RHS Avis 

Anyone else having issues with RHS membership? At the end of November my husband bought me lifetime membership for Christmas intending it to be a surprise present. The RHS immediately contacted me directly (though asked not to) and deluged me with emails, spoiling the surprise. However the joining pack has not arrived despite multiple calls, emails and messages left on the website (the latter option being completely pointless as no-one ever responds to those!!) and even an in person request as Wisley. Yes, I know there has been a postal strike and Christmas but after 7 weeks something should have arrived by now. Overall a really disappointing ecoerience

Crap website with no reason for existing except for the R in the title. Organic Charlie is leading the world while everyone is struggling to get food. Dump the RHS and look for other websites if you are genuinely interested in gardening.

Glow Festival at Hyde Hall. I needed to change the visit date because my disabled Grandaughter is critically ill in hospital. Phones not answered so drove to Hyde Hall, assistant very offhand & said couldn’t help and we had to phone head office. Another assistant called us over and was so helpful-excellent customer care. Then levied a charge of £2 per ticket! So paid approximately an extra 30% so we could hopefully take our disabled Grandaughter to see the light display. I had expected rather more compassion from the RHS. Just hope it’s worth the now rather high cost!

I have just received my plants. They came in excellent condition and well packaged. My only gripe is that they use Yodel, the worst delivery company around. They knocked on my door by the time I answered they were in their van and off leaving plants worth £65 on my front doorstep. In full view of passers by. I can’t fault the plants.

Wednesday 28th September
We have just spent a very pleasant morning at Wisley
having a guided tour of the gardens with volunteer Martin. He showed us the highlights with much
fascinating background information. Most enjoyable.
John and Rosemary Ward

BEWARE - DO NOT BUY FROM THE RHS. BEWARE
I decided that I would pay a bit more and purchase a water butt from the RHS - DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY. Not only did I pay more for what I thought would be a better service, I paid more...but that is not the worst. The incorrect item came, with no tap, no stand, incorrect size COSTING ME £40.00 MORE. BEWARE DO NOT BUY FROM THIS SITE. Go to Malmsbury Garden Centre and purchase a 220lte Waterbut with stand tap and fittings for only £79.00 - sadly I can not include the photo showing this but I have sent it onto the RHS - Strangely they have not commented!!??

I won’t be returning. The cafe food and drink prices are extortionate. £7 for a wrap. That was it .. just a wrap with 2 bite size pieces of chicken in each one. No salad on the side. Dreadful. Such a shame as I’d heard it was lovely. Pleasant surroundings…

Many years ago I went to a charming little cafe at Wisley Gardens and had a cream tea. I hoped to repeat the experience in my old age, but the cafes have become canteens and the prices are appalling: £10.50 for a slice of cake, a coffee and a can of pop. The jacket potatoes were tiny and cost over £7.00. Very disappointing. That's why my score is a 3. The gardens and the gift shop are lovely.

Felisha was more that helpful! I was having trouble purchasing gift memberships. She walked me through the process online as well as on the phone. She was patient and understanding and didn't make me feel like an idiot because I could not do it on my own. RHS is lucky to have Felisha!

RHS bridgewater 1st Aug 22. Very busy. Car park was full but too much wasted space between vehicles due to no markings. Male toilet within the main entrance is poor - too few cubicles and no way of identifying occupied cubicles if colourblind though wash basin area very good. Long queue at main cafe. Lovely gardens with plenty if seating and picnic space / lawns. Still developing the garden but very smart.

This was my first visit to an RHS flower show, and based on my experience today at Tatton Park Flower Show, it will be my last. The whole event seemed badly organised, there was at least a five-mile tailback to get into the car park, and once we were inside the event, there was a lack of seating and long queues for food and drink; the only restaurant we found required pre-booking, lunch was £50 each. The show gardens were limited; the floral display tents were better, but it was hard to see anything due to the crowds. There were a varied array of stalls selling all manner of things. We didn't buy anything as we were parked too far away to carry things back to the car. We stayed for under two hours and left very disappointed. Never again.

Truly beautiful Gardens & surroundings.
So well thought out & executed.
So many wild flowers & water features make it really special.
With lots of areas with seating to enjoy it all.
Our favourite was the stunning walled gardens.
An absolute must to visit!

Took my relatives to RHS Rosemore, the gardens were perfect & £13.95 for entry was expensive but worth it for the gardens. What let the whole visit down was the rude & ignorant cafe staff. You expect to pay inflated prices at tourist attractions but £5.50 for a tiny pasty & when a staff member was asked about sandwiches (very few on display), we were bluntly & rudely told "we will restock but not till later". How easy would it have been to ask what we wanted & we would have left happy customers. I expect more from the RHS, we support local attractions when possible & always take out relations to local places, but this left them angry & we will not return (we were looking at membership!). Very poor cafe service & I recommend taking a picnic or going somewhere else.

Outrageous waste of money. Nearly £45 to visit an overcrowedec and less than impressive flower festival with totally inadequate refreshments, queues at every, bar, ice-cream van and food seller whilst the garden displays were tired and inadequate. They would have been pushing heir luck to charge half the price.

Sadly this was a huge disappointment. I thought the whole point in selling tickets is to control numbers. The show was absolutely heaving - you could not move because of the crowds. And this is sheer greed from the organisers, you MUST control numbers. Presumably also due to greed, there was also a distinct lack of staff, particularly in the car park which resulted in utter chaos. It took us an 1.5 hours to get out.

The gardens would benefit from more labelling of plants like Bod Nant. I know it’s a work in process and I will go again when the Chinese pavilion is finished. It needs more tall vistas as much of it is a bit flat. I visited today:first June. Car park well organised.
Had a coffee to start with which hardly tasted of coffee. £9.50 for 2 coffees and a croissant. The coffee needs improvement definitely for the price.
The garden centre is very expensive for plants. A real put off.
The walled garden is the best bit but please label all plants: very hit and miss labelling.
A lot of “wilding” .

It was poetic justice when the ‘peoples choice’ garden at the recent RHS Chelsea show was the perennial garden ‘with love’. A traditional and well designed floriferous offering, surely a smack on the hand for the woke liberal elite metropolitan judges. Their ridiculous winner was not a garden and let’s see what happens when all those beavers multiply and cause havoc randomly in our overcrowded island, chewing down (quite large) trees willy nilly with attendant havoc and disrupting food production.

Yesterday we attended the Chelsea Flower Show for the 2nd time in 30 years . A bit smaller than I remember but very glamorous and quite an event.
Lots of food to be had and being in our 70s decided on Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas, cant go wrong? Waited 20 minutes in queue to order Paid £32 a bit pricey for fish & chips but it is Chelsea ,it has to be done. Order arrived asked for Tartar sauce & plastic cutlery to be told they had run out of cutlery? I asked how do you expect me to eat my mushy peas, the girl then asked me to not raise my voice and show respect? it was frustration!. I then asked for refund and girl did not know how? I asked for a manager who after another delay came up with some eating irons. Also run out of all kind of drinks! Not a great advert for the premier Gardening show. Brian Macnamara.

I was thinking of joining the RHS, but I'm so disappointed and frustrated with their website I have changed my mind. I could only get very limited information from the website because it just keeps going round in circles.

We are members of RHS. The website is a frustrating experience. Endlessly going round in circles being asked to link your membership and join now. Useless.