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Friday 20 May 2011

Canning Perennial Mail Order Review

First let me apologize for the poor quality of these pictures we are in "monsoon" weather here ..
I haven't seen such a wet, cold, dark Spring like this yet ! Plus early morning is rather dark here without the sun smiling at dawn ;-(
Another difficulty was this order came 2 days ago (Chris warned me it was coming) but due to some circumstances I only opened it now and I am hoping the plant babies don't hate me too much for that OOPS !
You can see this is a LARGE box !

Compared to what I have received ? it is night and day .. now I still have one more order coming from another Ontario nursery so the jury is out on Gardens Plus yet.
Having said that I don't know how they could beat this order .. perhaps almost as good , hopefully will be the judgement ?
Look at the size of this hellebore compared to the micro mini Red Racer that came from F&H

Isn't this a beauty ?
This tiarella looks a little sad but in person you would see it is in very good condition !
... and this totally new one for me .. Indian Pinks .. I have to find a very special place for it !
My dilemma is that we are due for one more full day of rain and I can't plant these beauties yet.
But .. tomorrow is supposed to be a "dry" sunny day so i will be very busy getting the garden kids settled in !
My rating for Canning Perennials is 10 out of 10 ... next season, unless Gardens Plus is exactly as this order is .. I will only be sticking with Chris from Canning .. she has a wonderful selection and now you can see the care that is showered on sending a customer fantastic plants that are very well cared for !
Chris you are stellar in the plant mail order business ! Perfect score girl !!

16 comments:

Darla said...

Now that's about as perfect as a plant order can be!!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You are going to have too much fun this weekend girl. So much garden joy here.

Anonymous said...

I've been gardening for thirty years and that is the MOST impressively put together order I've ever seen. Gorgeous.

Barry said...

Joy:
Now this is what a mail order package of new plants is supposed to look like! I have never used Canning before, but this is definitely encouraging! Your H.h.'Jade Tiger' is massive - even in comparison to Valleybrook's nursery stock. You will absolutely love the flowers when it blooms.

I am most impressed with the size of your Spigelia marilandica. This year's stock on my benches might be four inches tall right now. Be extra CAREFUL with its placement, as in the garden, it is VERY late to emerge from dormancy. Mine is still asleep beneath the ever moist soil - traditionally, I see its easily recognizable blue grey foliage the first part of June! Also be forewarned that slugs LOVE it! A roll of copper mesh is the best suggestion I can give! Spigelia looks wonderful in the front of a partially shaded border, or in a container with ferns. I know one hundred percent that you will squeal in girlish delight when it blooms for you! And did I mention the hummers love it?!?

So glad that you've finally been able to hand out a perfect ten! Now all we need is a wonderfully sunny long weekend. Skies are gloriously clear, blue and sunny right now. Off to transplant some Trilliums my new client foisted off on me as she is having a tree removed [dead] that is encircled by them. The only way I will take them, short of growing them from seed..... seven bloody years before they bloom!

Cheers

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Darla I totally agree with you girl .. the last company is an Ontario based one that I haven't used before so I am VERY curious !

Lisa girl I am so looking forward to being in my garden after so long a time with rain keeping me out : )
Yup .. "gardenjoy" for sure eh !

Hello Patricia : )
Canning is a remarkable company and now they are concentrating more on the mail order end which is great news for gardeners that are looking for something special : )

Barry I am so looking forward to seeing my hellebore bed really fill out and bloom its heart out too .. it takes years but it is so worth it : ) .. hey, thank you for the heads up on what will go for my sweet Indian Pinks .. I may just pot them with a fern for this season and then plant them in the Autumn .. I don't want to risk it being damaged because I am so looking forward to seeing those gorgeous flowers and YES ! You will hear me squeal all the way over there ! haha
Tomorrow is garden day for me (it has been so long I am going through withdrawal before I even had begun for the Spring !) I am very jealous you have more beauties to plant .. I love trilliums and so far mine are growing well but as you said so darn SLOWLY !
Have a great weekend Barry .. I think we will have some sun at last! : )

GRACE PETERSON said...

My 'River Mist' never looked that good and now it's toast. Great packaging. Great plants. Impressive to say the least. Now get them babies planted, girl! LOL.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Grace girl I have been meaning to do an e-mail ..eventually I WILL DO IT ! LOL .. I am hoping to get them all in today .. in fact I am getting off here and turning my garden engine on !! haha
Chat later girl : )

Marguerite said...

I was almost as excited to hear about your new order as you were! Loving this review of the Canadian mail order companies. Where is Canning located? I've never heard of them.

Lola said...

That is a fantastic array of plants. They look so full & healthy. Glad you got to get those beauties in the soil.
Been out doing gardening. A lot done but still more to do. Must take it easy for awhile as rods in leg/hip giving me fits. Sure don't like to think of surgery. lol
Eating out of my garden, sooooo good.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Marguerite hello there and I'm so glad you are watching what the review is like : ) Canning is in Ontario, I'll send you there home page and you can have a good look .. Chris the owner is a great gal who stands by her plants and she has expanded much more to the mail order side now so that is her main objective which is great for the gardeners that can't find those special plants locally !

Lola girl that sounds so painful!
You have to be so careful with problems like that .. I also have some hardware in my back and I understand how it can be .. so BE CAREFUL girl ! don't over do it !
The garden is not going to run away!! haha .. but I know how you feel , wanting to putter and fix it .. gardeners are obsessive creatures ;-) I don't have veggies so I am jealous but I have herbs if you need any ?

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Hey Joy!! Great post, looks like some fantastic (& BIG) plants!! Very timely, I need to order some heuchera, my usual mail order place isn't shipping this year (waaah). And the local selection isn't great. I found some gorgeous ones yesterday (incl. Ginger Ale!), but they are $19.99. Is that reasonable? Seems high to me but I'm kind of new to these plants. I have found a great spot for a collection of them and can't wait to plant. Pretty deep shade though, so I want a nice bright colour palette. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I also love Sweet Tea. :)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Rebecca I just left a LONG comment back on your blog about the heucheras and mail order companies .. once you are hooked on these beauties .. well, you are HOOKED ! I love them and it comes down to mail order now because I am not seeing the special ones locally either .. so finding the right mail order company and a fair price for good plants is worth it for sure !

Pat said...

You got some handsome plants. Looks like a good buy to me. Just got a few hellebores at a local nursery and yours are bigger.
I don't know about you but I'm running out of garden :(

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Hey Joy, Thanks for the info, I'll check out the sites!! I had ordered plants from Holes in the Edmonton area, but they've just built a mega gardening mall of sorts and have put aside their mail ordering for now. Sigh. After touring the box stores this morning I was able to find a decent collection to get me started, a Sweet Tea, a Caramel, a Dale's Strain (green with silver) and a Purple Palace, all for under $30 from SuperStore, the Caramel is in awesome condition and was only $10. There are some Lemon Limes at hardware store nearby but they are teeny tiny and also priced at $10, so I'm undecided as of yet. I prefer to buy from garden centres, but if they have less selection on some plants, or too high prices I will go elsewhere. I'm just putting together a blog post, so I uploaded this pic of my new additions. Thanks again!!! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x_NpetXCKpM/Tdmyy9Nn3uI/AAAAAAAABmo/mEM2H0KDkwk/s1600/Heuchera.jpg

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Patsi girl I too am running out of garden and trying to rearrange the skeleton on the whole of my lay out .. the more I can block out the rest of the world the better ?! haha
Now how about Nurse Jackie ? she has to get caught SOON again and what about that freaky death of her drug dealer ? haha

Rebecca girl .. I'll be over to have a peak .. I love seeing posts from other heuchera nuts like me!
I can really vouch for Chris from Canning Perennials they did the opposite and went full force with mail order .. she knows once a customer tries her stock they will stick with her ! I am waiting for Gardens Plus I am so curious as to what Dawn's stock is like : )

Lona said...

Isn't it wonderful when you get good plants from a grower. They look wonderful Joy. I love the Tiarella is just so pretty. I love those leaves and so is the River Mist. Great foliage. This is going to be a spring for the books girl.