Wingard's Market — Local services in Lexington

I really love local nurseries as they typically are more personable, knowledgeable and not to mention the variety of plants they have.

I was excited to check out Wingard's Market spring fling for their customers offering 25% off some of there stocked plants which is really great!

Mom and I went to check it out on Friday with Aspen and Isla. We were met at the entrance with two employees, male and female. If I recall correctly the male greeted us- the female did not. (I’m not sure of her name, but she’s got this brown kind of wavy unkempt hair.

We walked passed them and I turned back to ask the lady is the fertilizer was on sale. She simply replied unenthusiastically, “No.”. She then took time out of her job to help me and provide me with a flyer detailing the sale items and exclusions.

So, fast forward to Saturday, about 13 minutes till 5 which is also the time Wingards Nursery closes.

The lady that provided me with the brochure is standing at the drive entrance with the close sign/ gate prevents further customers from entry.

I pull up and ask if I could please come in and get a plant that I wanted. I knew exactly where the plant was and i needed two of those so it would have been a quick in and out for me.

She went on to tell me (at 10 till 5) that I was basically unwelcome there. She stood her ground and didn’t let me in after telling me that there were several people in the nursery already and they were still browsing and needed to be checked out.

I explained to her that I wanted to take advantage of the special while the plants were 25% off as I was a very loyal customer, not spending hundreds but thousands of $ there.

She went on and on, not politely mind you, that it wasn’t possible. She asked if I could remember the plants name as a test to see if I really knew what I wanted to and if as I said I was going in for the two plants I drove there for.

As I got turned around to leave there were prob 3 other cars that she turned away. I mean I get closing procedures and I get that they were slammed.

I did tell her as I left that she had a horrible attitude. She did.

I’m just really upset that some people aren’t a little more compassionate. Kind of hurt my feelings as I am a regular there and have been a patron for years.

You hurt me, Wingards and I don’t think I can support a business where your employees make customers feel unwelcome and unwanted.

The lady who treated me like this was the co-owner... Delores Wingard Steinbacher.

Im also not sure why I never received a formal apology for her...

As long as I've lived here, I have somehow never been to this place until recently and it totally blew my mind! I went looking for a Christmas tree after taking my son to school one morning because that's the only time I could go. It was literally the only place that was actually open before the afternoon and they ended up having the best price for trees by about 50 bucks.

I usually spend $120-$140+ for a 7 ft tree and I paid $90 there. The tree guys told me I could wait inside in the market where it was warm while they got my tree ready. The market was so awesome. Had tons of food, from local butchers, local pies, cakes, nuts, cookies, jellies and jams, everything you could possibly think of. Lake Murray and SC themed items. Fresh coffee, too.

I didn't even get to go in the other building or look at any of the other plants and I was blown away by the 30 minutes I spent at Wingard's. I really can't wait to go back. They even had samples of chocolate and pecans. Would be a really neat place to get a South Carolina themed or locally grown/made gift.

Christmas tree is perfect and beautiful. The local cheese I bought is delicious. Also picked up some local sourdough brownies and buckeyes that...

Went here today for the spring fling and will never return.

My sister is an avid plant lover and gardener so we like to visit different local nurseries. Today we had the worst experience we have ever had. From the moment we walked into the small store we were watched and stared at to the point that it was a bit uncomfortable. We proceeded to the garden area to browse the plants and within the first 5 ft were stopped and asked if we needed help. Few moments later same thing. This continued every few minutes the entire 20-30 minute visit. This was not occurring with any of the many other patrons that were at the garden center freely browsing. The final straw for me was when I crouched to look at some fragrant tea olive trees and was once again approached by a worker to ask if I needed help. After politely again saying know I turned around to see her go stand with another worker as they discussed and watched us further.

In addition to the unwelcoming behavior the elevated prices are not comparable to other nurseries...