Key takeaways:
- Gardening and house plants noticed an upsurge in popularity during the pandemic.
- Plants at Murray’s Garden Centre in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s has seen a growth in business since the outbreak struck Newfoundland and Labrador.
Owners of garden centers on the Avalon Peninsula say they are seeing exceptional need two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, even as supply-chain sorrows continue to cause headaches.
Evan Murray, an owner-operator of Murray’s Garden Centre in Portugal Cove-St. Philip described to CBC News the previous two years were among the most thriving ones the business has ever had.
“It’s been fantastic,” stated Murray.
But fate didn’t always seem this brilliant. When the pandemic struck in March 2020, Murray said, he didn’t understand how the shop would be able to vend its products, and the business rose back its orders. But after they opened for curbside pickup, there was more need for plants and flowers than anticipated.
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“We quickly learned we would have one of the most active years we had ever seen,” he said. While it’s ambiguous how much of the pandemic-prompted business they will have, Murray said he’s heard from many first-time gardeners that they’ve seen it rewarding.
“People who had their first experience raising vegetables, annuals or perennials or even trees and shrubs [have] got the gardening bug, so to speak, and they’re continuing to be lifelong gardeners,” Murray stated.
But risen demand in Newfoundland and Labrador and abroad has come with a downside, with supply becoming scarcer, stated Murray. The business has been pushed to order supplies several months — or even up to a year — in advance for the forthcoming season.
“That had everything from our plugs to our hardware to our seeds. You had to assure that supply as soon as possible, and still, those supply lines are questioned.”
Source – cbc.ca
