My experience was similar to others on this thread. That is, we bought a tree that died almost immediately. Weasked for a refund, which the owner denied. When we bought the tree we asked about watering it after the copious rain we were getting. He said, "No need, unless you want to overwater it." When we asked for a refund, he said, "You didn't water it enough. People (read: people not as smart as the owner) think they can just let the rain take care of it." Our experience with nurseries in the U.S. is limited, but we expected some sort of restitution, at the very least an apology and some acknowledgement that they were as much at fault as we were. I took the time to echo others' experience so that the overall rating might drop a little more. It can't go far enough. read more

I bought many plants there years ago but eventually stopped due to their attitude; today I phoned looking for a new, hard-to-find cultivar and the lady said "No I don't have any" and immediately hung up on me. Good Grief. read more

Buyer beware! There is no signage indicating that there are no refunds or exchanges allowed, only a tiny reference on the BOTTOM of your receipt which you receive AFTER you have made a purchase. I bought 5 large shrubs that were available, hoping that I could fill in a foundation planting with complimentary other plants. After realizing that this would not work, I traveled back to the store with the shrubs still in their original containers and my tiny receipt. I unfortunately did not read the fine print as I stood in the shop during my original $200+ purchase. Not 1, not 2 but 3 owner/employees immediately told me there is no refund. My mistake for not reading the fine print, but one I will NEVER make again as I will NEVER shop here again. There is no reason to trick customers by never mentioning a NO RETURN policy until after a purchase. BAD BUSINESS practice and rigid owners deter customers! Southern States and Lowes are FAR more polite, cheaper and easier for gardening needs in Central VA. read more

Do not go here. The lady that owns and runs it is unbelievably rude and treated me and my freshly potty trained toddler like wild animals when my daughter said she had to go pee (she had just gone when we left Costco). "It's not my problem a kid needs the bathroom. We don't have one. You should have thought about that before you left". Not knowing a thing about where we'd just come from. I said, she's 2... I called to further discuss it as I was mortified and heartbroken and in complete disbelief that someone would be this cold and unkind to a baby. She hung up on me. DONT GO HERE. I was ready to spend about $600 too. read more

The owner is unbelievable rude, nasty and hateful. The shop looks decent enough, but I will never be able to speak from experience about buying anything as the owner has lost any potential business she would have ever had from me. Do not recommend. read more

I would not recommend the Garden Spot. If this were my only option for a nursery in the Charlottesville, Virginia area (and blessedly, it isn't), I would settle for a landscape barren of any plant life than opt to buy anything from this establishment. Do yourself a favor and check out the other reviews of this nursery, spanning a number of years. These should suffice to warn you away. As other reviewers observed, the owner is unbelievably rude, almost gratuitously so. It is as if she is auditioning to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the rudest person in the world. John, the "installer," said to be her son, is the proverbial chip off the old block, matching, if not exceeding her, in rudeness. I purchased three trees for a total of $1200 dollars and was then harassed to pick them up, as they needed the space where the trees were located to have mulch delivered. At the time of purchase, neither mother or son indicated that there was a deadline for pick-up. Indeed, I had informed them that I was dependent on a gardener to interrupt a series of current jobs, to pick them up for me. Perhaps because I declined to have them install the trees, they felt entitled to be rude. I had to even ask for a receipt which was shoved into my hand without so much as a "thank you." Again, everyone associated with this shop is brusque, rude, and bullying, bereft of any common niceties. I wish I had the option to rank the Garden Spot lower than "not good," as "horrific" and "deplorable" would come closer to describing them. Gardeners beware. Enter at your own risk. No establishment with such a horrible reputation for customer service should be patronized and allowed to prosper. read more

Bought two dogwood trees, one for me and one for a friend and both died. Called and asked about warranty, and at first the owner said if I had irrigation it was covered, when I said I had irrigation, she said it had to be planted by her staff. The tree is about 4' tall planted by my gardener, who also ran crews for JW Townsend, who probably has more experience than her worker. Would definitely NOT ever do business with her again. Ivy Nursery is the place to go, quality plants and they will work with you in this situation. Lowe's even warranties their plants, as does Costco, so that's where I'll be going and never again to G Spot . read more

John and his Mother are very helpful and knowledgeable. I own a business in C'ville as well and John and I talked about how hard it is to find people to work these days. They were the only nursery that had the Laurels I was looking for and John loaded them in my truck for me (he is a lot stronger than he looks) I find both him and his mother to be very pleasant, and I like (after reading some of these posts below) that they don't really have time to deal with whiny snowflakes with kids that have to pee real bad. She must have seen their "Nursery" sign and thought in was a day care facility. read more

I was getting supplies for succulent terrariums and couldn't find charcoal at the Lowe's, so checked Yelp for garden stores and ended up here - glad I did! The woman working there was very friendly and helpful, and located what I was looking for promptly and I was on my way! The shop is inviting and is definitely worth another look if it's a place you often drive by =) read more

I was looking to buy some plants to adorn my parents grave site. Asking for professional advice from the owner on what plants could thrive in direct sunlight. The owner directed me to Zinna. I bought four for my parents. They were at my home that afternoon, awaiting to be planted the next day (Sunday). The direct sunlight burnt the leaves, even though I watered them after arriving home. These four plants were dead. I asked for a refund or an exchange and the same man I asked for advice said we don't refund nor are we responsible once the sale is final. Extremely poor customer service read more

What an unfriendly place to shop. The woman tells you to go look for want you want. We needed help with our selection. She was rude to my wife because she didn't buy anything on her last visit. Reluctantly we made our last purchase there today. How do they stay in business with such poor customer service? We could have purchased the same item at Lowe's much cheaper. Buyer beware. read more

I bought two planters from here and they were not made of the material they told me they were and did not fit in the place where I thought they would go. When I called to return them they refused to exchange or accept the return on them and hung up on me. I went into the shop to try to resolve the situation amicably and was treated very rudely again. The manager did initially offer me an exchange, but only if I picked out another item immediately. When I explained that I was not able to pick something out right away he told me to forget about any exchange. It is unbelievable to me that a business would treat a customer so rudely for simply asking for a return or exchange. I can't imagine this place will be around for much longer. I will certainly never go back. read more

Third time is not a charm! The listed hours of operation are incorrect and they are open when they see fit. My first visit was on a Sunday and they were closed. I just guessed that they were closed on Sundays and tried again on a weekday, (a few minutes to 4 PM). I was in the turning lane and a woman angrily yelled (from across the street) that they were closed. I waved and said "Thank you". Tried to visit again on another day, and they were open. I felt lucky to have the chance to finally catch them at an open time, so I went in. First thing I noticed is that there are steps to get into the nursery, so fair warning, not wheel chair accessible. When I walked into the outdoor section, I met eyes with the same woman that had yelled at me once before. This time she sourly yelled out "Do you need help with anything?" and I answered "No thank you, I'm just looking". She must have not heard me as she yelled again, this time in a more frustrated voice "DO YOU NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING?" This time I yelled my answer in a polite as possible way "No thank you, I'm just looking!" I was looking and hoping that something would catch my eye. My parents' yard has some spots that they would like filled in with a little more color so I have volunteered my time to help them out with this project. I was looking at different nurseries to see what they had to offer. I found that most plants at this nursery were not marked with a price, so I guess that they would be priced by the moment, much like their hours. I didn't really feel like asking after the cold greeting I got. The selection was o.k., not many choices unless you are looking at their veggies? I spoke to two other gentlemen there, and at least they were friendly. I found out that the women I spoke to is one of the owners of the nursery. I understand that not everyone has a flair for customer service. I'm sure there are plenty of non face to face things that could be taken care of in a back office with the door closed that she would be more suited to? I laughed at their signs stating "Bee Friendly" and something about "arrived a stranger, left as a friend". Nope. Maybe the owner should rename the place as "The Debbie Downer Drama Spot" and hang signs that say "We yell at people, get over it" so we know what to expect. To others looking for nurseries to go to, try Ivy Corner Nursery, Eltzroth & Thomson, or Snows. All three have better selections of plants at their sites, are happy to answer your plant questions, are open at the times advertised, and the owners do not have the personal problem of having fallen backside first onto a Citrus trifoliata . read more

'I don't have time to answer your questions. Buy what you want to, and then I can answer your questions about what you want to buy'. In this day and age, who can afford to be rude to your customer? This place can, and will. Looks like such a lovely little place, but what a shame. read more

NEVER going back to this place.. I asked about 4 plants I bought last fall did not come back this spring. The lady said "they were zone 9 and were never coming back" ! These grasses are zones 6-9 (we are in zone 7)! Poor customer service and I would not recommend them! What a shame they are SO rude. I would give them "0" stars if I could. read more

The Garden Spot's beautiful, healthy plants are grown right at the nursery. You can purchase lovely mixed hanging baskets and planters as well as bedding plants. They also have shrubs and trees and offer design and installation. They are very nice, experienced professionals. It's near Northside Library. Visiting is fun. They have a yellow labrador. read more

I had them come out and do a major shrub planting project, and then a few months later they come out and groomed the yard - trim shrubs, mulch, etc.. The house we have has a very large yard, and they did a really good job. They worked hard and did the job swiftly and well for a reasonable price. read more

I took a pic of a flower with me and asked, I believe to be the owner and a younger guy if they could identify it. She told me this was not a classroom and was I going to buy it. How rude is that! Cant believe they are in business. And good luck getting any info on something you do buy. NEWS FLASH!! PVCC has customer service classes. Take it! read more

I needed water plants and spoke to the owner and told her I needed plants to put in my koi pond on my deck. She was kind of rude but got somebody to take care of me unfortunately what they recommended water hyacinths are poisonous to Koi. After losing a couple of my Koyie I called to talk to them and the person I spoke to basically called me a liar. When I said I verified that they were toxic not only to koi but could be to other animals he got rude with me and said I was wrong again. They have lost my business. Would not recommend them read more

I'm giving it a "1" only because "0" is not an option. Talk about rude, arrogant and dismissive! I was promptly told that what I wanted (violas) had been sold out for weeks and how could I possibly not know the best time to buy them is EARLY spring and not April? And whatever you do, do NOT ask what a dove cote is. All I can say is I will NEVER go back to that place again. read more

Although I visit them all, this is my home base for plants in Charlottesville and has been for years. John is going out of his way to ensure he holds two trees for me while my yard nightmare holds up the process. Highly recommend. read more

This place is awful: the customer service is lacking, I was treated rudely over the phone, did not have any help picking out my items, and was surprised by the inflated prices. After I paid, I called them shortly afterward to explain my surprise at their costs and asked to return the items. I was treated very rudely by the woman on the phone who said they refused returns or exchanges, and I should have known better. Poor customer service, elevated prices. I will never go back. I would recommend the Ivy Nursery ANY DAY over this place read more

Went in to get Mulch today. I have never been here, but the place we normally go is all out. We have searched all morning for a deal like we normally get at our home mulching place,but seems every where else is much higher. Went in was not greeted. Husband ask the price of their mulch, then after he was told the price ask if they did price comparison. Guy was rude and said no. This place was not busy,no customers and obviously doesn't get a lot of business anyway. We will not be going back due to how rude the guy was to my husband, and the fact that we weren't greeted, and just his whole nasty attitude. I give this place NO STARS! read more

The staff is extremely knowledgeable and the selection is high quality and beautiful. I am a gardener on a budget, but save my pennies to shop here. It's worth it. read more

We were pleased with the quality of the plants. The woman working there was very friendly and helpful. She even pointed out how I could save a few dollars by buying the same sized plants that were in smaller containers. The only drawback that I could see was that their plants were a bit more expensive than I would find at Lowe's etc. The benefit, however, was that the plants looked a lot healthier. We will be going back again. read more

Check the local Walmart & Lowe's before coming here. Prices are high at the Garden Spot, and there are few if any sales. The woman in charge isn't always a happy camper. The plant nursery business isn't an easy one, but I believe this place would bring in lots of new customers if prices were reduced 20%. Weekly specials and a decent sales sign would also be a magnet. Nice garden items, plants & shrubs overall. read more

I had the most unbelievable experience at this nursery. I had selected a boxwood with the help of the owner's son, and he was rushed and a little short, but gave me $10 off the price, which was totally not expected. He brought it to the front of the store opening and placed it there while I continued to look around. I walked around the building and found the same plant, slightly larger, for $10 less than the price he offered me and I though, hmmmmmm, I almost paid $20 more for the same plant. No big deal, I was grateful for the discount, but wanted to compare the plants. I am a Master Gardener and I know that you should ALWAYS completely check out your plant material before you buy it. Especially, if you are going to fork over $59-$79 for a single shrub. I carefully lifted the shrub out of the container to see the size and growth of the root ball to determine which would be a the better plant to buy. You would have thought I was taking a mower to the whole nursery the way this women came screaming out of the store to yell at me as if I was three years old. At first, I did not hear her because her behavior was so out of character for the apparent offense, it could not have been directed at me. Once I realized she was screaming, at me, I just stood there stunned. I apologized for my offense but then thought, this is nuts. I am the customer. How about, "Oh I, am sorry Miss, can I help you with that, or gosh, would you like to see the root ball, let me assist you." No I got "How dare you do that to my plant." I reminded the lady that I was not four years old and her approach was not appropriate and that any gardener with half a brain knows to check out the entire plant. I then went over to her son and he, I am sure out of fear of his mother, defended her and said I should have asked and that could I not see that they were setting up a new display!!!!!!! WHAT??? Maybe I should have asked, but that is NO WAY to treat the customer. I had a few parting words for the unfortunate and very obviously whipped husband who could barely look my way out of sheer embarrassment. He asked me not to return and I assured him that he need not worry, but that I would also be sure to let everyone know how rude and INSANE his wife was and that was no way to treat a customer. I am sure this lady can be very nice, as long as she is taking her medication. Buyer beware, store owner may bite! read more