order to see the growth of these plants which for a scorching summer with more than 30ºC were not in the catastrophic state that you described. You refused to wait and refused to return the merchandise and therefore openly contested our guarantee as well as the terms and conditions of our site that you had accepted (strange when the plants were guaranteed for 1 year, i.e. until 08/06/2023). You forced a refund of €28.50 not to mention the threats of leaving negative reviews all over the net and on your blog that talks about plants.
We assume 100% our choice and wish you good luck for your purchases on the net but especially to the competition that will welcome you.
Verified review
May 3, 2022
I purchased some plants on this site believing their 'Growth Guarantee
Many of the plans were damaged on arrival. I planted them anyway, as per instuctions. After a few weeks, I reported their non-growth to Gardens4You, along with photos.
They disputed the fact they were clearly dead and refused to refund me for several more weeks in the hope they would magically come back to life.
I was asked to leave the dead plants in situ for another few weeks or return them at my expense and they would refund me (minus the original shipping and return shipping costs)
This is also against their policy or returns.
I've followed up a few times but now they don't reply because I asked for a refund.
Avoid this lying, thieving company at all costs.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
We offer 1 year growth guarantee on all orders placed on our website. None of the plants in the photos we received were as you described in your email. Keeping the goods and refusing to pay for them is similar to what you tried to do so we asked you in order to get full refund to return the goods in accordance with the terms and conditions you agreed to when ordering.
Verified review
Apr 15, 2022
I was disappointed not to say disgusted with the quality of the plant material. I waited two days and kept the plants in the dark as per instructions then, when there was no sign of frost planted some out in the garden. There was mostly dead leaf and the roots were very brown and disintegrating. The rest I planted into small plant pots with seed compost in the green house hoping for some revival. I despair of any life in these examples. The garden plants are totally dead and, as you can see from the photo most of the greenhouse plants are in a dismal state. I shall never again buy anything from Gardens4you and would never recommend you to anybody. It has been a total waste of money and I expect a total refund.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
It is clear on the photos that the plants have suffered during the transit and we are sorry about that.
Just contact our customer service for a new shipping or a refund of course the order is 100% guaranteed.
Verified review
May 28, 2022
Ordered 2 Evie 2 5x strawberry plants, (10 strawberry plants), I received the order dispatched with dpd e-mail and after 2 days I received the order. 2 of the plant pots were empty the plants died a long time ago other. these are expensive strawberry plants and having two of them dead out of the box is unacceptable, this is also the second time happening, my previous order had 1 dead pot. The person preparing the order delibarately trowing 1-2 dead plant pots in to the box. It seams gardens4you has no quality checks for orders being send. I will newer shop again from gardens4you, I also tell all my family and friends not to use them.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
We can see in our system that you have been reimbursed for products that were damaged in the carton during transit (A11578 - Strawberry Evie 2 x 5 - 2x (€ 29.90) - Refunded: € 10.46 (35%) 07/06/2022
Total amount refunded: € 10.46)
. If we put damaged products in the boxes we see no point in you continuing to order from the site...your comment clearly lacks objectivity and honesty insinuating that we put voluntary in purpose dead plants in the boxes when we offer 1 year warranty on potted plants.
Verified review
Apr 6, 2022
THE PHLOX SUBULATA was in bad conditions was the VINCA MINOR ATROPURPUREA. There were 3 little branches on the azalea & 2 of them were hanging severed from the stem. It was also a tiny plant
THE 2 ILEX AQUIFOLIUM GOLDEN KING were nothing like what was illustrated on your catalogues, tiny plants for the price of €29.50.
It was a bad experience for Padraig Trimble, New Road, Howth D13VP78 Ireland
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Sep 1, 2022
We had 10ºC in April and the plants are just coming out of their dormancy. The photos on our site are always for illustrative purposes and show you the product in the summertime.
Verified review
Apr 14, 2022
You need to change delivery service. Dpd are notoriously bad. Tried to contact them when parcel did not arrive at due time yesterday 5-6pm. Only contact available was a useless bot that kept saying it had been delivered and signed for, which it hadn't. Eventually a neighbour from down the road kindly delivered it as it had been dumped at hers. Lucky for you I have good neighbours or I would now be looking for a refund and you would have lost a customer.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
Although we regret this, the package had been delivered to the neighbor because you were absent at the time of delivery, we checked with dpd. Rating our customer service 1 star shows the unfortunate fact that you refuse to accept that the delivery person did the best in your case otherwise you would have had to pick up the package at the local dpd depot
Verified review
Apr 17, 2022
Some plants were missing. The 2 most expensive ones And one other that I had ordered. I have contacted and got a standard response. I am awaiting my issue to be resolved. The standard email said that sending multiple complaints will delay my case Considerably. I bought a lot last year from this shop and there were no issues so I am assuming it’s just a blip or misunderstanding hence 2 star rather than 1 and happy to correct once sorted
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Sep 1, 2022
According to our system the second parcel arrived the next day. Check your shipping confirmation please we have provided you with 2 tracking numbers
Verified review
May 14, 2022
Sorry to say …The plants arrived all squashed up with lots of fallen dead leaves. The worse one was the floribundas rose which was also considerably diseased with white fly and a brown aphid! I would not have bought any of the plants had I seen them. I fear that they could contaminate other plants. Please refund.
I’m so disappointed.
Kind regards,
Patricia
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Sep 1, 2022
Most of the insects lay their eggs in the soil, so it is impossible to see them during cultivation on plants that have not been chemically treated. These aphids probably came out with the heat of the box, we are sorry about this, despite our controls it can happen, we will provide you with the means to treat the plant
Verified review
Apr 20, 2022
The plants arrived later than it was stipulated. The plants were dehydrated and seem to be like cuttings rather than as described on the website as plants. I have my doubts if any will survive..... we have to wait and see. But they were thrown into the box wrapped up individually in a plastic bag, and the tiny stem barely has anything green on it.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jul 8, 2022
After shipping delivery is about 4-5 working days. If some plants arrived damaged just send photos evidence to our customer service we will be happy to resend them or to refund them in accordance with our guarantee.
Verified review
Jul 29, 2022
The Order arrived by DPD in two slim boxes and not at all what we expected four half dead plants and the other one is just like a bulb.
We should have gone to the Garden Centre as the website does not advise that they come shipped in nearly a week.
Bulbs may be ok to send this way but definately not live plants .
Very disappointed indeed.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Aug 26, 2022
It is possible that the plants suffered from the heat during the transit with the heat wave of July. Send please photos of the plants to our customer service, the order is 100% guaranteed
Verified review
Jun 11, 2022
The customer service was very arrogant and rude. After I emailed that I had a problem with my plants, the customer service said I didn't understand plants, and a professional gardener would. I don't know who makes a professional, is it someone who makes a living? Don't know if they have been trained before working.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Jun 30, 2022
Here is the response that came from our customer service department there was no arrogance or rudeness in our response you thought all the plants were infected and didn't seem to know very well what you had ordered we tried to help you by explaining the why and how
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email and the photos. Our potted plants are grown outdoors in conditions as close as possible to their natural environment (as in a garden). They are nursery plants grown without chemical additives or pollutants for the soil. We do not sell so-called "florist" plants.
None of the plants we see in the photos are infected. We are based in Holland and it has often been 26ºC during the day and 11ºC at night in the last few weeks. This is a natural mechanism on the leaves and plants and is not a disease in any way, professional gardeners know this well.
It is important when the plants are put in the ground to make once every 2 weeks a complete tour of the garden and remove the leaves that may have been damaged, there are no plants in nature without any mark or immaculate not in a garden in the open air, this is only possible only in a closed and sterile greenhouse.
The power of the plant is stored in its root system. We understand they may sometime not initially look as attractive as plants in a garden center, but they are just as strong or even stronger.
Because people usually buy plants buy their appearance, plants are forced into flower to look attractive in a garden center, but will get quite a shock once brought home and planted in your garden. They can take some time to fully recover if ever. Our plants do not waste any energy, they are hardened off and just waiting to boost into life in your garden.
If you follow our guidelines enclosed, you will be rewarded in the growing season by watching your plants grow into mature and very strong plants.
Rest assured your order is guaranteed you just need to trust our experience. We wish you lots of success with your garden.
Kind of regards,
The customer service.
Verified review
Apr 15, 2022
Not for live plants! Even though it looks like an Irish site, plants are posted from England, which would be fine with bare roots but 4 days in a box for live plants isn't acceptable. In any case the plant I purchased was very leggy and spindly and I would never have bought it from a garden centre.
Report review
Answer by gardens4you.ie
Sep 1, 2022
Our company is based in the Netherlands and the delivery is announced on our website in 4-5 days after sending. We had 10ºC in April and the plants are just coming out of their dormancy. The pictures on our site are always for illustrative purposes and show you the product in the summertime.
Measures have been taken to ensure that the published reviews only originate from consumers who have actually used or purchased the products or services.
Imported Reviews:
They are not included in the overall rating. No verification measures have been taken.