Merry homegrown Christmas
Shortages of labour, raw materials and delivery problems are driving garden centres to buy Christmas products closer to home this year.
Many of Britain’s one in 10 imported real Christmas trees are snarled up in transport delays, boosting demand for homegrown trees. Geoff Gilbert, of realchristmastrees.co.uk, has had customers ordering months earlier. “There’s been a bit of a panic on,” he says.
Christmas decorations normally imported from Asia are also arriving weeks late. “Many garden centres are looking to British stock,” says Garden Centre Association chair Mike Burks. “We’re likely to have less choice on the shelves as a result – and prices will go up.”
Paul da Sylva of Friends of the Earth welcomes buying local, but says it’s even more sustainable to create Christmas at home. “Making decorations can be about spending time together,” he adds.