Disclaimer: I did receive the products mentioned in this post for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. To further disclose, I have purchased items from Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. in the past.
You might know you can buy seeds online from Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co., but they sell much more than just seeds.
In fact, you can get plants, gardening aids such as a trellis, fertilizer or weed cloth and even season extenders!
I love the prices and the quality of the items I have ordered from them.
While this particular order did not go so well, it was not in any way Gurney's fault and I am waiting to hear back on what they might offer, if anything.
Once I know, I will come back and update the post.
Yes, You Can Buy Seeds Online From Gurney's
If you are looking for non-GMO seeds and want to buy online, be sure to check out Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co.
They have signed the safe seed pledge and do not knowingly sell GMO seeds.
They sell both vegetable and flower seeds.
I have purchased some seeds from them in the past and had wonderful germination.
They also have a selection of seeds you can't buy anyplace except from them.
Plus their website offers a resources section to help you be successful with what you purchase.
Gurney's Weed Barrier Mat
The Gurney's Weed Barrier Mat that they sent me is more like felt instead of being like the typical weed cloth you can buy in a big box store.
I was very happy with that because I knew water would easily filter through it.
I was hoping that maybe weeds would not sprout on top of it, but any seeds that fall onto the weed barrier, do grow.
They are easy enough to pull off however as long as you get them right away.
Now, I did not cover the weed barrier mat with mulch as recommended.
The reason for this was that I used some of it in my tunnel house to sit fabric container gardens on and I used some of it to prevent weeds from growing around the strawberries.
If I had used it in regular flower beds, I definitely would have mulched it, not only to keep the plant roots under it cool but also to make my flower garden look prettier.
The weed barrier mat does require sharp scissors to cut and so far it has not attached itself to the soil like other types of weed barriers I have had.
If you are looking for a weed barrier mat, be sure to check out the one Gurney's sells.
I Love The Bean Tower And You Will Too
If you need a compact way to grow pole beans, peas or any climbing plant for that matter, the bean tower is what you need.
When I saw the bean tower, I got pretty excited.
Normally I trellis my pole beans or peas using either garden netting or yarn.
While this method certainly works, it is time consuming to run the netting or yarn in the spring and in the fall it is a nightmare to get it all taken down.
So, I thought the bean trellis would be easier to put up, simpler to take down and possible give me a higher yield that was easier to pick in a smaller space.
For testing purposes, my husband assembled it in our tunnel house.
However after watching him do it, there is no doubt in my mind I could have done it myself.
So far, I am loving the bean trellis.
It looks great, the beans are climbing it - even though I messed up and planted bush beans!
I do have some pole bean seeds coming because a groundhog ate my big garden down to nothing and I will plant some pole beans right along side the bush beans so I can get the full effect of how well the bean tower works.
Interestingly enough, the same groundhog got into my tunnel house, ravished my cabbage and potatoes, took a couple green bean leaves but did not destroy the plant.
I don't know if it is because I interplanted celery and rat's tail radish or if the bean tower protected my plants.
I would like to think the bean tower was the saving grace, but I'm not sure.
Either way, I love the bean tower!
I love that I was able to plant bean seeds on the outside and plant some rat's tail radish and celery on the inside.
Now eventually the beans may shade out the celery and rat's tail radish, but maybe not.
We will just have to wait and see.
Japanese Painted Fern Plant
When it comes to mail order plants I don't expect much as I have seen some that you can barely see.
However, this Japanese Painted Fern Plant had a great root system and looked really nice compared to some.
It was even larger than I expected it to be.
I quickly watered it and set it in the shade outside.
After giving it a few days to adjust to being here, I potted it up and put it in my greenhouse in a shady location.
It is already starting to show color and putting out new growth.
I intend to grow it in my greenhouse this summer so it can get larger and plant it in the garden this fall.
Over the years I have learned that planting small plants in an established garden isn't the best move because sometimes they don't make it.
I have also learned that planting perennials in the fall is beneficial to plants because the plants roots have time to grow over the winter months and then the plant can put on top growth come spring.
Hybrid Coneflower Mix
The Hybrid Coneflower Mix shipped a little later than what I expected it to and literally cooked in the packaging thanks to the postal service leaving it lay on my deck in full sun.
They did not ring the doorbell or notify me that they had left a package.
By the time I saw the package and brought it in, the contents of the bag it shipped in was steaming hot.
I quickly opened the bag and used cool water to try to save the plants, but I believe it was just too late.
Three of the five plants are black with no roots.
There were two that looked ok, but they are not growing and upon closer inspection, they are also slowly turning black.
I did pot all of the roots up into pots and have them in a shaded area inside my greenhouse where they are checked on multiple times a day in hopes that they survive.
It isn't looking good and I did call Gurney's Customer Service to let them know what happened.
Because this is a sponsored post and the plants were sent for free, I am not sure what Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co. might do.
The same goes for the strawberries.
Don't Buy Seeds Online, Buy Gurney's Whopper Strawberry Plants
Yes, you can buy strawberry seeds, but if you want a really nice strawberry harvest every June, go with Gurney's Whopper Strawberry Plants.
Years ago I purchased the Whopper Strawberry Plants from Gurney's.
I was amazed at the size of the strawberries and the fact that they produced strawberries the first year.
The second year, my bed was too crowded, so I dug the strawberries up, gave some plants away and moved the ones I kept.
These are prolific growers and spread very quickly, so I did not anticipate any issues.
Sadly I lost my plants.
So, when I was approached to do this collaboration, I knew right away I wanted more Whopper Strawberry Plants.
The day they arrived, I was gone, so they sat on my deck.
It was still cool enough I figured they would be ok.
When I opened the package I realized they weren't really growing.
Yes, I had a handful that showed some growth, so I decided they were just dormant.
I separated out a section of my big garden, laid down some of the weed cloth I received, planted the strawberry roots, covered the area with garden netting and waited.
So far, not one plant has sprouted leaves.
I do not know why - and given my wonderful previous experience ordering from Gurney's, I am a little confused.
Possibly the plants got hotter than I thought they did - or possibly I just got a bad batch.
I'm not sure, but I am waiting to hear back on these plants too as they do come with a one year guarantee.
Update On Plant Replacements
Gurney's did get back to me pretty quickly after I let them know what happened.
Again, I want to stress that weather, not the nursery itself, was the culprit.
They are sending me replacement plants this fall - and I cannot wait to get them!
The fern is doing very well and I am loving the weed cloth as well as the bean tower.
I do recommend buying both seeds and plants as well as other products from Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co.
If you don't already get their catalog, be sure to request one!
Product Reviews
Just Arrived: 1 New, Unique Norman The Doorman Greeter
Greet guests with Norman the doorman, a cute whistling gnome inspired by inspired by Raynor Gellatly's Travelling Gnome pattern.
Spring Gardening Ideas
If you're looking for new plants, new products or just ideas to spruce up your garden, don't miss these spring gardening ideas.