This may come as a suprise to you but most nurseries do not have a entomologist or a plant pathologist on staff. THey are not exactly the highest paying industries around. Who did you ask the question of, a cashier? Or was the questioned phrased like," My aunt's mother's sister's best friend's cousin says she has some white stuff on a plant that's growing in her yard. Do you know what it is?" I have found that the guy who works in the plant care barn at Buchanan's is very knowledgeable, but you need to help him (bring in a sample or a picture) for him to help you.

Nice plants but very expensive. They do not answer the phone or reply to emails. They also do not always have what they place in their flyers (or the workers are ignorant about what they have). I honestly do not see a need for me to ever visit here again.

I was a long time customer of BNPs when I lived in the Heights and Midtown. Recently, the facility has been upgraded and the overall operation has lost some of its lightly worn charm. What has surprised me is the pricing used for basic plants. There are very very few good deals, but the plant quality is good and they tend to have some unique selections that are not carried frequently by other nurseries. My advice, always buy it when you see it or it won't be there when you come back.

The current focus on pottery and fountains pulls away from the focus on plants and historically that isn't what the store was known for. I do find the plant descriptions helpful, even educational and the occasional class i took there was also good. However, too often the younger staff members don't know which plants are which and often put the wrong sign in front of the wrong plants. On more than one occasion, I set things right.

Overall, I sensed the place upgraded its appearance and cost for the newest members of the Heights (very wealthy people with huge homes), but forgot that the majority of its customers are from the more normal, less than $300k houses that dominate the area. I wish Ms. Buchannan well and hope she turns back the clock a bit and embraces her past and keeps things realistic. Otherwise, this part of the Heights becomes like overpriced Bellaire.

One of my major concerns during the remodel was what were they going to do. Even made the comment to a friend who frequents the nursery often my concern for the direction they were going. How could they make this place better, it was all you could ask for and then some. Unfortunately they have gone the other direction. It's a shame to see a place, which was used for my therapy, relinquish their identity and uniqueness to the "made in China" crap. Not only did they relinquish to the "made in China" crap they have marked it up with obscene prices. Why would anyone pay $46 for a flemsy tin panel with a glass sun on it when they can get the same thing at Big Lots for $10. Maybe they should have put up the "made in China" boxes instead of leaving them out for all to see. Maybe then we would have been confused. Please Donna Buchannan......don't sacrifice your unique ability to have a wonderful enviroment for all to enjoy just for the almighty dollar.

Buchanans is close to my office and I go there a couple of times a month.
They have made a lot of improvements in the last year. Plant selection is
OK. Prices are high. The staff is nice, but some are not a lot of help when
ut comes to diagnosing insect and fungal problems. Good selection of organics
if you are into that.