Years ago I was chastised by my managers for giving nursery customers too much information. In their opinion, although no complaints were ever made, it was inappropriate for an employee to discuss anything beyond the label description with customers: you read the label and if the customer wants to know something specific beyond that information then you answer their question.
I can tell you a lot about bistorts, Bistorta species, if you like…?
If I’m at the nursery and ask about a plant, I really want to know about it. I will have read the label myself and I’ll be wanting more information, not the same information read to me by someone else. Likewise if I want someone to help me with selecting plants I would really like them to use all of their knowledge and experience to help me find the right plants.
Too Much Information
This was my first experience of the idea that consumers should receive only the bare minimum of information to guide their purchases. It’s a strange concept but exists across retailing; if you buy a kitchen appliance you will be given certain information, but finding out anything beyond that becomes a challenge. The answer is known, just you’re not expected to want to know before purchase.
Gardens hold the history of their creators; plants hold the history of those who raised and introduced them
If you bought an oven, for example, that sounded like an aircraft taking off every time you used it you’d be a bit annoyed to say the least: you’d expect ‘low noise’ to be a selling point of most electrical appliances.
So Much To Know
There are things to know about every plant in your garden.
Water requirements, light or heat tolerances and needs, height, width, growth per season, flower colour, flower size…
Your plants have a story. In the case of species plants, plants ‘as nature intended’, there are stories of intrepid explorers bringing back seed, or of nurseries or even private individuals trading and sharing plants from different countries.
Camellia ‘Desire’, raised by David Feathers of Lafayette, California, and first flowered in 1973. What you do with this information is up to you.
In the case of plant varieties, someone is responsible for breeding or selecting the plant that you’re growing. In some cases plants were raised by people and nurseries no longer with us, the plant making its way in the world after its originator and original home have long gone.
History And Heritage
As gardeners we’re part of something special that exists far outside the boundaries of our gardens.
The old favourite plants we grow because we like them when nobody else does, the new plants we grow because they excite us, and everything in between is part of the heritage of horticulture.
Narcissus ‘February Gold’, raised by the de Graaff Brothers in the Netherlands before 1923
Some of our plants are grown by huge nurseries with vast resources, while some are grown by small family nurseries which don’t hold much influence but serve their communities well. Some might have been collected as seed from some far-off hillside by modern plant hunters like Dan Hinkley, or by lost icons like E.H. Wilson.
It all matters.
Plants+
By researching, recording and sharing the history of our favourite plants, we keep their heritage alive.
Few people know who Samuel Arnott was, but many gardeners know his snowdrop (Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’)
I live less than an hour from the Devon city of Exeter here in the UK, a place that was home to the Veitch Nurseries. At their height the Veitch family were iconic in British horticulture, and their work influenced gardening around Europe and beyond. The Veitch nurseries are now long gone, and yet their plant introductions live on in gardens.
Helleborus ‘Brunello’ is the result of hybridising two species that were said to be impossible to hybridise. Surely that’s just a bit interesting?
Learning the backgrounds of our plants can give enormous meaning to them. We can end up fascinated by the story of a plant breeder whose plants we treasure, or even just recognising names that pay testament to the existence of nurseries and gardens now buried under housing and shopping centres.
Too Much?
I don’t think there’s such a thing as too much information when it comes to plants.
I know that this is something that interests me greatly and I know that others have a less intense relationship with their gardens and plants. I really get that.
The common primrose, Primula vulgaris, has featured in British folklore and traditions for centuries; you could spend endless days researching the cultural impact of this plant
But why shouldn’t gardeners be encouraged to dig deep into the origins of their plants?
I’m an obsessive and will go to my books to research things, but the internet gives us all access to a wealth of information at great convenience. A little idle internet searching keeps the stories of great gardeners from times gone by alive, and by sharing that information with others we can keep a living history of gardening going for future gardeners.
Not everyone will want to know everything about their plants. This is perfectly fine. However there’s a world of information out there for anyone with the interest to look into it, but gardeners must first know that this information exists, and that plants have histories.
Some Free Resources For Curious Gardeners
Daffseek – daffodil season is coming up, and this formidable resource will allow you to search for information about the daffodils you grow.
Camellia Register – the online version of the International Camellia Register lets you double check that your plant has the correct name (usually with pictures), but also gives you dates of publication etc
Rhododendron Database – this is fairly new and still being worked on, but useful and interesting histories about Rhododendrons. If you’re really keen you can look at the Rhododendron Register, but we warned that the main ‘book’ is over 700 pages long and takes a while to get around!
Pacific Bulb Society – I often end up here if I’m researching a bulb online.
Alpine Garden Society – an encyclopaedia of alpine plants, including some from the US.
Also check out your local Botanical Gardens too as their websites and social media content will hopefully have interesting information. If you know any other online resources that focus on particular plants or that you think might be of interest to other people, please add them as a reply (links can sometimes cause problems so if in doubt just name the resource in a way that can be searched, such as “Pacific Bulb Society website”).
At some point, not too many years ago, I embraced the term “Plant Nerd” and realized that I had traversed the slippery slope. That means you recognize your own enthusiasm to share knowledge about plants. That deep pool of information might include (but is not limited to) its wild origins, its hybridizer, its capacity for propagation, or your experience of best conditions for ensuring the plant will thrive. But I firmly believe we may be mindful of “reading the room”. As we share, we can take stock of demeanor of the person to who we are pouring our vast knowledge. We can ask the question: “I know quite a bit about this plant. What information would you like to know?” Are they looking you in the eye or are their pupils pulling away? Do you ask them about their garden, offering opportunity to learn as well as teach?
Hello fellow plant nerd!
I learnt early on that the best answer to the question “can you tell me about this plant” is “what would you like to know”. However if you’re trying to interest someone in a plant then a plant fact can be very useful. Pinus longaeva, for example, is a fairly dull pine, but if you mention that some members of this species are the oldest non-clonal living trees on the planet then the ‘interest factor’ goes up quite a bit.
In my gardening work I sometimes measure trees. I can tell people about a tree and what its significance is, but if I can give a height for that tree it’s more engaging for people who don’t have the gardener’s love of trees themselves.
You’re right,Ben,especially if the customer is trying to work out which species/ cultivar suits their purpose; given that there is rarely any comparison on labelling,a knowledgeable person is vital. So many labels give little more than name/rank/ number of plants with perhaps ‘ great for pollinators ‘, without saying which ones.
I find that descriptions given by the national collections can be brilliant for real detailed info
‘Great for pollinators’ is a good one; which pollinators? Some plants use flies as pollinators, and you wouldn’t want those plants by your kitchen door!
Given the diversity of plants and gardens it’s important to match the plant to the gardener.
Customers will never complain about a lot of free plant and garden advice, especially when it’s everyone’s passion, but it can be hard on other team members and a Nurserys flow when there are other things that need to get done in a day too (running a nursery is hard work) and an employee is spending too much time with one customer. At our local native plant nursery, they’ve set up paid consultation time, by appointment, so that they are compensated for their time for the extra care need that some customers have beyond the basics. This seems to be working out both for customers and employees and it helps the nursery to stay afloat. Of course, they still have their very knowledgeable staff to guide and assist everyone coming through the door but within reason.
It’s a tricky balancing act: you don’t want to separate customers from the information they need to make a purchase, but there is always other work to do.
I never spent all that much time with customers. I was involved in the production side of the nursery, so time spent with customers (even a few minutes) caused work elsewhere to back up. However if someone said they wanted help with a few things then they needed that help. I had a colleague who would openly tell people she was far too busy to help people choose plants, which really made me cringe; it doesn’t matter how busy a nursery is, if you’re not selling plants there is no point doing the other jobs.
What annoying managers you had! Glad your curiosity and hunger for learning and sharing information survived.
Strangely that meeting was helpful in my life: while I withdrew my knowledge for my employers (simply telling customers who asked questions that I didn’t know the answer) it got me interested in reaching out to other plant enthusiasts.
It ended up increasing my level of interest, and encouraged me to learn more and more.
I often resort to using my phone to look up detailed plant information while at the nursery, to help me decide whether to purchase a plant or not. It seems silly, when there are employees I could ask around, but sadly I do feel that customer service is not the top priority in shops these days. Oftentimes as a customer (and a very good one at that!), I am made to feel like I am interrupting an employee should I have a question. The answer I get is normally short and very direct and is sometimes even made without eye contact. To me, it seems service really nosedived after lockdown and distancing. It’s as if the shops realized how much more they could get done without spending so much time with their customers. I still buy just as many plants as I used to and I still enjoy a late morning at the nursery looking around, but there is less of a human element to it than there used to be. At my nursery, the cashiers are the nicest (and know me far too well), so at least the visit ends pleasantly.
I do the same too.
In UK garden centres there is often this problem with less knowledgeable staff on hand, but only when you ask do you find that the person who knows about plants is on holiday or has a day off. I assumed that it represented a skills issue within horticulture, until after the event mentioned in this article I went for some job interviews with local garden centres; it turned out that the garden centre managers preferred to have only one person with plant knowledge on the staff. I never got to the bottom of why this would be; it’s unlikely that they were paying more for that knowledge.
If you’re buying something, especially at an independent nursery, customer service is always so important.
I imagine it’s something to do with your legal system and a fear that customers will take the additional advice and then use it against the company if it fails. It’s a nonsense fear based approach that’s right to resist. We give extra advice to our customers freely when asked. Much of it though is what we already put on the website/label!
Oh there are plenty of legal hoops in the UK, and nurseries need to be careful about the advice they give.
The nursery was contacted for advice about a bamboo in a neighbour dispute in London. We had no idea of the backstory, no information about soil etc, but the letter asked about the possibility of a bamboo causing subsidance issues. We could have given a ‘best guess’ reply but there would have been legal ramifications if the issue got out of hand. The letter was quietly lost.
I’ve just seen you are in the UK – apologies for not reading properly! Just goes to show – people don’t read.
At first, I thought, “I wonder if Ben is autistic,” since this kind of enthusiastic sharing (what some call oversharing) is a trait you often find in people on the spectrum. I’m on the spectrum and have been known to share enthusiastically about gardening, history, and other interests, but I am pretty sure it was only with people who clearly welcomed the conversation. I for one absolutely love coming across people eager to share their passions, even if the topic isn’t one I am particularly interested in. How sad that you were told to squelch your enthusiasm and knowledge.
I wouldn’t say ‘oversharing’ as such, generally, just trying to interest people in the plants they’d asked about.
Completely agree with the importance of allowing people to share their passions, even if I’m not interested; I worked with a guy who knew enormous amounts about football, and he could give any statistics you wanted. Not my thing at all, but it was nice to hear his passion for his topic.
Your article really resonated Ben. We recently bought Nuccio’s Gem camellia and called the Nuccio Nursery for more information which they were delighted to share at length. Unfortunately, they also told us that the nursery was closing after 90 years for lack of another generation to carry on. Having Nuccio’s Gem in our garden will be one small part of their ongoing legacy.
I have an article about Nuccio’s nearly ready to go, so it will be posted during March.
The Nuccio name is iconic in the Camellia world, and it’s sad that their dynasty is coming to an end. Yet even after the gates close for the final time the name will live on in perpetuity, either through Camellias with ‘Nuccio’ in the name or through the Camellia register.
Enjoy your Camellia; C. ‘Nuccio’s Gem’ is an excellent plant.
From MD, USA: I have had “reading the label service” in a presumably good nursery in North Carolina, and was NOT impressed with it, especially since I had already read the label. And SAID SO. I took this to be a presumed moron talking to, presumably, another moron.
I was a nursery worker in the Washington Metro region for twenty-plus years, on and off, and I ALWAYS gave more info. Including a plant’s short points, like “requires perfect drainage in the winter”. Far from being reprimanded, I got a lot of “attaboys”. People came back and asked for me specifically. Often info like soil and pH (not exact, just “likes acid” or “likes lime” or “goes dormant in summer” will make all the difference– and customers know it. Especially the savvy ones that you want to come back. These are the ones that will fill their carts on a repeating basis.
Also- have you tried ‘Rijnvelt’s Early Sensation’ daffodil? It’s a King Alfred type. In a mild winter it can bloom as early as the New Year (here). Jim
Granted not everyone is hot on their plants, although anyone not hot on their plants should assume that the customer has read the label and should be able to refer to colleagues if needed.
I had people ask for me specifically and these people used to buy a lot of things, which I guess upset those who considered it their jobs to do such things, but at least my customers were clearly happy; I take ‘repeat business’ to be a far better indicator of whether someone is happy with me.
I’m familiar with N. ‘Rijnvelt’s Early Sensation’ but haven’t grown it. Yet…
Definitely grow it-a winner. Enjoyed hearing your perspective on customer service in plant sales. When I was at Dixter, I could have happily spent weeks in their little nursery learning about the different selections. Thank you for including your resources, too! That might be a good topic for the website….
These little nurseries can be mines of interesting information.
Wowza !
Worked garden nurseries in the 80’s before branching out to my own Garden Design/Contracting business. One was retail/grower, the other merely retail. I ordered plants, and had the privilege of unloading the 18-wheelers when they arrived.
Still miss Nursery work. Especially at Christmas.
Forwarding this article to my old ‘bosses’. Pun intended, the math is easy, those days 40 years onward.
One year, my Nursery won the best Garden Center in the state.
The largest Garden Center I worked, 26 locations/family owned, had ‘Secret Shoppers’. They went to each location at random, acting as a customer. Several layers they graded us on. Meet all the layers, get a bonus with next paycheck.
One firm fact embedded into brain from those days: PLANTS DO NOT READ PLANT TAGS !
I still tell clients this. Why? Tags are meant to sell plants. Selling the Plant vs Growing the Plant in YOUR yard = Success for Who?
I still use plants in use for almost a century and greater. Why not new cultivars? I only use plants that can survive late frosts, aka 65f in the afternoon with 6f same nite. Only plants that can survive a wet spring, fast summer with temps at 100f for a week and no rain for 2.5 months. In addition, now designing rural, deer proof. Not a little bit deer proof, DEER PROOF. Plants that can survive maintenance from a ‘crew’ with zero plant knowledge. Plants surviving unusually wet summer with an unusually dry fall/winter; and the reverse. I use flowering shrubs that look good flowering planted in the ground, not only pictured flowering on the side of an 18-wheeler truck delivering to a nursery. I only use plants good for pollinators in my region/zone, aka food for local flora/fauna/and soil microbes. I only use plants not trademarked, they cost less, and produce better due to decades of validation in-the-ground.
This notion, not helping customers, fascinating. Yet, understood. Great Topic.
I appreciate the importance of keeping things in perspective; it’s great to share our love of plants but that 18-wheeler won’t unload itself!
But shoppers pick up when there’s a good vibe on the nursery. Having staff who are clearly into what they do is such a benefit to nurseries, and conversely having staff who just don’t care isn’t good if you’re trying to get people to buy plants.
I’m on Team More Information! I want to know everything about everything, but mostly everything about plants. I know some folks don’t want to know it all; I see their eyes glaze over when I ramble on about origins, etymology, and medicinal uses, etc. But, hey, it’s what I do!
Thanks for the additional resources.
I’m a bit mixed; part of me likes to get to the point if someone asks a specific question, but how will folks know there’s more to their plants unless they are told, or at least unless it’s hinted at.
In conversations I like to slip plant facts in rather than necessarily giving a monologue, except where the person in front of me is asking really interesting questions… at which point I’m off!
Plant tags offer only minimal information and none that might cause a buyer to hesitate. When in doubt, I always look at the Missouri Botanical website — it isn’t trying to sell any plants and has good information.
I always appreciate any additional or anecdotal information.
There’s a principle in plant retailing that says that giving an extra fact about the plant helps someone make the decision to buy it; it certainly works on me…!
The impartiality of websites not selling plants is important to me too; no nursery will ever tell you that their plants are miserable, never flower and won’t last the winter because they want to sell them to you.
Rhetorical q? How long did you last at this nursery? Did you have an out of managements sight spot to discuss plant secrets with customers?
There are so many work situations where managers feel threatened by knowledgeable employees
Oh it was a large site so we all had secret corners for nefarious uses, although giving a high standard of service shouldn’t be nefarious!
I was at the nursery for 10 years, although it was a later non-horticultural manager who stirred things up a bit.
I used to do local lectures on the plants in my nursery at different times of year. This allowed free rein for all kinds of stories and information whilst passing the plants round. I usually sold most of my ‘lecture notes’ as they now meant more to the purchaser.
In a nursery a purchase that has been made to feel special both by the information and the personal connection will usually bring that customer back.
The plant world is vast and often a bit daunting; making connections between people and plants is a key part of gardening. After all, without people what are gardens?
My current client base want plants that have perfume and colours, plants that make them feel something; it’s important to inject humanity into the often sterile world of plant descriptions.
I had a habit of pointing out the poisonous/toxic plants to customers. I was told not to “volunteer” this info unless asked.
This did make me smile.
Yes not all information is helpful to both customer and nursery….
In addition to the Daffseek site that you mentioned, here are a few other sites the I regularly use to find out more information on particular herbaceous plants: the peony register on the American Peony Society web site, the lily registers on the Royal Horticultural Society web site, the Iris Wiki on the American Iris Society web site, the daylily database on the American Daylily Society web site and the hosta information page on the American Hosta Society web page. They are all loaded with detailed information.
Thank you very much for these.
I’ve had a quick look and love their information.
I specifically avoid buying plants that don’t have enough/specific information on the label, unless the nursery staff is able to fill in the gaps. I look stuff up on my phone on the fly if I need to remind myself of something, but I really hate how generic a lot of labeling is.
I’m really curious as to what their reasoning was for telling you to not give more info than what was on the label. Were they concerned about misinformation, or putting off buyers by making a plant seem “too complicated”?
I could see the latter – some people really do just want to yeet plants into their yard and expect them to work. For people like that, it’s good for them to have the EXTRA information on what suits that style of gardening… I tell newbie friends to just plant salvias, because they grow tremendously well and bloom nearly year round here, in addition to feeding our hummingbirds.
I think it was a case of ‘office politics’ coupled with the idea that customers shouldn’t be given access to too much information.
I guess where the line between ‘too much’ and ‘too little’ information actually lies is a bit vague; one person might not care about anything beyond whether the plant will live in their garden or not, while someone else might want everything from its discovery right up to the plant in their hand. The former group tend to make themselves known.
I’m a big fan of bitesize plant facts: this plant is one of the biggest, this is one of the hardiest, one raised by an influential nursery known for great plants etc. Easier to start from a nugget of information and expand on that if there is interest.
As a garden historian I’m often sad that many people are not that interested in the (often incredible) stories behind plants. Thanks for the post! As a fan of Ellen Willmott and her daff contemporary George Engelheart, I often use Daffseek. I’ve also written about the story behind the plant name ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ as gardenhistorygirl.co.uk. Look forward to reading your future posts.
too much information is a whole part of the backyard nursery informal garden party draw, i think! i love this topic and this style of post on gardenrant.
AND THAT ASTILBE/ARUNCUS meadow, it’s gorgeous…
I like to have access to the information even if I extract the bits I need. It’s good to know that the information is out there, but also that someone cares enough to share it.
I’m always looking for ways to have more information about plants, whether at the nursery or in my home garden, where I strive to offer a wide diversity of native plants and target butterfly larval host plants and year around nectar sources. I’ve started placing plant tags with QR codes that link to web pages with in depth details about a plant. Wish nurseries did the same 🙂
Sometimes I find QR codes on labels; they tend to take me to websites that give me exactly the same information that’s on the label. What’s the point of that?!
But QR codes that take you to well informed web pages are a great idea.
Yes! I ended up creating my own web pages and plant tags for Sonoran Desert gardens just for that reason: https://pollinatorweb.com/garden-tags/