GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

Trish Brown · 11-07-2008, 12:50 AM posted to aus.gardens

wrote:
On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:51:46 +1000, Polly the Parrot wrote:

Bought some poppies in Bunnings.

Planted facing westerly sun, carp fertiliser (smelly brown stuff mixed
with water).

Trouble is, either the flowers are very small, or they only half open,
or the stems snap, and the stems are very short.

Any ideas to improve the situation?

Don't buy from Bunnings. They source the cheapest stock they can find at the sacrifice of quality.

Oh, I do beg your pardon, but I have to differ there! Just recently, I
determined to replace all my old, decrapit gardening tools to prepare
for my budding veggie garden. I thought to support local business by
buying from a local nursery, but their goods (same brands and all) were
*multiples* of Bunnings' prices. When I searched about, I found the same
was true for most of the garden supply places excepting the
supermarkets. Honestly, I couldn't afford to buy the stuff I needed from
the nurseries! The price of a shovel alone would've bankrupted me!

Instead, I toddled over to Bunnings and got everything I needed in quite
decent quality (you do get what you pay for, of course). As well, I got
four Bunnings employees, all keen veggie gardeners, brainstorming with
me over the best way to plot my garden beds. They were so helpful and
clearly *not* trying to sell me stuff - I came away feeling quite
chuffed and determined to buy all my gear from there in the future. Just
as an example: a garden fork costing $39 at Bunnings was $72 at the
nursery! Same brand, same size, same everything. Vastly different price!
A simple steel hook for hanging a planter that cost $1.79 at Bunnings
was $8.00 at the nursery!

I've got no affiliation with Bunnings (well... I s'pose I do now, since
I feel so pleased with my purchases from there), but I don't think it's
fair to dismiss them out of hand. We all have to shop around to find
what suits us and it might be at Bunnings or it might be elsewhere. It
probably depends on your own local circumstances. Maybe I'm just lucky
to live near a good Bunnings?

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia