For my birthday, my completely awesome sister got me a gift certificate to one of my favorite online nurseries, Bluestone Perennials. Just to make sure it's clear, I'm not affiliated with them in any way and am not receiving any compensation from them for writing this.
Bluestone Perennials is based out of Madison, Ohio. They one of the top 30 rated companies at Dave's Garden, and are in the Top 5 rated companies for both Perennials and Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. This is one of my favorite catalogs -- every year, I use it as a reference to help plan out what I want to do for the year. Their website is also easy to navigate and provides clear pictures and valuable information for each plant.
They have a really wide selection of perennials, but there are also some plants in which they specialize (Mums, astilbe, clematis, and hosta, just to name a few). They also offer shrubs, grasses, and bulbs. I've gotten shrubs from them before, and they did well, but were very small. You might remember I'm not a huge fan of grasses, but if I do pick up some hakonechloa it will probably be from here. As far as bulbs go, I've never gotten bulbs from here before and I probably won't in the future (I have another favorite bulb company that I'll spotlight at a later date).
Most of their plants are offered for sale in groups of three. The Bluestone philosophy is that planting in threes helps garden design. The downside of this philosophy is that the plants they sell are smaller than you might be expecting. The three-pack plants are grown in 2.35" x 2.2" x 2.75" deep containers and are 6 - 12 months old. Some plants are offered in a single larger pot as well - these are grown in 3.5" x 3.5" x 5" deep containers and are 12 - 16 months old. More details about the different plant sizes can be found on Bluestone's FAQ page.
I personally prefer to pay less for three smaller perennials -- after all, they'll grow, right?
Compared to my local nurseries, Bluestone has great prices, but they also usually have an annual sale the week before Memorial day where all remaining plants are marked 50% off. In fact, they have frequent specials throughout the year - right now there are about 270 items that are 50% off. Finally, with every catalog and order, you get a series of coupons that are usually good for up to a year.
Most of the complaints on the Dave's Garden website relate to the shipping method (in pots with packing peanuts) or plant size. I haven't had issue with either, but it looks like if you notify them about a plant that has died in shipping, they'll replace it without hassle. It also looks like they'll be changing their shipping method sometime this fall. In the past, they offered recycling credits if you sent the packing peanuts back to them -- it looks like they're trying to be even more earth friendly...I look forward to seeing what they've come up with.
I've ordered from Bluestone Perennials every year for at least four years. I've always been happy with their plants and service and I can't wait to use my gift certificate. (Thanks, again, Sarah!).
Do you have any favorite online nurseries?
glad you like the header, and I look forward to evolving it in the future!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the hakonechloa. I've got some ornamental grass adorning the side of our garage. I have to trim it back or else it gets in the way of the motion detector of my garage door. I would much rather have a hakonechloa out there, because whatever grass I've got isn't that attractive.
Like the new header!
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