The issue with Dutch Gardens seems to be ongoing. This post is 13 yrs old & folks still experiencing issues getting their plants. I also had a bad experience with Dutch Gardens 6 years ago & swore I'd never order from them again. I still get their glossy & lovely catalogue; it's sooo tempting to order from them! I guess 6 years is the cut off for feeling burned by them because I find I have to remind myself what happened so I'm not taken in by their sexy catalogue. 6 years ago, I'd placed a $325 order in January of which they charge my cc for immediately & was chomping at the bit for my plants by March; I checked in with customer service in March & they said orders were shipping to my area in March but by mid April, still no plants & no status update. When I tried to contact them again in April, they wouldn't respond at first until I demanded they cancel my order & threatened to do a charge-back on my credit card & file with BBB. Then, as if by magic, they were suddenly able to confirm that the plants shipped. I did eventually get my shipment & the plant performance has been mixed. The bearded Iris' & peony have been blooming reliably & are extremely beautiful. The rose bush & ornamental grasses were disappointing. The grasses died fairly quickly and one rose is still alive but never was healthy. I only get one rose bud a year on it despite all attempts to improve it's health. A 2nd rose bush died quickly & years later a different kind of climbing rose magically appeared in the same spot I planted the other one that died; root stock? To give credit where it's due, though, the peony & the iris are exceptional & the jewels of my garden. If they insist on sending me the catalogue, it's probably just best to use it as a way of garden planning and to look up the plants for purchase on Etsy.

I'm kind of surprised this happened with Swallowtail. I haven't ordered from them in a few years, but I remember their seed packets having an enormous amount of seeds - waaaayyyy more than I would ever sow in a few years, never mind one season, even with annuals. Perhaps their seed counts have gotten smaller and their customer service is shrinking as well? :) I do now recall one year I ordered some Zowie Yellow Flame zinnias (or whatever their name is, lol). These are still expensive seeds, even after being introduced a few years back. But I always bought some because they are very nice and big sellers at the market. But they are something like 10 seeds for almost 4 or 5 dollars. And I did get shortchanged by ONE seed. I did call! Hey, when you are paying that much for 10 seeds and you get 9, you want that tenth seed, lol. Can't remember who I bought them from that year.... Dee

We lived in the SF Bay Area when I was growing up. (Gorgeous Garter Snakes there! A colorful kind too which are only in SF, they're endangered! We used to see them all the time when I was little, they're so pretty!) Anyway, my mom was tending her artichokes, and later that night, A HUGE black scorpion fell out of her hair!!!! We freaked, she was hysterical, my dad smooshed it, and it didn't sting anyone thank goodness! In the Santa Cruz Mountains where we had a cabin there were these awful, huge, gross, yellow spotted banana slugs that would hang out in the garden, I think they stung too. They are UC Santa Cruz's Mascot. Stepping on a snail barefoot. There are tons of them in the Bay Area, along with Black Widows. The Black Widows get huge too! They are so scary looking, all shiny & black with the red violin on their back! We did have Praying Mantis' though, they were so cool looking, and were great to keep on the Rose Bushes to eat all the aphids. I moved to Washington two years ago, and I have never had such a Garden Enemy as the slugs we have here. They are horrible! It is amazing how much defoliation can occur in one night from these things! They are all different colors, black, brown, spotted, they are hairy, and some look like they have armour on. I hate them! During the growing season I do, "Slug Patrol," every night. I fill a large baggie almost every night with them. It's fun to pour salt in the baggie and watch them melt. They are disgusting!!!!!! I hate them! Here is a link that might be useful: San Francisco Garter Snake

Yes, I’ve ordered from them 5 yrs. The lovely Daylilies are always true to what you selected, and the clumps are large and healthy. Not one of them has failed to thrive. Actually the neighbors and dog walkers always stop at my house to admire the 30 some lilies that reliably bloom every summer. They’re so healthy, I have to give away babies. I also purchased Veronica, and I have to cut it back to get sun to shorter plants. I don’t know about customer service, because I have never needed to contact them. Perhaps the negative reviews are due to operater error.