News from the gardening world
Sales hit new records but cool weather and producton issues are affecting supplies, finds Ian Hodgson
Gardeners are buying so many plants that the trade is finding it difficult to keep up, figures show.
After a disastrous spring in 2020 when Covid-19 shut down garden retail, those traders who were able to offer online or click and collect sales quickly bounced back, achieving or exceeding budgets.
Demand for plants and seeds remained high over winter, with some lines quickly running out from late winter. This year, most seed retailers, such as Suttons, Dobies, Mr Fothergill’s and Thompson & Morgan, managed to support orders without temporarily suspending online retailing, although some smaller suppliers had to do so or ration lines. Mail order suppliers of young and garden-ready plants continue to experience astonishing levels of demand, up by 270 per cent on last year. One trade index, measuring online sales of more than 200 retailers, found gardening had again emerged as a top category, with sales rising by 120 per cent per cent year on year.
Huge demand
“The Horticultural Trades Association estimates there are now 200,000 new ponds across the country,” said Liz Smith of Leicestershire’s Waterside Nursery. “Like last year, we’re experiencing huge demand for aquatics. We’re managing it better, but cold weather has held plants back.”
Perennial nursery owner Claire Austin is also dealing with challenges. “We’re experiencing double demand, propagating more of our own stock as we’re finding it difficult to buy in, she said. “Slow-growing plants, such as Japanese anemones and astrantia, sold out, while geranium ‘Rozanne’ is just flying, but dry, cold weather during April hampered plant establishment.”
Other issues include disruption caused by new Brexit import regulations and growers struggling to scale up production to meet the massive demand, particularly of bedding plants, as gardeners race to beautify their gardens to entertain family and friends outdoors in line with social distancing guidance.
Peter McDermott, founder of online retailer YouGarden, said: “For us this will be a record year. The universe of gardening is on the up, which is excellent.” Peter observed the current leap in interest exceeds that of hit TV programme Ground Force in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, gardens have faced yet another challenge – the Met Office reported that April 2021 was the frostiest in 60 years, with an average of 13 days of air frosts across the country as clear skies kept temperatures low at night.
What’s been your experience of buying plants online and in garden centres this spring? Let us know at the address on page 59.