Note that there are two stores, our plant store and our bulb store. These are separate, and it isn't possible to mix and match to make up a composite order. But you can have two separate shopping baskets at the same time, so you can complete each one and check out when you are ready.
There are lots of plants/bulbs, so we have provided various ways of helping you to choose just what you want.
Plants are grouped by name, so you can find a particular plant by starting with All Plants in the left-hand column, and then working down the categories:
You can reduce the number of plants by using filters, lower down in the left-hand column:
If your selection still has a lot of plants, look down the page to see them all, and there may be buttons at the bottom if the selections are spread over several pages.
You can also use the Search box (top right) to search for a plant name or part of one. This is usually the quickest way to go to a plant whose name you know.
There is an advanced search option that allows you to look through all the descriptions, not just plants' names. Even a common name is likely to be helpful. Tick the 'Advanced search' box, 'Automatically search sub categories' and 'Search in product descriptions'.
When you have reached any particular plant, you can easily look at related plants, and maybe discover something new.
First, suppose for example you have gone to Primula vulgaris, perhaps by searching for 'primrose'. Above the plant information it tells you where you are in the structure -
"Home / All plants / P / Primula / Primula Primula section (Vernales) / Primula vulgaris"
If you click one or two levels up from where you are, you will see all plants in that category, so all primulas, or all in the same section (Vernales) as Primula vulgaris.
Alternatively, if you click on the plant specifications, you will see that it is in the family Primulaceae. Go back to 'All plants', and then filter on Primulaceae. You will then select everything in that family - rather a lot in this case!
You can change the order in which plants are displayed, and the page layout, using the ‘Sort order’ and nearby buttons on the right side of the page.
When you reach a particular plant, click on the Details button; then there is a Description tab with a description of the plant, and a Specifications tab, which gives other information, such as plant size, pot size or pack size (e.g. number of bulbs for the stated price), growing conditions etc.
You can add plants to your shopping ‘cart’ at any time, and you can remove them by using the Shopping cart link in the menu at the top of the page and then clicking the Go to cart button.
The Wish list allows you to collect together everything you might be interested in. You can then move plants from there to your cart, or remove them from your list.
The Compare list allows you to collect the information for a few (up to 5) plants together, so that you can compare them.
The Recently viewed products panel at the left-hand side lets you go back to a few plants that you have recently looked at.
If you are already registered, you can log in by clicking in the menu at the top of the page. Then enter your user name (which is your email address) and password. After logging in your shopping cart will contain whatever you put in it last time, and you will be able to access information about previous orders.
There are instructions for what do do if you have forgotten your password.
If you are registering as a new user, enter your email address and choose a password. An email will then be sent to you, and normally this will reach you within a minute. There is a link in the email for you to click, and this immediately completes your registration.
This email verification stage is necessary to avoid automatic registration by machines, which swamp the customer list with fake email addresses.
When you have finished choosing plants, click on ‘Shopping cart’ and ‘Go to cart’. If you have not reached the minimum order you won’t be able to go any further! You can get an estimate of the delivery charge. This is just for information; the actual charge is calculated and added later on. Note that for customers who are not in the UK this is for a single package of up to 31 kg. For other EU customers, if your order is for more than this, the charge will be multiplied by the number of packages. We will contact you about this before completing the order.
You then click the box agreeing to the terms and conditions, and then click the ‘Checkout’ button. The first time you use the store you have to provide billing and delivery information. The payments are handled by PayPal, and you can either enter your card details, or if you have an account with PayPal, you can be transferred briefly to them for make the payment. See our ‘Privacy policy’, which explains that we do not store credit card information after charging, or allow anyone else access to the information.
That’s it!