C Rassell

Rassell’s is a Kensington institution and I have a love-​hate relationship with this garden centre. I love their selection of high quality plants and the way they display them — all cramped into a tiny space behind the main shop on Earls Court Road.
I’m not so keen on being treated like a second-​class customer — on my last visit I was gazumped not once, but twice! The first was forgivable as I thought the lady behind me was queuing to pay when she launched into a long list of requests! The next member of staff I approached said «Yes, madam» just to walk off and serve someone else. I almost didn’t bother with a third attempt … Their main clientele seems rather posh and pushy, and most definitely regular — I think it must show that I am a very occasional gardener without indepth knowledge of botanical terms.
The quality of service and advice also varies greatly between members of staff and from rather off-​puttish to well informed and friendly.
My main reason for returning is the fact that they offer a delivery service to local addresses — as I don’t drive a car this is an essential bonus and quite affordable at less than a tenner.

We hacked 450 square feet out of our lives just to get some coveted outdoor space in an expensive West London neighborhood. Yep, we’re American like that. Ya know what, though… totally worth it! It’s like having another room that I can decorate almost completely with plants.
That’s where Rassell’s comes in. I can’t say it was anymore expensive than anything else in London. I think we spent about a total of 50 pounds on all of our plants. AND they delivered them to us same-​day FOR FREE. I did, however, sneak over to Homebase for pots and soil.
We now have four tomato plants; two strawberry plants; rosemary (blooming with amazing lavender as we speak); thyme; lemon verbena; hanging baskets brimming with several shades of pink and purple petunias; hot pink cosmos; the sweetest-​smelling mint; and a beautiful hydrangea that blooms with large blue flowers. Pretty good for the price I’d say. Can’t wait to do it all again next spring!

They know their plants.
We had a problem with some houseplants, and mysterious fruit fly like creatures. After spending a lot of time googling, we were no closer to finding out what the cause was, let alone how we could fix it.
So we went there and described our situation. They helped us figure out exactly what the cause was, and showed us the products which could help.
Unfortunately, the prices were ridiculous. I felt incredibly bad after such good customer service, but walked out. Instead, I went to the Homebase which is really close, and bought the products there for half the price.