Shoppers empty the shelves of reopened garden centres

Helena Horton

MASSIVE demand at garden centres caused a shortage of bedding plants, as gardeners were finally able to stock up.

Gardening outlets across the country have been cautiously reopening, much to the delight of green-fingered customers who have endured weeks without access to shrubs, flowers, gardening equipment and plants.

Hundreds of thousands of flowers had to be composted after shops had to abruptly shut their doors at the start of lockdown. This, coupled with the huge surge in demand, has left centres with empty shelves.

The Horticulture Trade Association reported a 75 per cent uplift in sales as brightly coloured bedding plants, typically sold from April to June, were snapped up. Some plants’ varieties had to be reordered, creating waiting lists of up to eight weeks.

Many shoppers complained that their garden centres had run out of sweet peas and pansies, with people rushing to buy the attractive and colourful scented plants.

Happy Growers, a fuchsia supplier based in the North West, said it was sorry it was unable to supply gardeners with everything they wanted.

It said: “It’s so frustrating – to go from infinite stock but no outlets, to the exact opposite.

“If we’d had a crystal ball and confidently planted as normal for May, maybe we could have mitigated this financial catastrophe.”

Some garden centres also said they were running low on soil and compost.

A spokesman for the Horticulture Trade Association said: “Feedback has shown that businesses are experiencing a flurry of customers now stores are able to reopen, but there are still issues within the supply chain and that is impacting sales, especially bedding plants.

“Many transactions that centres are seeing are far higher than last year, which suggests shoppers may be stocking up to avoid repeat visits, which will affect future sales figures, but this is something that the HTA is monitoring.

“It is also important to note that many centres still remain closed as they work to implement the safe reopening protocols.”

The HTA is in talks with Defra asking for a Dutch-style compensation scheme to financially support the nurseries and garden centres that suffered during lockdown.