Ordering from Sarah Raven- just unlucky?

[ZeroPlastic]

I've had such trouble buying things from Sarah Raven- it always seems the luck of the draw whether the thing will actually turn up or be cancelled. Most recent order I took great care only to buy things listed as in stock. Half my order wasn't dispatched for over a week. The other half has still not been sent weeks after I placed the order.

Thinking of giving up completely which is a shame as I love Sarah herself and the ideas on the website. Have I been unlucky or are they like this with everyone?

I love the catalogue and frequently magpie ideas from it but I will never order from it again. Things took months and months to arrive, randomly arrived not as the combination I had ordered, combinations that I’d ordered together didn’t bloom at the same time and any contact with customer services was basically “yeah, the plants will arrive when they arrive”
I was still putting things in pots in July that’s I had I ordered in April and they were tiny plugs!
Do a search on her name and you’ll see the same things over and over again

I find Sarah Raven horribly over priced. You can usually search for the same products and find them on other websites for much less (and that's including factoring in delivery costs, etc). I tend to only use Sarah Raven for inspiration.

Her reviews are very mixed. The only problem l had was l was sent wrong Dahlias but l didn't realise until months later when they flowered.
I agree you can buy same items much cheaper on other online sites. I buy nearly all my plants from either J R Parkers or Crocus, both very good.

There was a thread last year that featured her website. Alas , I can't find it, but the general feeling was that orders weren't being met.

Maybe she's had a change around? I don't know.

As a PS, I've noticed that Monty has shown a collection of seed s that included Sarah Raven's.

Wonder if that was a bit of product placement but he regularly uses Thompson and Morgan.

Not unlucky, that's Sarah Raven for you!

Beautiful website, beautiful ideas, beautiful pictures- sadly terribly overpriced and poor service. Products (both homeware and plants) also much poorer quality than advertised - I don't seem to be alone with that experience either.

FlyWildAndFree I received a fuchsia from Crocus last week which was dry as a bone and potbound :-( Am waiting to hear back from them. They've been good up until now.

I've ordered from Sarah Raven a few times and always been disappointed. The plants take forever to arrive, well beyond the expected date given and I've found the plants to be poor quality. I won't order again.

I have a fondness for Sarah Raven after they accidentally sent me the wrong tulip bulbs last year, apologised by sending twice as many of the right ones and told me to keep the first lot.

My garden is currently very, very full of tulips.

I'm reminded of a series of programmes where she was 'called in' to revitalise the National Trust's cafes.

I'm not too sure but I think her husband was something to do with Sissinghurst. He had family connections.
Anyway, she wanted the Trust to grow its own produce.

Trouble was, the staff weren't on board with her ideas and many of them weren't workable.
I gather that there was a parting of ways not long after.

It sounds to me that she harks to a way of life that she wants to recreate. I could well be wrong but that's the impression I got.

She's trying hard , but...

Interesting because I had to chase them down via Instagram recently for a seed order that took over two weeks to arrive. I was not one bit impressed with the service. However said seeds have sprouted so I'm letting them off this time. But I'm unlikely to order from her again given the delay.

@GlassBunion Sarah is married to Adam Nicolson who's one of the grandchildren of Vita Sackville West and Harold Nicolson who bought Sissinghurst as a ruin and renovated and planted it. I believe they lived there for a few years a good while back, but now they live at Perch Hill, which is where the business operates from. I went there once and wasn't impressed, although it was a long time ago.

I do like her website for inspiration though.

I had a Sarah Raven order arrive today which I think I placed on 1st April. The order confirmation said to allow 3 working days for dispatch, and then we had the Easter weekend, and then still nothing arrived. I got in touch with customer services last Friday and lo and behold, it arrived first thing this morning.

So far the quality looks good, fingers crossed it’ll flower. It’s a ‘chic et chocolat’ honeysuckle - agree with PPs that Sarah Raven seems pricey (the honeysuckle was expensive, I’ve never spent that much on a plant!), but it was a present to myself and I couldn’t see it elsewhere online.

I wouldn't touch Parkers with a barge pole.

Lots that didn't grow from bare root, bulbs mouldy, plugs damaged etc

There was a thread on here last year from lots of people really disappointed with sarah Raven stuff. Everyone I know has had bad experiences too.

I've heard good things about Farmer Gracy

That's interesting - I've always found J Parkers very good (although I haven't ordered for over 12 months, so I can't comment on very recent times...)

It's not that unusual for plant orders to take ages to arrive from most plant suppliers.

I have always had good results from SR stuff, seeds and plants, and good customer service when things went wrong. I like to use a variety of suppliers, including crocus, Farmer Gracy and Hayloft, all good.

We chose bulbs from Sarah Raven. When they flowered they were completely different plants from the ones we’d ordered, and an awful colour.

I've never been disappointed with an order from J Parker's.
If you order seedlings or saplings, they might be delayed.

Her catalogue is so tempting, but I’ve had several disappointing items from there that I’ve stopped trying. Find a great local nursery or garden centre and buy what looks good from them.

Farmer Gracy I've had ups and downs: dahlia tubers that didn't grow for a start.

I ordered a lot from Sarah raven back in 2020 and it all arrived that spring and got planted out during lockdown 1. And most of the perennials are still going and huge.

That was 3 years ago though.

If you grow from seed I like Chiltern Seeds

I've ordered from Hayloft and been delighted.

If only the service were as good as the glossy brochures. Have ordered three times previously, each time was dreadful. Items not turning up, bad communication, poor product. I haven’t ordered in the last 12 months and will never use them again, I asked them to take me off their mailing list so I don’t get brochures anymore. How they are still trading I don’t know.

Sadly I agree - I've found her stuff less and less good. It used to be expensive, but a bit special and in good condition. Over the last few years I've been really underwhelmed, and know lots of other people who say the same.

I'm curious about Farmer Gracy too. Would love to know how others get on.

I agree - Sarah Raven quality used to be much higher. I still get some tulip bulbs from her, but nothing else.