Clippings
Seismic shift for gardening as retail centres forced to close
“People may be tempted into growing food for the first time”
The survival of many UK garden centres and plant growers is in the balance, with retailers forced to close their doors for weeks ahead of the key Easter weekend, and, at time of going to press, possibly beyond, following the nationwide lockdown to prevent coronavirus spreading.
The 68 garden centres in Britain’s largest chain, Dobbies, initially stayed open to sell “essential items” including plants, food, cleaning and DIY products and pet supplies – arguing that garden centres are ‘home and hardware stores’ – but were forced to close in late March. The company says, “The welfare of our customers and team members is and will remain our number one priority.”
“Gardening is a good thing for people to be doing at this time,” Mike Burks, chair of the Garden Centre Association, tells us. “It can prevent people being bored, it’s good for mental wellbeing and it’s
