Plant of the Month Club

You could get the same plant or better at a nursery for much less.

My husband gave me a six month subscription to the Smith and Hawken's foliage plant of the month. When he told me about the gift I was really pleased. How great to get a cool plant in the mail every other month. My enthusiasm died when I received my first package.

It came by Fedex and when I opened it I was really surprised. I think of Smith and Hawken as a totally quality retailer. I have bought things from them online as well as in their stores and have always been impressed by their quality and aesthetic. Not so with this plant.

The plant was not a beauty. There were spots on the leaves and there was just nothing pretty about it. The plastic pot it came in was wrapped in burlap, barely hiding the base of the poorly planted cardboard palm.

The plant came with very little documentation and I had to search the box several times before I found the small card that gave very little information on care or instructions for re-potting.

I went to the Smith and Hawken web site to see if I could find more information. It said that "Come spring, most plants (in the subscription) can be transferred to the garden," which is one of the reasons my husband gave it to me. This is a zone 9 plant. I live in a zone 5. Putting this plant in my garden in spring would not be a good idea - death would result.

I love the idea of this subscription, and I was touched and thrilled that my husband got it for me. However, even if this cardboard palm is an anomaly, and all the other plants in the series were to arrive in better shape, I would still rather go to my local nursery and buy better looking, more interesting plants for less money.