Our garden centres must bloom again
GARDEN centres and supermarkets sell perishable goods, which are essential in different ways to our wellbeing. So why is the Government allowing food stores to sell garden plants and bulbs, but garden centres have been ordered to close, dooming millions of plants to die? Surely the same social distancing policies we see in supermarkets could be put in place in garden centres. The number of customers could be limited through the two-metre separation rule and the one in, one out policy. Garden centres are a special case. They not only have perishable stock, but contribute on many levels to our social and mental wellbeing, and the environment. Please, will the Government use common sense and allow the garden centres to re-open.
RHOD TIBBLES, Norwich, Norfolk. PLANT growers and sellers are facing financial ruin. Millions of pounds worth of wonderful stock could be giving a spiritual lift to so many forced to stay in their homes and gardens rather than left to spoil. Three months into a lockdown, garden centres will see all the fruits of their labours destroyed.
VAL ANNE LEE, Alresford, Hants.
COULD councils buy up all the unsold plants from garden centres? They could be planted in towns by some of the people who have lost their jobs because of the lockdown. This would help lift everyone’s spirits.
ELISABETH WILLIS, Stockport. I FIND it incredible that garden centres have been deemed non-essential. Surely people should be encouraged to get fresh air and exercise while stuck in lockdown. Gardening is good for mental health, as well as benefiting wildlife. And we should be encouraged to grow our own vegetables, with the supply of fresh produce so uncertain. The decision to close garden centres needs to be reversed immediately.
TILLEY SYMONDS, Hereford. THE Government is hoping that selfisolation won’t affect the mental health of the nation. Lots of people would find relief from boredom and stress by gardening. I can’t see any difference between shopping in a regulated supermarket and a regulated garden centre. In fact, since a lot of stock is in the open air, it could be safer.
D. EDWARDS, Leighton Buzzard, Beds.