I HAVE no wish or intention to sound like Gardening Which?

Their remit is to and criticise or praise specific garden centres.

This includes the garden departments attached to D I Y stores such as B

& Q and Texas.

I will take a more general tack. For quality and prices, garden

centres get big stick at times. It is sometimes justified and sometimes

not.

What is not appreciated is that these centres in general are out to

give the customer service.

They have invested a lot of capital. The main weakness in some centres

is poor management or poor staff.

You can't expect every member of staff to be a fund of gardening

knowledge.

The public sometimes expect this. I know exactly the situation because

I spent years of my early life behind the counter of a busy seed shop.

It is amazing what information you can pick up when you are handling

goods day in and day out.

Management now appreciate the need for staff training, and, where

practical, this is provided.

This is particularly true in general supermarkets. There is a plant

section, and it only needs a few days of bad conditions and the plants

will never be the same again.

Perhaps the biggest complaint relates to long-term shrubby plants.

They can very soon deteriorate if not fed and watered intelligently.

Sometimes they have been around for a considerable time and become

excessively root-bound.

Well-managed centres are very careful to keep the quality of their

stock high. They are ruthless in disposing of anything which does not

reach a sufficiently high standard.

To summarise -- garden centres vary a lot. You have to shop around and

see which one offers the best range and prices consistent with quality.