Homewood Nursery & Garden Center — Local services in Wake Forest

Update: And reading the casual arrogance coming from the owner makes me most certain I will not step in the store again! All I am hearing are excuses. No need reply, we are done!

I called to find out if they had a specific plant in stock. The gal on the phone said she would check. She came back on the line and said that they don't have the plant but have the seeds. I had to get some other things so I drove the 30 mins it takes to get there. I grabbed a plant I wanted on my way in to get the seeds. I saw a guy standing by the cash registers and asked him where the seeds were. He pointed over to some seed kiosks. I thanked him then went over. I looked and looked but I did not see the seeds. I went back over to him (found out his name is Chris) and told him what happened. His response was "We have been slammed over the last couple of days." I mentioned that I called within the hour and he pointed at the cash registers and said "You can see how busy we are and you probably talked to one of them and they got it wrong." It wasn't that there was human error here but his casual arrogance of "We are busy, we don't need your business or need to take responsibility for wasting your time." That was LOUD and clear from his disingenuous "apology". I went to the greenhouse and was looking for someone who could steer me to a manager. I asked a gal if there was a manager for the entire store and she mentioned it was broken up in departments and Chris was the "manager" of that area. I said I was disappointed to find that the person in charge was a complete creep. I thanked her for her time. I went back to Chris, handed him the items I collected to buy and said that the casual arrogance of my time doesn't work for me and left. I won't be returning to this nursery when there are other nurseries who have shown that they value my time, not just my pocketbook. I know this won't change anything but exposing someone like this might make people think when doing business with a nursery, considering how many there are in the area. Unacceptable behavior. Casual arrogance from someone who is leading a department is a gross violation and poor reflection on a business as a whole. Good...

I've been going to Homewood every Spring for 20 years. I live under 5 minutes away. Although the staff is as polite and helpful as ever, my experience this year left me with mixed feelings. I left two window boxes and my information. I provided photos of last year's boxes. They contacted me the next day; they were very helpful and interested - however after that my experience went (literally) sideways.

Here are the most annoying things: I called to say I was coming, and they were hardly busy; but after I arrived it still took nearly ten minutes to get the boxes. They were very helpful, bringing them to the register. I was also offered help, but declined, to bring them to my car - each in a separate wagon.

By the time I pulled the wagons up to my car (which didn't involve any steep hills) one of them had fallen over and about a third of it had come out of the box but still inside the wagon. I put it back together myself. I've done this many times before, never had this problem; IMO they should pack it in the wagon so this doesn't happen.

Keep in mind I spent over $250 on these two boxes. And while I was offered the option of home delivery that was $30 extra, even though I was less than 5 minutes away.

Later I found a few plants had broken as a result of falling over in the wagon. It's $$expensive and I ended up with damaged plants. (I also asked for very little pink, but got, well more than a little...)

Yes, we're all human and make mistakes. Maybe they need to fine-tune how they pack these window boxes into their wagons?

I hope my experience was a one-time issue. It's still a lovely place but I feel the value has declined - but they're hardly alone in that regard. I will accept more help next time, and probably spend time with them to pick out plants and colors in person. I will say despite these things the boxes are now...

In mid-May I purchased $500 worth of plants, among them three Scottish Brooms, one peony, and one hydrangea. I also purchased several plants online at Planting Tree, including two hydrangeas. At Lowe’s, I rescued a hydrangea from the “dead and dying” shelf.

The hydrangeas from Planting Tree were five times the size of the one from Homewood for the same price and came well-packaged in 3 gallon pots. A month later they are lush, even fuller and covered in soon-to-be blooms of the Vanilla Strawberry variety. The Lowes’ hydrangea, which was at death’s door, has put out beautiful vibrant green leaves and almost doubled in size. Homewood’s hydrangea, while it has put out a couple of new leaves, has brown spots and looks like it’s struggling to survive. Their peony has done absolutely nothing and the three Scottish Brooms, at $35 each, have completely died and look like nothing more than the business ends of three Scottish witches brooms sticking out of the dirt. Disappointing, to say the least.

I made a trip to the nursery and asked one of the “roving” staff members how to go about getting a refund for the dead Scottish Brooms and was told that no refund could be issued if I did not have the receipt or the pots I purchased the plants in. I had neither. Her attitude said “forget it.” Well, I guarantee I won’t be forgetting it.

What a terrible waste of money, time and effort. If you are looking for quality plants where you get something to show for your money and hard work, I highly recommend buying your plants online at Planting Tree. Even off the dead and dying cart at Lowe’s, the plants have at least as good a chance as surviving as those you buy...