Since I ordered from a number of mail order nurseries all over the U.S. this year, I am going to report on each shipment as it arrives. I will post these reviews on Fridays as each shipment arrives.
. . .
My second group of mail-order plants arrived in great condition on Friday, April 22 having been shipped from Washington state on Tuesday, April 19. I was impressed with the turn-around time, but a little disconcerted when I realized the box sat at Fed Ex in Madison for over 24 hours before they actually delivered them to me. I think that's because the delivery order said it must get to me by Friday. So Friday it was. I did appreciate the email note with tracking number that Far Reaches sent me when they shipped the plants so I could follow their progress and be ready for their arrival.
Far Reaches Farm, Port Townsend, WA
I actually made three separate orders to Far Reaches between January 5 and mid-February as they added new plants to their web site. They were shipped in late April as requested and came all together in a BIG box. The package weighed 11 pounds and was 28" x 16" x 13".
As you can see from these photos my invoice was right on top so I could check off the plants as I unpacked them Again, the invoice was hand-signed by one of the owners of the nursery which I find amazing given how incredibly busy they all must be at this time of year. You know how busy all of us gardeners are!
Newsprint cushioned the plants and kept everything from shifting around during shipping. In addition each plant had this wonderful stretchy brown paper around it. The paper has air slits so everything could breath but it really kept every stem and leaf in excellent condition. There were no broken stems or damage to the plants of any kind. I found it rather amazing given the size of the plants that were shipped to me and the state of their growth.
The plants came from Washington state where Spring is much more advanced than it is here in Wisconsin. You can see that the Peony I ordered (P. corsica syn. macula ssp. russoi, on the right below with the red stems) has already bloomed this year. Look at the size and number of those stems! They mean I will have a very nice display next year.
The same is true of this Trillium albidum (below) which was shipped in full bloom. I planted it the morning after it arrived at my house and it is still holding onto its flowers a week later. But again, I know for sure that I have a bloom-sized plant just as the Far Reaches online catalog stated.
The plants I ordered from Far Reaches Farm, in addition to the ones mentioned above, include Primula florindae (2), Betula michauxii, Gillenia trifoliata 'Pink Profusion,' Tsuga diversifolia (2), Paeonia ludlowii, Hemerocallis exaltata ex. 'Giraffe' seedling, Asplenium scolopendrium 'Christatum' (2) and Erythronium oregonum (2). The Erythroniums are the plants in the foreground with the yellowing leaves. These are spring ephemerals and are fading as they have already bloomed etc. before they were shipped. That's why the leaves are yellow rather than any problem with the plant.
All in all, a great experience and I would certainly order from them again despite the shipping charges to get the plants from there to here.
You can find my review of Odyssey Perennials here.
They certainly have the packing and shipping figured out. I really like the way we can track packages now days. That is a big plus. The plants sure do look like they are going to have a good start in your garden.
Posted by: Lisa at Greenbow | Friday, April 29, 2016 at 05:40 AM
Wow! Those are lovely plants. Very impressive. I'll definitely check out Far Reaches.
Posted by: Erin @ The Impatient Gardener | Friday, April 29, 2016 at 10:28 AM
Excellent! Since I have access to Far Reaches at our local plant sales (and have made the trip to the nursery on a few occasions) I don't think I would ever order from them but it's good to know how nicely things arrive - just in case!
Posted by: Loree / danger garden | Friday, April 29, 2016 at 11:11 AM
Lisa — Almost all the nurseries have sent emails with tracking info and I realized how nice it is to have that info when I got a couple of unexpected deliveries from nurseries who did not alert me.
Posted by: Linda from Each Little World | Friday, April 29, 2016 at 11:51 AM
Erin — I was very impressed with their plants. You can go online and see what I paid to get a sense of the prices and shipping. It really comes down to wether you are willing to pay a biggish chunk of money to get more unusual plants. We have really good nurseries around here but I love some of the things these other folks sell.
Posted by: Linda from Each Little World | Friday, April 29, 2016 at 11:54 AM
Loree — Lucky you! We have gone to Klehm/Song Sparrow on a number of buying trips with the WI Hardy Plant Society but there are not the same kind of nurseries and group sales around here. For a city under 200,000 people, where half the year is cold and snowy, we do have a pretty active gardening community. I ordered at least one Z6 plant from Far Reaches so we will see how that works out — or not.
Posted by: Linda from Each Little World | Friday, April 29, 2016 at 12:21 PM
I received that wonderful stretchy brown paper in an order from Crate and Barrel a couple of years ago, and I was almost more excited about it than the merchandise. I still have some of it tucked away.
Posted by: Cindy at enclos*ure | Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 06:42 AM
I love Far Reaches, both the place and the people and, because of their relative proximity to my home, get to visit several times a year in addition to seeing their plants at sales. It's good to know that they do the shipping thing well!
Posted by: Peter/Outlaw | Monday, May 09, 2016 at 06:05 PM
Peter — After seeing what great plants I got from Far Reaches Farm, I am really jealous that you are close enough to visit. Their selection is wonderful just reading the catalog, but going to the nursery must be quite the experience. This has been an interesting project to really note how plants arrive and if they are worth the price and shipping etc. Normally, I order what I order and c'est la vie. This has made me realize how much you need to think about when ordering on line and how carefully you need to read the descriptions.
Posted by: Linda from Each Little World | Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 12:43 PM