Thursday, December 30, 2010

Review of International Seeds suppliers - Thompson & Morgan

Earlier i posted a review of Chiltern Seeds UK. This is turn of Thompson and morgan. I m not sure though i have heard there is new management out there at Thompson and morgan and the standard of their quality and service is not as good as it use to be under previous management. Anyways, here is the review.

Pros: 
Promotions/Discounts: Probably this is the most alluring of all. After every few months they waive off P&P (Packing and Postage) which is around 4 pounds for international seeds delivery.They also announce a discount of 50% which is very handy. Special promotions are mostly at special occasions like Christmas.
Value seeds: There are many seeds packets which are sold at very low prices. These contain mostly the trial varieties or those varieties which do not sell hot.
3 for the price of 2: Choose any 3 seeds packets and pay for only 2. Price is fixed for all seeds packets in this category.
Voucher Codes: They use to send free 5 pounds voucher code with every printed catalog delivered. Although this does not happen often. Got a printed catalog this year but no free voucher code.

Cons: 
Poor germination rate: As compared to Chiltern Seeds UK, the germination rates of Thompson and morgan are quite low. No no wait, do not compare to anyone, germination rates are still not good enough. I bought lots of seeds packets this year. And quality was not which i expect from T&M.
Lack of variety: Very limited seeds. I can list hundreds of plant seeds which i expect T&M to have but they do not.

Please note that these are my personal experiences and other gardeners may have different point of view.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Rose and Jasmine Garden Islamabad

Rose and Jasmine garden is situated in Islamabad near Aabpara. It is one of the most famous gardens of Islamabad. There are other gardens in islamabad as well including botanic garden (in development), the CDA kachnar garden i.e. Bauhinia garden but not as famous. This garden is also famous for flower shows held in autumn and spring.

Rose and jasmine garden includes almost all types of roses including desi or local roses, climbing roses,tea rose, floribunda roses, miniature roses, fragrant roses etc. Despite all my efforts i could not find any jasmine blooms there. These shots are taken in last week of december. I hope you would enjoy:)













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Monday, December 20, 2010

Seeds shops and Plant nurseries of Islamabad/Rawalpindi

During my recent visit to islamabad, I visited many gardening resources including seeds shops and plant nurseries. Many thanks to expert gardener Tahir khan from Rawalpindi for helping me out.

Here are some of the best.

Seeds shops:
Rawalpindi: Awan seeds store, committee chowk. Phone #: +92 51 5537828
Islamabad: Only two shops which I found and these were both in F-8 Markaz.

1- Awan Garden Center: Probably they are the only one supplying flowering bulbs specially amaryllis belladonna, agapanthus and nerine lily in whole Islamabad. They also sell seeds of brychome swan river daisy, a fragrant spring annual not available in Lahore. Their variety of bulbs is very good.

Address: Shop # 12, Hashim Plaza, F-8 Markaz, Islamabad.

Phone: +92-51-2260454, Cell: 0300-5100975 Mr Saqib Awan

2- Green impex: They are right besides Awan garden centre. They are in whole sale supply of seeds and gardening accessories. Phone #: +92-51-2254540

3- Awan seeds Rawalpindi: They are in Rawalpindi. The also sell flowering bulbs. Their trademark is Rs 5 Ranunculus tuber which is so cheap because it is local production not imported one.

Plant Nurseries:
The best nurseries are in H-9 Islamabad. There is a whole lane called nurseries area. Some of the good nurseries I found are following:

1- Madina nursery: Islamabad branch of Madina nursery from Pattoki. They have huge variety of flowering and indoor plants. Phone #: +92-51-4446645, Cell: 0300-5024293 Yasin khan

2- Fateh Muhammad Nursery: One of the top nurseries of Islamabad. They are branch of famous Doctor nursery of pattoki. Phone #: +92-51-4442877, Cell: 0300-5131412 Mr Naveed Azhar

3- Makkah Nursery: Another good nursery of Islamabad. Phone #: +92-51-443193-2, Cell: 0300-8565965 Mr Iqbal

4- Green Land Nursery: Phone #: +92-51-4434850

5- Pattoki Nursery islamabad: Phone #: +92-51-4433748

Other good nurseries include Hamza nursery, Evergreen nursery, Bismillah nursery and Mardan Nursery etc.

There is another plants nursery which is in chak shahzad, Iqbal nursery. They have got good selection of american hybird day lilies and plants are reasonably priced as well. Contact # is Mr. Adil Iqbal, Cell # +92 300 5280880

Some of my next posts would be about Rose and Jasmine garden Islamabad and butterflies of islamabad

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Annual Chrysanthemum show 2010

This year's Autumn Chrysanthemum flower show was held in Race Course Park Lahore. The show was not as vibrant as the last year. Few stalls, less space and not much activity was there. For last year's Chrysanthemum show click here













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