How terrible! Rudeness is so needless. It is difficult to get "good help", but more difficult to understand how the owner, especially, expects to stay in business when he not only ignores, but alienates a customer like that.

I am sorry they tried to steal your joy in the day, but persevere. I'll admit, most of my plants are ordered mail order, but there are a couple, no three locals that are a fair distance from me for shopping. I love to go there though.

I hope the rest of your plant buying is more pleasant and try to just look at the good and ignore the irritants. Have fun creating your own lovely environment.
kay

The first nursery you visited I'd go back just to keep the friendly employee employed. lol.

The 2nd nursery I would have walked out on the know-it-all witch.

Come to Oklahoma, I shop at three places and don't go to the big box stores simply because it takes too long. People here are so friendly and know what they grow and are SO great at helping me out.

The only time I have problems is when there's a lot of customers in the nurseries and the employees are too busy to answer questions.

Fluffy, you are indeed limited where you are. Actually, much of Georgia is now very limited. Fewer growers, fewer nurseries. My family where you are have complained about this, and I had to purchase plants from here and tote them down there when they were doing more building and I was doing the landscape design.
Then finally we had to simply end up with lists from John Deere about plant availability and I had to design based on the limited list.
I'm sorry for your troubles.

Do you get the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin? It's free, and you should get it. Sometimes there are folks in your area selling great old fashioned and hand-me-down varieties of plants perfect for cottage gardens. There is one woman who is a drive from you in Jefferson. I've not been but a friend has been, and someday I want to go. She has super special plants that are often extremely expensive elsehwere, in smaller sizes for huge discounts. Her name is Selah, and she's got an ad in the link below. There is also someone in Fort Valley with amaryllis.
It is the MOST FUN EVER to toodle out to these folks homes and chit chat about gardening. See their gardenens, get great advice. My first purchase was with Verma in Forest Park and I tell you, that lady is nearly 100 now. Her DH died about 5 years ago. She left out her add for a month, then realized that is her social circle, her garden and the people she brings to buy from it. Little bit of cash in hand too. You won't necessarily find all the plants you need (you might at Selah's) but you will surely find a wealth of experience and the kindess of true gardeners.
The paper edition is free, and is one of the last links left to Georgia's agricultural heritage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farmers and Consumers market bulletin of Georgia.

That's really an unusual experience for both independent nurseries to come across that way in the same day. The ones here are so different from that.

Of course you can put together a great looking garden yourself, especially if you do the research. In fact, your garden will end up being uniquely yours and not a copy of what someone else thinks you should have. Definitely avoid the second place in the future.

I like shopping at Lowe's garden shop. You can get help or just look on your own, the stock is generally fresh, and their clearance rack is hard to beat for prices.

I know how you feel. We have a nursery nearby that I very rarely shop at. For being in a business that requires customer service, they sure don't seem to like people very much. The only time I ever stop in there anymore is if I have looked at all the other local nurseries and haven't found what I want. In the unlikely event that they have it there, I tell myself that I am rescuing the poor plant from such an unpleasant environment.

At another local nursery, the woman seemed to find putting away the new plants that had come in more important than answering my brief question. I wouldn't have minded if she had directed me to someone else with less to do, but she just kept walking back and forth with the plants while answering me. I'm not sure how much of the answer I missed while she was in motion.

Totally Confused

We used to visit a well known nursery that is about a 25 minute drive from our house. I loved going there as they always had such a nice selection and even though I didn't ask a lot of questions, I was normally satisfied with everything.....until one day when I did have some questions and was searching for someone to help me....as an employee approached me I smiled and said"if you're not busy.." and he brushed by me and said "I am" and just kept going. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open.
I was very put out and left shortly after without the help I was looking for. A few weeks later (and I used to visit this place very often) I decided to give them another chance and went back. This time I had more questions....I wanted to add a small water feature to the yard, so I asked at the desk if someone could answer some questions. The girl went to get someone and never came back.....at least not for the next almost fifteen minutes that I stood there. I left and have never been back.

that was a few years ago and I am thinking that I miss this nursery so I just may go and try again. :)

I totally agree with Girlgroupgirl about the market bulletins. When I first started gardening 25 years ago with a 2 acre blank slate, I got my best plants at the best prices from the NICEST people ever through the market bulletins in South Carolina. One lady was the wife of a retired extension agent who grew cut flowers for all the local florist shops, churches, etc. I used to go see her every 3-4 weeks and load up on stuff, come home and plant it all and get it settled in and go back for more. I must say I heard about them through reading Elizabeth's Lawrence's Gardening for Love. I was a total novice and the people who advertise in the market bulletins are experts based on experience, and just about the most generous and interesting gardeners you'll find. And a huge plus is that they have all the time in the world to answer your questions and share their knowledge. Good luck.

I had just the opposite experience the other day. I went to a tree nursery on a hot day and the owner dropped everything and showed me around to answer my questions. I learned so much about trees and their propogation. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience! If you can stand buying smaller specimens, there's always mail order. I can recommend Bluestone Perennials and Graceful Gardens (am I allowed to do that?) as I've bought from them and been very satisfied. Others I've tried have disappointed (wrong plants, sloooow shipping, etc.). Hope that helps!

Megan

I used to frequent a nursery close to my home - they always had great stuff, not the usual, which up here used to be petunias and salvia!! lol. Seriously. Then the father died and the son took over. I must say that the selection blossomed and we were able to pots, arbours, etc., that we used to only be able to buy only online, or in Toronto!! However, the customer service went downhill, and where they used to guarantee everything that they sold, they no longer do, and you find out after the fact. I don't go there anymore!! I am still investigating in my new locale. So far, they have all been friendly and helpful. I was looking for seed potatoes last weekend, and could only find 10 lb. bags. The local food store sold them, and when I asked if they had different sized bags, I was excitedly told they could get 50lb. bags in!!! lol. I said I'm planting a little garden, not a field. The local feed store is now selling truffles, not seed potatoes! I went to another nursery, which has lots of neat stuff, but they didn't have them - but, said the lady, the Country Depot in Almonte has them. I don't know in what size, but they definitely have them. Whining that it seemed a long way to go on spec, she said no, it's 10 minutes down the road. So, off I went, and found a wonderful place!!! Seed potatoes by the lb.!!! Yea!! I still bought too much, as usual. Wish one of you guys were here, I could trade.

I hope you do better, FF. Nancy.

So sorry you had to have such bad experience. One of the things that really makes me ticked off is rude nurseries. Why is it there seems to be so many snobb-ish ones out there? One nursery in town I refuse to go to (not counting the end of season sale, right ;-D) because of the attitude of the two women who run the store and the tree/shrub guy. Last year I overheard two employees at the store complaining about the owner, so I guess it isn't just me who feels this way.

And there was a vendor at a plant sale that was incredibly stuck up. I ended up buying an Epimedium there, but have decided just to order from this great online place (wonderful customer service!) in the future.

Why can't nursery owners and employees show common courtesy to the customers? What is there to be so rude about?! They should be pretty happy working outdoors and with plants all day!
CMK

I think you are right when you say about customer service - many people don't seem to like other people.

I volunteer at a local (huge) animal shelter. I've started just doing the foster program (I foster teeny kittens in my house) so I don't have to spend my time with the other volunteers. Some are okay, but I've found the majority to be anything but kind to people. Mostly I get condescending looks if I ask a question, try to make small talk, etc. My friend has independantly concluded the same thing at this shelter.

The kind of attitude that second woman gave you would have probably caused me to talk back to her. Something I don't like to do, but can be good at. ;-)

I've had pretty good luck with the few nurseries I've tried. Usually the prices are so much higher, I just go to the end of season sales, but when I can't find a plant I really want, then I go to the nurseries.

Perhaps part of the problem is that many people probably like plants, which is why they start a nursery...however, people buy plants and that's how you stay in business. Raising beautiful plants would be only half the challenge...you have to be able to sell them. I'm sure there's a lot of frustration, when people like myself compare their prices to the big box stores...but that's going to happen. Like any business, you have to be able to work with people and explain why these plants are superior, better quality, better choices, whatever...and taking the time to help people with their gardens would be something that might bring them back repeatedly, even if prices are a little higher. There's usually a better selection, too.

This year, I've had great luck with Northland Rosarium, very nice customer service and beautiful roses. They even offer classes about roses! Some other nurseries I've tried haven't had such nice customer service, but still adequate.

However, another nursery I went to with my mom had beautiful plants (and I bought some) but we would have stayed longer if an employee had not been using the VERY loud leaf blower right by the building. He was out there at least 20 minutes, (we even asked the employees at the register if he would be much longer, but they didn't seem to get a clue) so my mom and I grabbed a few plants and left. There may have been some great plants out there, but we couldn't take the noise. Seems they could do that type of thing BEFORE they open...but that's just me :)

I've not had such negative experiences with my local nurseries - however i can probably relate to this in other sales services.

I would have WALKED OUT on both nurseries. I would have interrupted the owner of the first nurseries and give him a piece o my mind. As for the second, I would have just walked off.

As for your clay bed, it will take a long while before it gets ready for perennial planting. If you are game, do a double digging method for breaking up clay. Basically you dig out a hole - 6 inch to a foot deep, drop in composted matter and manure, dig another hole beside it, add the dirt into the first hole and mix in that clay soil with the composted matter. This is how I dug up my first garden bed because the clay was too hard and too sticky. It was the only way to get the bed rich and ready for deep rooted plants. Note that the deeper the hole, the more plants you can put in because the roots compete less for space. If roots hit a hard clay layer, they tend to be stunted and to grow sideways and to grow downwards.

I am very sorry to hear of such negativity that you've been experiencing from your husband to all those naysayers.

You can get your plants thru mail orders or thru exchanges. Don't feel guilty about Lowes or Walmart. We will all walk you through the process of creating your garden from scratch.

Wow. I haven't had a nursery employee be rude to me but I sure have been ignored by them plenty of times. I think if I were a nursery owner who didn't like other people, I would pretend to like them and force myself to be helpful in the interest of selling more plants! Seems like good business sense to me...
Vicki

My first thought was, like lavender lass said, that these nurseries are owned by people who love plants but aren't good at customer relations. We have some around here like that. I put up with them. That might be what happened at the first nursery.

I wonder though about you approaching with a list. I know that many of the small nurseries I visit just love for you to see a plant and ask about it. They revel in relaying their knowledge (which I'm ready to soak up - even if it's something I already know) and often recommend other plants based on that conversation. Plant lovers don't want to just fill your cart based on a list. They want to talk plants. Not saying that's what happened with you. Just something to keep in mind. Forming a relationship with the owners of small nurseries is well worth some time and effort (and annoyance).

Some nurseries do NOT like lists, because what you want is not what they carry. I have tried to find dwarf apple trees, and a couple of polyantha roses that are usually available everywhere (The Fairy and Cecile Brunner). I called every plant nursery in the phone book and no one (except Northland Rosarium) carries the roses and none had the dwarf apple trees. Instead, many people told me a semi-dwarf would be a better choice....except that it would get three times bigger than my space! LOL

Now that I know Northland Rosarium has such big bands, I may go out there and get a few more roses...as for the dwarf apple trees, the only place that said they may get some in later this summer....Lowe's! I was surprised, too :)

Thank you all for your commiserations! I appreciate your thoughts and shared experiences. I wanted to let you know that I finally found a local, family owned nursery that was EXACTLY what I'd been hoping for. What a delight it was to visit! The old fellow took me around his gardens and shared his wealth of knowledge with me. And best of all he specializes in native plants. I'm so glad that I didn't give up on these local places because this one is a treasure that I plan to visit and buy from for a long time to come!