Ship Dates: April 15 to June 15 and August 15 to September 30
Guarantee policy
Whistling Gardens offers hundreds of different selections of mainly woody plants. Many of which cannot be found anywhere else in Canada. Several varieties may have been grown for up to 6 years before being shipped to its forever home.
We guarantee our plants to be true to name, healthy and ready to grow when they arrive on your doorstep. We guarantee against all factors within our control. If you have any questions or concerns with your shipment, you must email or call us within 3 days. If needed please send us a photo of the plant in question to help us diagnose any issues so we can determine the problem and create a solution. After such time it will be deemed guaranteed and further warranties void. We are willing to work with a client if there is an unexpected problem do to our cultural growing methods.
We do not guarantee our plants against factors out of our control such as adverse weather or soil conditions, under or over watering, bouts of zonal denial where plants are planted outside their hardiness zones, winter, marauding and hungry garden creatures, inadequate care on the part of the gardener or buyer’s remorse. It is the responsibility of each of our customers to research their new plants and to ask us if they have any questions about cultural requirements. What may successfully grow in our 5b growing may not perform as stated outside that growing zone.
We cannot be held liable for any amount greater than the purchase price of the plant in question. Should there be a problem that is our responsibility and that cannot be rectified through cultural advice, our policy is to offer a refund or a credit towards a future purchase equal to the purchase price of the plant plus tax, depending on the particular situation. We do not refund the cost of shipping of that plant just as we do not reimburse a customer for their time and gas money if they need to return to the nursery with an ailing plant. That being said, our plants are extremely healthy and we rarely have problems related to plant health. You can order with confidence that we will only ship the healthiest plants and if there is a problem we will deal with it fairly.
While we strive to pack your plants as carefully as possible, every leaf and needle might not arrive in perfect condition. After all, these plants have been packed in a box and transported hundreds or even thousands of kilometres. Damaged foliage or a minor scrape on the bark does not qualify for replacement or credit. You are buying healthy root systems and stems that will flush out into beautiful plants once they are unpacked and planted. Some plants are tied to minimize damage to themselves or other plants in the box. Please untie them carefully.
Flowers and leaves may differ in colour from source photos or descriptions based on pH, light or other factors beyond our control.
Returns: We do not accept returns of mail ordered plants since shipping costs can quickly escalate and exceed the cost of the plant in question. Please review our Guarantee section for more information if you have a concern about one of your plants.
Cancellation Policy: All cancellations must be done by email. We cannot accept cancellations over the phone. Currently, we do not charge a restocking fee. Substituting one plant for another is not considered a cancellation.
Pick-Up at the Garden Centre Important: If you are picking up your plants at the garden centre, email us to make sure the plant(s) are here and check our hours of operation.
Shipping Season:
We ship from approximately April 15th to June 15th for spring shipping on Monday and Tuesday with Canada Post. Fall shipping begins September 1st to October 15th. Except seasonal decorative greens which can be shipped until December 15th.
We ship 9cm (4 inch), 11cm (4.5 inch), 15cm (5.5 inch), and 1 gallon pots only. Some short 2 and 3 gallon shrubs and/or dwarf conifers may be available to ship. The Web store indicates whether the plant is ship-able or not. All other sizes must be picked up at the garden centre. We grow most of these plants ourselves. Over the last 20 years, we are proud to have introduced over 200 varieties, species and hybrids of woody plants into Canadian horticulture. Many of the original introduced plants can be found in our national and international award winning botanical gardens. Consider a visit as thousands of varieties of plants are on display. It’s a great place to learn and be inspired.
Shipping of our potted and full-sized plants will cost more than shipping the same plants in plug or bare root formats. It is a trade-off between small or unrooted plants that are cheap to ship but difficult to care for or large plants that cost a bit more to ship but grow easily and establish quickly. Note: At our discretion, we reserve the right to ship a plant with or without its growing container based on size of the root ball and potential damage it may have on another plant in the shipping box. These plants are tightly wrapped in a plastic bag to preserve moisture, potting soil and possibly fertilizer pellets.
For now we will calculate your shipping costs per order until it is no longer feasible and Canada Post will automatically calculate the cost of shipping within the store itself. It’s important to understand how these shipping costs are calculated. There are base costs to ship a parcel, no matter the size or weight. If you order a single plant, the shipping per plant will be fairly expensive because the cost will include the flat fee base cost plus the weight of the plant. Each additional plant you add to your order will only increase your shipping cost by a few dollars. Even if you only want 1 plant consider, collaborating with a friend(s) to ensure the lowest cost of shipping per plant.
Shipping across Canada is not cheap. Nor is the cost of the time required to pack living plants. The cost of shipping boxes and packing material can be as high as $7.00 per box. We may charge for the cost of materials, not labour to pull and pack orders and drive them to the nearest Post Office.
Ordering and Inquiries: There is no direct phone line in the garden centre. Please call the office for any questions. Also, if you are not comfortable purchasing plants on line you can call with a Credit Card number or better still send us an E-Transfer. Please order through our online shopping cart system and use email for inquiries and questions, unless they are of a time sensitive nature. Use the Contact Us tab to email us. Our goal is to answer your email within 24-48 hours, though response time might be slower over the weekend or during the peak shipping seasons of May-June and September-October.
Payment: Our servers and payment gateway provide the highest levels of internet security for your personal information so you can shop with confidence. It is the exact same company (Moneris) gateway if you were buying your plants at the garden centre. We accept Visa, Mastercard and E-Transfer for mail order purchases. Your card is charged at the time of ordering. If you add plants to your order, we will ask for payment at that time. If plants are not available or shipping charges need to be calculated or adjusted, we will make the needed adjustments to your invoice at the time of shipping and either send you a refund or request additional payment, as the case may be. All plants will be charged at the time of ordering. Shipping costs will be charged at the time of shipping. Orders must be paid in full prior to shipment.
Plant Availability: We will make every effort to ensure that your full order is available and shipped together. Please place your order early to secure your desired plants. We do not produce anything in large quantities and often times there is only 1 or 2 available plants for purchase. Some plants may become unavailable as a result of crop failures due to weather, disease, or marauding insects or from shortages with our suppliers. In this case we attempt to prioritize plants for those who ordered first. We will never make a substitution without prior approval.
- Please Note: as often is the case, only 1 plant may be available. Plants listed for purchase are on a first come first serve basis. Restocking any particular item can take months to potentially years depending on the plant variety or species. In short, we offer many varieties but at low volumes.
Sometimes back orders happen from our suppliers or we are not happy with the quality of the plants received. At our discretion we reserve the right to hold the questioned plant until deemed that is ready for shipment.
At the time of shipping you will receive emails from our mail order and shipping systems notifying you of your shipment and giving you your tracking number.
If you are planning to be away for a period of time during the regular shipping season for your order, please let us know your away dates so we can ship only when you will be home to receive your garden buddies. Any additional instructions can be added to the online order form.
We love plants just as much as you do and we are here to help. Please do not hesitate to ask us on any of our cool stuff. Special thanks to Buchholz Nursery for the use of their photos.