I met Chris Hansen, VP of Great Garden Plants, Inc., a few weeks ago at a symposium titled Passion and Pursuit, The Search for the Ideal Perennial!. Yeah, it was a garden-geek convention (I include myself in that group) presented by the Perennial Plant Association and The Indianapolis Museum of Art. It couldn’t have come at a better time as I was up to my neck in snow and growing tired of winter in general. Of all the excellent speakers that day, one guy really stood out from the crowd– Chris Hansen. I was blown over by his energy and enthusiasm for horticulture and the nursery business. Chris mentioned that he and Mary Walters started Great Garden Plants, Inc. in 2006. “A new company” I passively said to myself, “probably not offering very much yet.” Well, by the end of his dynamic presentation, I had made a note to myself, “must check out greatgardenplants.com.”
Don’t let the razzle-dazzle fool you, there is a wealth of information on this site.
And so, I did. And it wasn’t what I was expecting. What was I expecting? It certainly wasn’t the animated-neon-Times-Square-esque site that was flashing before my eyes! I had to chuckle. I even asked myself, “Did I go to the wrong site?” And this got me thinking about buying plants online and the reluctance that often accompanies it. Selling plants online is certainly not a new idea, but it’s not the most common way to buy them. Let’s face it, you’re bound to make less mistakes at your local garden center since they will mostly sell plants that thrive in your specific area. But online retailers have a broader audience, so you have to really read the plant descriptions to make sure your selections are appropriate to your particular zone. (See post on Hardiness Zones) My absolute favorite feature on greatgardenplants.com is the “Search by Growing Zone” function (beneath the pink navigation bar). Simply select your hardiness zone from the drop down menu and boom, there they all are.
The green tabs and pink navigation bar are a great place to start exploring this site.
At first glance, it’s a visually exuberant site with numerous navigation choices. I decided to poke around a bit and came up with a strategy for shopping the site. First, I suggest one begin by reading left to right from the top of the page. Follow the green tabs to select a category, click and you’ll find all the groups in that category. Select a group and shop away! The “Collections” tab (top left) has great predesigned combos if you struggle with plant combinations. Be sure to check out the pink band just beneath the green tabs. Click on “New Plants” to see new and exciting things just hitting the market. Also in the pink band, you’ll find some atypical categories like: “Free,” “Plants under $10,” and “Clearance.” But what impresses me most about Great Garden Plants is all the gardening info they share. There are all sorts of gardening topics and tips in the “Garden Info” section. They have an extensive video library which features detailed plant descriptions. There’s even videos explaining how your order is pulled, processed and shipped.
The videos (marked with yellow & black play buttons) are well produced and informative. There are many “how-to” topics in the Garden Info section.
If you know what you’re looking for, use the “Search by Plant” drop down menu beneath the pink banner, or the “Great Plants” list on the left side of the page.
And finally, a section on the site which must really be pointed out is the “About Us” section. You’ll find it towards the bottom of the page on the left side. In this day and age, if a company is not completely transparent about what they stand for and how they do business, well, shop at your own risk. Great Garden Plants spells it all out for you, from plant sizes, shipping, to guarantees and a contact phone number that is actually easy to find. So while the site might seem a bit zany at first, my bet is that you’ll be won over, if for nothing else, the great prices. Everything you need to know is there. I think you’ll find it a high-octane, but charming experience overall.