Using Our Website
BEFORE ORDERING
Please check out our Dispatch and Delivery page and our FAQs before choosing, so you know what to expect. This can all be found under the Ordering tab. You’ll also find our Terms and Conditions there. There may be additional charges for remote postcodes and ULEZ zones, and this is explained on the Dispatch and Delivery page.
TRADE
If you are a trade customer, or are making a large purchase, please check out the Trade section under the ordering tab for further information on discounting. Better still, give us a call or send us an email with your wishlist and we will offer you the best deal we can.
BUYING
If you know exactly what you want, you can find it by scrolling through the A-Z listing or go straight to it using the Search box.
If you want to find a plant with certain characteristics, such as shade tolerant, or purple flowered, use the Plant Selection filters under the Ordering tab, this will provide a list of plants with that feature. You can then select them individually to find out more.
Some plants aren’t available singly as bare root or P9 options, other than in pond packs, but there is a selection of the most popular plants under our Pick and Mix option; you can select one each of any five or ten varieties to suit your needs. These Pick and Mix packs come in bare root and P9 potted options. Bare root options are usually available up to about early May, after which only potted options can be purchased.
If you have no idea what you want, please use our extensive information pages and search our blogs for information. Consider buying David’s book, which will give you a complete picture, or check out our YouTube channel and Facebook page for loads of instructive help. Beginners often purchase one of our Pond Packs, the components of which are guaranteed to be easy and non-invasive. Native only pond packs are an option. Don’t forget to order compost and extra baskets if you need them.
We try to have most products available most of the time, but some plants are more seasonal than others and choices may be limited. If the size or format option you prefer is shown out of stock, you can click on that option and will be given the possibility of filling in a notification request for when it is next available. If it’s not showing out of stock, it is in stock for immediate delivery. We won’t sell you something that we don’t have and make you wait for weeks or months, like some suppliers.
When you have added everything to your basket, please check you have included pots and compost if required. If you are collecting, or if you have just bought vouchers, select the Click and Collect zero postage option and tell us in the Notes box when you plan to collect. Collection is 9 to 4 weekdays only. PLEASE check that you have entered your address and contact details correctly. Between 5% and 10% of orders have a mistake on the email address, postcode or phone number – if you have given us the wrong one, on your head be it!
AVAILABILITY
Availability changes rapidly in Spring when we are at our busiest, but here is a quick synopsis of what you can expect as the year progresses. In winter, our stock is either older plants remaining from the previous season, or new plants which were propagated in late summer/autumn; the latter may not yet be solidly rooted and may not yet be available for dispatch. The former represent excellent value as they are bigger, older plants. In early Spring, we split up congested clumps of plants and surplus stock and these plants are then available for sale as bare root plants. Older overwintered potted stock soon gets mopped up and there is often a period in early Spring when bigger plants are not available; the old stock has gone and the new stock isn’t quite rooted or ready to sell. The best availability is usually April/May when we have the highest stock. Late starters like Acorus, Lythrum and Pontederia may not be available until towards the end of May; this is also the case for bunched oxygenators. The next thing to disappear is our remaining stock of bare root plants, most of which are gone by the end of June. After this, mostly only potted stock is available, though we can wash off pots for sale as bare root for an extra charge, or you can do this yourself, if plants are required in bare root form for planting into low nutrient systems e.g. natural swimming ponds. As summer goes on and the mad rush begins to ease, we are busy taking cuttings and starting off new plants for sale the following year. Some varieties may be sold out until these young plants have grown sufficiently to sell. We can’t suddenly produce large plants if they have all sold out. The choice of stock for purchase is usually lowest from late October to February, but this is not a good time to plant anyway.
Some unusual or specialist plants are not available by mail order all through the year for operational and logistics reasons, though they may be available in low numbers at the nursery. If you see plants listed that appear to rarely be available, we can often send these at special request, though an additional carriage charge may be applied, please ask.
PAYMENT
Various payment options are available and free postage is offered for orders over £85.00, except for remote postcodes as explained. All published prices include VAT, and a full VAT invoice can be provided if the order form is insufficient. You can reclaim this VAT if you are VAT registered.