DirectGardening

September 9th, 2021
DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM THIS SITE as it is owned by KELLY NURSERIES DBA DIRECT GARDENING. Please feel free to READ THE REVIEWS AT https://www.yelp.com/biz/direct-gardening-bloomington-3. CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM! I just hung up with "Customer Service Manager" at Kelly Nurseries, whom informed me that I have to send my bank statement showing proof of purchase. After they've already lost my Original packaging, invoice, bank statement proof and their invoice to them for the purpose of replacement or refund on September 21,2020. Not only were they dead, the one that survived isn't even fantasy Monarda.
I have over 30 emails spanning a years time that shows you'll be told the same thing over and over until you give up! IM NOT GIVING UP! If you've had a bad experience with either company let's talk.
I'll be looking for the writers of a ton of these reviews for litigation purposes.
PLEASE PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CONSUMER THEFT!
Tip for consumers:
Don't buy Kelly Nurseries or Direct Gardening!
This review would have 0 stars but it's required they get one to post.

Scam, This company never sends purchased products. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM. The sight should be closed IMHO.

I ordered 2 Arizona red shade Gaillrda, 2 mixed Russell Lupines and 3 Tutti frutti lupines mixed last June 2016 it arrived so small then planted it as instructed. Sept I can even see the plant anymore it's all dead so I called Direct garden, talked to a certain Sandra who told me I should call back which I did. Talked to a certain Brandon same tel no. *******943 and he said it will be reshipped to me, been waiting no reshipment received. Winter comes so I thought I should call again next spring. I was able to call June 21,2017 talk to a certain Angie to ask what happen to my reshipment for plant replacement and told me I should call after 1 week, then today I just talked to Chase and she told me they could not do reshipment if I did not send the original shipping label, as I did sent them only a copy. I was able to talk previously to 3 different person on one told me to send the original copy. As I remember I did ordered also to them before I did this order and some plant are dead some are alive I did ask for replacement and I did not get it as I throw the shipping label, they said I should send them a copy of the shipping label, I understand that was my fault, now that I sent them a copy they are telling me to send the original label after talking to 3 person. You jack me around. That's okay, I will never order from you again in my entire life. No good business. You are fooling your customer.

I can't give 0 or negative stars, so 1 will have to do.
After ordering hedges for years from these dweebs, I decided to get some trees and other plants. The hedges were apparently vendor-proof and are still growing.
I ordered some trees and plants in november - they randomly substituted douglas firs for canadian hemlocks. The other plants all simply died. I sent the label back and tried again.

Order #2 plants are still missing, and after talking to them and being assured they so would show, I tried again - another random substitution I don't even know what these trees are,
They will be replaced, I was told. I'm still waiting. I contacted DG and they told me they were delivered 6 weeks ago, and my neighbors probably have them (the dead plants in a a bag?).
They don't - surprise. DG blamed me for net receiving the plants.

So order #3 is on me, but the 1st two, yikes people - what piss-poor service, and worse followup customer service.

My advice if considering DG is to find the tree you want somewhere else, get seeds from it, and plant your own - you'll have a full grown tree sooner than ordering a mature tree at DG.

Update - I called to complain that they still owed me a number of live plants, and even sent another label back(from the now dead replacement plants) to prove I had ordered them. They agreed to ship this summer 2015. However, surprisingly, I recently received an email stating that since it is too late to ship plants to my area, they will be shipped in spring 2016.
I am holding my breath in anticipation! Actually, I don't expect to ever see these plants, but I will continue to disparage this incompetent company and hassle them every chance I get for my missing and dead trees.

Do not buy ANYTHING FROM DIRRCT GARDENIG... THEY SELL GARBAGE THAT TAKES WEEKS TO RECEIVE N GOT DEAD DRIED UP PLANTS IN A RED PLASTIC BAG NOT PROTECTED.
THE MANAGER ANGIE TEFUSES TO LET YOU SPEAK TO THE OWNER OR MANAGER ON THE PHONE.
IT TOOK 3 DAYS FOR THE PHONE TO STOP BEINH BUSY.
I HAVE TO PAY FOR RDTURN SHIPPING WHEN THEY SENT ME DEAD PLANTS! SMDH... I AM GOING TO FILE COMPLAINTS WITH EVDRY FEDERAL N CONSUMER AGENCY ON THEM WHEN THEY STATE KN THE WEBSITE THAT THEY WILL EMAIL YOU A SHIPPING LABEL.
DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM. THEIVES!

I placed an order with this company on 4/29/2020 & have complete documentation of transaction.
They have never delivered my shipment & have done nothing other than lie about it from start to finish ever since.
I have contacted these individuals multiple times in regard to my shipment only to receive emails claiming a variety of scenarios. None of which being my shipment is in route with a confirmation number. Or that they are refunding my money since they can not deliver shipment as promised.
In fact. When I told them I either want my shipment or a refund they had the audacity to tell me that I should drive to Bloomington and pick up the shipment myself because they offer "curbside pick up" that being the "quickest option". & they would "refund the $9.99 standard shipping fee" I was charged. However I should call ahead if I wanted to do that. Which would be quite a feat on my part given the fact that we are talking about an internet catalog business. And the telephone number listed by them is never responded to or busy each time you attempt to call it.
I told them that is ridiculous and I either want my shipment or a refund and was not interested in driving anyplace. Were I interested in driving anyplace I never would have ordered online in the first place.
Do NOT order from these people under any circumstances.
They will NEVER DELIVER.
The same woman who is listed as the owner of this business is also associated with several other businesses none of which apparently offer any type of behavior which can be even remotely construed as customer service.
In fact this business traces back as "House of Wesley Inc." out of Bloomington Illinois via the B. B. B.
Please feel free to look them up for yourself to verify.
I repeat do NOT ORDER FROM DIRECT GARDENING or any other franchises associated with them or their owner.
Save yourself the time and trouble and take your business someplace else.

You people should be embarrassed and ashamed of what you are doing as a business! I am a trained arborist and not an uneducated and gullible customer. I ordered five bare root lombardy poplar trees from your company. Usually nurseries and business that sell trees, shrubs, and other plants are very honest, caring, good people. They care about the plants and their customers. After I had ordered and paid for my trees, I did check the online reviews of your business. Too late did I find that what you did to me, you had numerous extremely negative reviews from other customers. I was hoping against hope that they weren't true and that my order would be different. Not true. The trees were delivered to my local post office this morning and I immediately noticed that the trees were not shipped in a protective box, just in a plastic bag with holes punched in it. The roots were not packed with soil around them or in a separate bag. The buds were brittle and dried out. The bark and inside of the stem were totally dead and dried out. The roots were almost none existant and what few threads were also brittle and totally dead. The base of the twigs where the roots started were cracked and split. Please don't insult my intelligence and tell me that is because they are dormant and will come out of it if I soak them in water and plant them and give them a year. These trees are DEAD and will never come out of it! I don't want replacements, I want a full refund to my credit card immediately. I have shipped these dead trees right back to you straight from the post office. I have photos of everything for proof and my postmaster will back me up. I am also reporting you to the Better Business Bureau and any other legal avenues to make sure you don't do this to anyone else. You probably should look at the customer reviews online because you shouldn't be in business.
Denise Roberts

Direct Gardening is the absolute worst online company I have done business with. My order took almost two months to receive, the plants were dead when I got them and the company has no toll-free number and the provided phone number is always busy. After making multiple attempts (6-10) daily for two weeks I was finally able to speak with someone who advised me of their outlandish return policy. Here is the sequence of events pertaining to my order:
4/30/20: Ordered online, 25 bare-root vinca minor plants. I was to also receive three free "bonus" gladiolas.
6/9/20: Five and a half weeks and order not received. Spoke with "Patrick" in Customer Service. He stated that ordered was being processed and that I would receive an email to advise me when they had been shipped.
6/26-29/20: Arrived home from being out of town for the weekend to find a package containing the vinca plants in my mailbox. The gladiolas were missing. Never received a message alerting me to the shipment. If I had, I could have asked a neighbor to retrieve them and keep in a cool place. Since that did not happen, the plants stayed in my mailbox for at least three days in 90 degree heat.
6/29/20: made multiple attempts to contact customer service about the condition of the plants I received and ask why I received no communication about shipping. Their line was constantly busy. As the enclosed directions stated, I proceeded with planting anyway, in the hope (or as their instructions indicated) the plants were only dormant.
7/16/20: After over two weeks of following instructions for watering and other nurturing, these plants are obviously dead. They are brown and so brittle that the rain and wind have broken them off and blown any remains away. I was able (after weeks of getting a busy signal) to finally reach "Paige" in Customer Service to request a refund. She advised that their company policy is that I send to them, a copy of my bank statement showing purchase (even though they know they had been paid for the order via credit card), the original shipping label (who keeps those for months?), a lettering requesting refund AND the dead plants, all of this at MY expense. It is all too obvious that this policy was created to discourage customers from requesting refunds. At this point I have little hope of receiving any refund and not sure that I want to spend time and effort to dig up 25 plants in 90+ degree heat and waste money on shipping. Lessons learned: (1) do not do business with Direct Gardening again (2) heed other online reviews before doing business with online merchants (3) make every effort to help others from have the same experience with Direct Gardening

I have to take part of the blame for getting ripped off. Rarely do I ever do business without reading online reviews first. I screwed up this time and am now out forty dollars.
I placed an order for three trees and two vines expecting that the order would be shipped in the fall when the weather was cooler and the plants start to go dormant. When I recieved an email informing me that my order was being shipped at the end of August using fedex surepost, I knew something was not right. Now, two weeks later my dead sticks were stuffed in my metal mailbox on another 90 degree day. The dead tree sticks are dried out, brittle, and have no roots whatsoever. It looks like somebody broke them off a month or two ago instead of digging them.
The dried out wisteria vine had one small piece of root attached, but it fell when I removed it from the bag. A potted silverlace vine looked like it was alive when it was placed in the bag, but it is now crushed and slimy from being sealed in a bag for two weeks and being subjected to the usual delicate handling of the post office.
I called direct gardening and asked the woman on the phone how they shipped their product, and she told me twice that they shipped fedex express. When I told her that I was already unfortnately a customer and that I knew that they shipped surepost, she then changed her story. " did I say fed ex express? I meant surepost." I told her that I didn't deal with rinky dink companies that use surepost, she hung up on me.
The six free gladiolus that were supposed to be included were replaced with a packet of garden huckleberry seeds. The package says to boil them before you eat them and cover them in sugar and they may still be bitter. Why would anyone want something like that?
I will do as the instructions state by soaking, planting, and waiting and this spring when my dead sticks are not resurrected by some miracle, I will contact these crooks and have them send me some more dead sticks.
I sincerely wish that I had read the reviews before throwing my money away.

Don't order from this company! If you are considering it - this is your warning. I ordered 6 yellow roses and some mosquito plants = $70.00
#1 - never knew when order was going to ship (to FL), I sent two emails asking... they DID NOT send me an email with tracking numbers. It finally showed up almost 2 months after placing the original order
#2 - plants were already half brown and looked like they were dying; I immediately sent them an email letting them know to contact me and the reason I was unhappy AND emailed photos of the plants to them
#3 - I asked for a refund but they stated their 14 day return policy ( but is that from initial order date or date received (I still have NO answer on that) if it was the latter - I was within the 14 day period to be able to get my money back.
#4 - I was told I had to have my original receipt and they could and would not look it up for me even though I had the order number from when I made the original purchase
#5 - They made me request IN WRITING via U.S. Mail with a copy of my bank debit (proving transaction of payment) - OH and they argued this with me via email that that was NOT enough proof.
#6 - I have received a letter back from them ( this included all of what I sent them via mail - my original envelop, letter and such) stating that they would not give me my money back and asked what plants I wanted in return ( MIND YOU THEY DO NOT HAVE THE ROSES OR MOSQUITO PLANTS I ORDERED LISTED ANYMORE)... they are also asking that I send ALL correspondence back with my reply via U.S. Mail... do you really think I am going to pay $2 to send all this paper back and forth when I placed an order ONLINE (not by U.S. Mail) in 2018? My gosh, can someone not pick up a telephone or send an email and handle this already. This has been going on since March 2018! I think it's time to step up customer service. This company wouldn't be in business without CUSTOMERS... but again, I suggest you NOT become one!