Gardening Express Reviews

Name: Gardening Express
Address: Gardening Express, Chelmsford, Essex
Rating: 1.17

1.2 Rating 1,715 Reviews

3 %

of reviewers recommend Gardening Express

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

1.2

Based on 1,715 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Average Delivery Time	Over A Month
On-time Delivery	Greater than 16%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 31%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Live Chat, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult
Returns Process	Could Be Better

Phone:

08448 044 253

Location:

Gardening Express, Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 4UA

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Gardening Express 1 star review on 6th April 2025

Anonymous

Gardening Express 1 star review on 6th March 2025

Anonymous

Gardening Express 1 star review on 28th October 2024

Mark Ramsden

Gardening Express 1 star review on 2nd September 2024

Olga

627

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 1 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Disgusting company AVOID AT ALL COST‼️ What an absolute joke of a company my primulas arrived today and half of them were snapped off dead and had been de headed also bugs on them. No phone number to contact them only a robotic chat after a long lengthy time of actually speaking to a human Cassie and Tia I got told to send pictures which I did and then got a reply that my flowers were healthy and I wouldn’t be getting a full refund and if I wanted a full refund was to send the plants back in a box! I am literally fuming and I wouldn’t recommend buying anything from you again! Stay well clear from this rip off garden company. No refund nothing!”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 5th April 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

“Terrible quality plants, poor customer service. Beware these cowboys will rip you off. Claiming bare root roses are in dormancy for 6 weeks but also saying that you can’t make a complaint at the end of this time when there’s still no growth at all in spring, an absolute scam. Despite trying to be reasonable and providing photographic evidence. Don’t trust them.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“Hi, I’m very disappointed with the order. Most of the plants I’ve ordered said they were ‘flowered plants’. What arrived we’re just a bunch of dried sticks, which may not even flower this year. Talked to customer and they were of the opinion that flowered means ‘flowering plant’ that has the potential to flower - and that the misinterpretation was on my end. However that’s not true and we all know that a flowered plant is a verb and means it has flowered. So in any case, both the misleading titles and the defensiveness of customer care left me very disappointed with this online order, won’t recommend and won’t plan to do it again. That was a lot of money to spend on some dry sticks. Thank you Mari”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 4th April 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

“Absolutely disgusted with this company. Worst company I have ever came across for quality and customer service. Totally ripped off. I bought 5 hydrangea glam rock plants that cost £94. Arrived all bashed in and split right down pots and just brown twigs in each one. Appalled at this company. Impossible to send back 5 pots all bashed in and ripped and broken and to have to pay YOURSELF. DO NOT give this company your money AVOID Please.”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 1st April 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

“I wish I could give 0 stars, completely disgusted with my order, I ordered 2 pairs of rose trees, only received 1 pair, went backwards and forwards for 3 weeks trying to resolve the issue, I was originally told that the second delivery would follow, it never came and I’m left out of pocket with no rose trees at all because the 2 that did come have died. Please think twice about making an order !”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Recent reviews reflect a poor performance; this is no surprise to me. My review is in line with those. I purchased 3 magnolia trees from Gardening Express on 9 June 2021. Although the trees were entirely bare of growth, I was assured that the trees would flourish in due course. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN. I contacted the company recently (some 8 months after purchase) through an on-line agent. After a series of exchanged messages and some photographs from me, the company agreed the magnolias were dead. My only option, to quote the company, was to return the trees by post at my expense (under the 5-year guarantee). The company would then replace them. This was unacceptable to me; I had clearly been sold an inferior product and was seeking a full refund. I did not wish to receive more trees from this company and had no intention of increasing my costs. I exchanged several emails with the company but its ‘cut and pasted’ responses ignored my comments and failed to response satisfactorily to any of my requests. If anyone is thinking of using this company, I would warn against doing so. I have learned that if any customer identifies a problem outside the 14-day period that the only recourse is to return the plants, at one’s own expense for replacement plants. Bottom line, if this company sends you a product that is dead, it will cost you money to return the item! That is a very poor business model and one I would avoid at all costs. DO NOT USE GARDENING EXPRESS.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Beware — avoid at all costs. Bought an expensive tree (especially considering the market price of them) being persuaded by the online pictures. Received a stump with two short dead sticks grafted onto the top of it. Tried to complain to customer service (online chat only available), sent photographs but they did not want to know. They did not care about the quality of the tree, only whether it was alive or not, claiming it was deciduous and that was that (despite no signs of life at the end of March). These people do not care; they are shameless.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“The pictures on the web sight very misleading,they are fully grown plants. The one you receive are very small, not worth the money, no phone number and you have to pay for returns, anywhere is better to shop for plants shrubs Not gardening express.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“I thought I had checked the reviews on this company before spending £180, the 4 Bay trees I bought were half dead and misshapen, despite sending pictures they expected me to pick up the cost of return ( they were quite large so expensive to return) . I’m gutted as their response was appalling and ruined my weekend. I DO NOT recommend this company”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“I purchased 2 trees from this company, they were apparently delivered when I was not home. However, when I arrived home there was no parcel. Gardening Express have taken no responsibility and will not issue a refund or replacement. They have the contract with the courier yet they are holding me responsible for the delivery driver leaving a larger parcel outside the front door. So I have now lost my money and have no trees. Disgusting customer service.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Awful company. Placed an order and tried to cancel within 2 hours of placing the order. Their website clearly states that if your order is still at the processing stage AND it's within 24 hours you can cancel from the my account area and get a refund. Both these conditions were true in my case but the cancel order link did not function at all. I mean, it was a physical link but when clicking it - nothing happened. No email address, no contact form and the only way to speak to someone is through their chat function, which I couldn't use until 36 hours after the order was placed. Even though the order has not been dispatched they say they cannot cancel the order as my account area is password protected. I have never heard such a terrible excuse - I mean, which company does not have access to their own systems? Laughable. Avoid, customer service is awful.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“Rubbish product, non existent customer service.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“I wish I had Checked them out before buying as my experience with Gardening Express is so similar to the other reviews here. I have been advised that the plants look healthy by them which is far from true. Would not buy again from this firm. Do not recommend. Avoid”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 14th March 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

“Bought three indoor plants in December 2021. All 3 plants were sent in same box. The two ferms dod not look too clever, but thought i would give the plants time. Notified company within 3 weeks plants were dying (with Christmas and new year in-between). Sent in photos of the dried up leaves plant they told me plants looks healthy and it was after the 14 days. But on Ebay there is a 30 day return window. I believe the plants were infected and they just don't care.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“No way to contact them 08448044253 is 'unobtainable' about the issues of a delivery, no email, no chat available, NO GOOD AVOID AVOID AVOID I will try to upload my pics an evergreen with no foliage at all. A magnolia, main stem broken 3 hellebores ... yellow they have been out of the light for so long 2amyrillis... never seen them this tiny 3 paoeny ... dried and shrivelled up WHY DO GOOGLE list them??”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Last year in autumn I purchased a clematis from Gardening Express, and was very disappointed in the condition it came in, as it should've been healthy in the month I received it, yet all the leaves were dead and falling off, and I was just left with grey dead looking woody stems. I reported the problem straight away, and upon request of the GE chat agent, I cut a couple of the stems to see if there was any healthy looking sap in the stems. There wasn't. I sent photos of proof, but was told to wait until this year (March 2022) to see if it would come to life. The plant still has no signs of life, so I approached Gardening Express through chat again, and was just told to send it back...Not happy about that, having already spent £17 for a dead plant...Ridiculous that their policy insists that the customer has to pay return postage costs, even for a plant reported dead on arrival. I will AVOID in future...”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 9th March 2022

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Horrendous just received 2 dead conifer boarder trees no customer service can’t get through on portal”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 7th March 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

“Dreadful after sales experience following one poor Yucca Purpurea plant which had some bent leaves which they wouldn't do anything about it. I also ordered at the same time (Oct 2021) 2 Yucca Adams Needles which on arrival had some lower leaves cut off. Apparently they don't like alot of rain although they are outdoor hardy plants so I put them under my gazebo for some shelter. Recently I noticed one had rotted off so I used their chatline and I received a patronising email which ended with Goodbye. I was not impressed after sending photographs they were most unhelpful, I have now binned the Yucca plant. I have spent around £150 over the past 6 months and I will not be buying anymore. Their customer service is outrageous, do not buy from this company as once they have your money they leave you standing.”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 6th March 2022

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Posted 3 years ago

“Paid around £170 for 3 out of 8 plants, the fact I’d been chasing for a month wasn’t their fault. If the delivery doesn’t happen as they have to do 1000s of orders. Given a refund as they don’t have the plants. Did not care and would never of checked or dealt with it. Also takes 30 minutes of waiting on the phone to be dealt with.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“Bought a cycad advertised as 'HUGE… Bought a cycad advertised as 'HUGE GIANT Cycad'- EXTRA LARGE 80cm-100cm. barely reached 80cm in height including pot and will be considerably smaller when the leaves drop lower, as the they were held upright in the packaging. Unhelpful and uninterested customer service. Scam overselling of products, definitely won't use again”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Gardening Express is rated 1.2 based on 1,715 reviews