Gardening Express Reviews

Name: Gardening Express
Address: Gardening Express, Chelmsford, Essex
Rating: 1.16

1.2 Rating 1,799 Reviews

3 %

of reviewers recommend Gardening Express

Company Reviews

Questions

Metrics

1.2

Based on 1,799 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Courier
Average Delivery Time	Over A Month
On-time Delivery	Greater than 16%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 30%
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 2nd September 2025

Varese

Gardening Express 1 star review on 24th July 2025

Anonymous

Gardening Express 1 star review on 27th June 2025

Anonymous

635

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

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

“SCAM SCAM SCAM! Shame on you Gardening Express Bought two climbing plants. Order no. 600635988. One week later received automated e-mail saying no stock and to wait indefinitely. Desperate for refund but no contact details on website. Raised ticket. Got standard automated reply with lame excuses, shamelessly blaming everything on covid19, and just blatantly refusing to refund. Feel like being conned, scammed and bullied by big corporation hiding behind company policy. I have a feeling this company put all their resources on online selling and writing fake review all day but put very little effort to actually delivering the plants. Do not use this company. It is giving a bad reputation to other honest online garden centre website. I have ordered plants from other website during covid19 which arrived within a week.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“This is what I received when ordering a hebe. Totally unsatisfactory. Do not order from this company.”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 5th August 2020

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Gardening Express sent me the wrong plant which was genetically mutated and not what I ordered. The plant arrived with 2 out of 3 branches broken and within 2 days the leaves therefore dried out. When I asked for an exchange sending images to them, they declared they wouldn't be able to see any damage and congratulated me to the plant. They refuse to offer an exchange for the plant, and refuse to pay the money back, this after I waited 2,5 months (!!) for the plant to arrive from date of order. Gardening Express are serious tricksters which the correspondence proves. Don't ever buy from them - they send dodgy damaged plants out that they can't sell to Garden Centres hoping that they get away with it online when no one can check the quality of the plants before they charge you. Reading the other reviews with so many other people making exactly the same or similar experience, I'd say they trick people consciously on a large scale.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Received my order late May. One of the trees arrived with the top of the main stem broken off. Twice contacted the company who escalated my complaint to 'tier 2', but I am still awaiting a reply. Dreadful customer service. I will not use this company again and suggest everyone steer clear.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Abuse of Covid situation This company has totally used the Covid situation to profit, buying up dying plants from nurseries impacted by Covid and selling them on, almost dead, with 3 months to deliver, and not giving refunds, refusing to communicate, switching off all comms and hiding, still taking money on orders they cannot deliver, thousands of complaints, still operating, trading standards and watchdog contacted by masses of people, still trading today and taking money immediately, no refunds, no delivery, also faking five star reviews. All you get is an auto 'because of Covid...' response. The gov has set up a site where you can report companies like this for exploiting Covid, Search coronavirus-business-complaint.service - this will take you to the gov website where you can send details and evidence if enough people report this scam of a company it may be closed, it's what it deserves. I hope they can sleep at night (with all that stolen money)”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Absolutely atrocious company to deal with. Ordered a Japanese Acer in early May and received no communication until I contacted them several times both by Email and Ticket. After several attempts at blaming Covid, suggesting I’d ‘missed it’ in a multi delivery parcel ( I only ordered the Acer), they then changed tack and blamed Hermes for losing the parcel!! 3 weeks on they have still not come back to me in spite of several attempts in my part to extract a response.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“They gave the courier an incomplete address which led to my order being delivered to someone else. When I contacted them I received no response for weeks, so I filed a chargeback and to my surprised they fought against it. They only make any contact in the event of chargeback, it seems they have a team specifically for this due to so many angry customers. Gardening Express, why not invest your money in actually fulfilling your orders instead of a chargeback team?”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Adverts extremely mid leading, twigs sent not blooms? Terrible service”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 4th August 2020

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Worst company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. waited a month for delivery they are using covid as excuse for non or late delivery. Plants arrived diseased covered in black spots with tiny flies crawling all over them, as per their previous response to emails "ticket raised" that's all you get from them no concern of the awful condition or any suggestion of refund or replacement. As at today I have still received no contact fromgardening express so my action is now :- Contact your bank or credit card company and get a chargeback done fill out form send pics and get your money back this is the only way to stop this sort of company from trading in this way. I have posted this on other website so ope it helps other people in my situation.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Plants arrived very late, one clearly dead, 3 in pots smaller than advertised and customer service totally disinterested. Avoid!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I THINK WE HAVE ESTABLISHED BEYOND DOUBT THE TYPE OF BUSINESS THIS IS. HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS BY ASKING YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY TO REFUND YOUR MONIES BACK FOR EITHER YOUR PLANTS NOT ARRIVING OR BEING DEAD ON ARRIVAL. THEY WILL. ITS QUITE EASY TO DO ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE AN ONLINE ACCOUNT WITH YOUR C/C COMPANY. DONT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“They send you dead plants. Do not bother.”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 1st August 2020

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Ordered 10 dahlia tubers and a honeysuckle. Honeysuckle arrived half dead and I raised a ticket with them. I did receive a response asking for photos which were included with the ticket. No response since. Dahlias have grown but not one has produced any flowers. Delivery was delayed but I can accept that under the circumstances that we are all going through. Would i use them again - absolutely NOT.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Still waiting for balance of plants ordered on the 2nd May. Its now 30th July. Been told on way numerous times but never arrive. Hopeless. Worst nursery I have ever dealt with. Original plants del of poor quality. 9cm plants just stuck into 9 inch pots of compost and unrooted into new pot. Two Lupins have now died. Rubbish and did not conform to 'of merchandisable quality'. Do not use.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“AVOID THIS (NON) COMPANY - COWBOYS!!! BEWARE On the 19th April I ordered: Acer palmatum dissectum Firecracker - Japanese Maple: (2ft) Nandina domestica Obsessed - Heavenly Bamboo Obession: (1ft) Imperata cylindrica Red Baron - THREE Japanese Blood Grasses: (40cm) The plants arrived on the 20th June - Half Dead. I requested a refund and I have not heard anything back. They asking me to send photos. Which I did. They said they didn't receive them. They are stalling. The plants are still dying despite me placing them in very good compost and looking after them. The Acers arrived few branches and leaves that were shrivelled. The grasses were dry and brown. The bamboo was tiny and emancipated. Nothing like the photos they have on their website. I am still awaiting a reply to my last email on the 10th July. I don't expect to get a refund even though I waited (in good faith) for two months for the plants to arrive. I should have saved my money and waited for my local garden centre to open. The plants I have from them are in good health. Please save your money and don't fall foul of their useless whining about Covid impacting their delivery times. I don't know any other business who took two months to deliver anything during lockdown. Delivery (of anything) was the fastest growing business during lockdown. I ordered from them because they were a recommended garden business in The Independent. Shame on you for not investigating who you are recommending.”

Gardening Express 1 star review on 29th July 2020

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“You sent dead plants, very poor service& blaming COVID you are a disgrace”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Please do not order from this company, they took my money knowing only too well my plants would be delivered in such a poor state. Had the cheek to email a few days before delivery to say my plants were being hand sorted and with me soon. When my plants arrived they had quite clearly been in the boxes for weeks. Despite numerous emails, no reply or refund”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Appalling bunch of cowboys. Still owe us for a dead clematis that arrived 6 weeks ago, nine weeks after ordering. They blame everything on COVID.... so how does every other online company manage? They are like Banksy.... impossible to contact. E-tickets? Might as well write to the Martians. See their Trust Pilot reviews too where they are ranked 193 out of 194 garden centres. They’ve been reported to Watchdog, the Press, Rip off Britain, various GOV sites and Trading Standards. Christopher Bonnett their MD is too busy enjoying his £1.2 million house ‘Piece Cottage’ to bother about his customers. Their come-uppance is due very soon!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“The service from them is terrible, the delivery is very poor. The items turn up in such bad condition they are not worth planting in the ground. If you reject the item when delivered the carrier just places the item on someone else’s doorstep. Best thing is to get your money back through your bank and never deal with them again. Very bad experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Awful and never again. I wish I had read the reviews before I was tempted to order from this company. All I ever get our emails blaming Covid and the quantity of orders for the delay in delivery. Every other company that I’ve ordered plants from including Amazon eBay deliver within a week. Gardening express Just sends continual emails telling me it’s going to be three or four weeks Awful and never again”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Gardening Express is rated 1.2 based on 1,799 reviews