Garden Centres

[david small]

There are over 2,000 fully stocked garden centres unable to open because of government orders. The insurance for loss of stock, and the government compensation involved will be astronomical. If supermarkets can achieve distances required, surely garden centres could even more easily. People need their gardens at a time like this. Common sense would save the treasury billions of pounds, and the sanity of many confined gardeners.

[rowanwitch]

I suggest they try to offload stock at the best price they can maybe phone and deliver or even care and collect. Won't work with annuals but perenniels could be kept, maintained and collected when safe. Negotiating with a local hardware store to sell some might be possible, most nurseries have racking they could set up, maybe even providing a member of staff to support the sales. Rather than discard them in the end it might be better to give them away, putting them somewhere people can collect them. The goodwill generated might get them back I up and running a whole lot quicker if they survive.

[Rosyherb5]

yes our garden centre round here are setting up facebook pages, and if you enquire they will ring and agree to deliver. Some have links to their own websites.

[Buenchico]

The 'two metre rule' does NOT stop the spread of Covid-19. It only severely limits it. That's why people should be ensuring that they aim to go to supermarkets as infrequently as possible. (Certainly no more than once per week). It's essential to reduce the FREQUENCY of contacts with other people, just as much as it's essential to maximise the distance from them.

Opening garden centres would result in an increase in the frequency of contacts, thus leading to an increased rate of transmission of Covid-19.

[GenuineclAss]

My rattan planters have just arrived, along with a much needed small square frying pan. I've also had an email from the nice man at Wickes to say that the topsoil they had to postpone, will be delivered tomorrow.
Between us, we've worked out where to leave the stuff and, as with putting out bins/pushing a shopping trolley/carrying shopping baskets, you wear disposable gloves or latex gardening gloves, since hundreds of people are touching bins and trolleys, etc.
A binman told my sister that he handles around 200 bins per day, (that's a lot of other peoples' germs!) and to wear gloves.

[tiggerblue10]

Awful, isn't it. Agree about them being kept open as long as social distancing is maintained. And yes, many will be looking to gardening for solace.

[royfromaus]

It's a lottery. Ill-thought-out lottery.

[Cloverjo]

A nursery near me is still selling plants and compost. I’m not sure why they are allowed to stay open. There is a tiny farm shop on site selling cheese, milk and veg, so maybe that means they’re exempt. Perhaps larger garden centres could set up a shop in a shed to get round the ruling.

[jno]

perhaps Top Shop could do the same. Free egg with every dress.

[Togo]

Although we ordered compost and a tranche of plants before all the restrictions came into full force, we are realising that we need all the usual bits and pieces, sharp sand, perlite, tomato feed, aluminium sulphate for the hydrangeas etc. etc. I have just been looking at our local garden centres who never really catered much for online shoppers or business, but both have posted notices that they are getting revved up to start delivering all our gardening needs. The only condition as far as I can see is that you unable to order items that cannot safely be delivered by a self isolating lone person. They have to do something.....there are millions of plants that are liable to go to waste and back to compost. Wonder where the very vocal green lobby is hiding when they could actually be of some use.

[vulcan42]

Not sure if this applies to all but according to my local garden centre, because of the volatile nature of the business, insurance companies won't offer insurance.

[Togo]

Won't provide insurance for what Vulcan? Our garden centres would always deliver it was just that you had to go there and place the order in person and pay as per usual. They are now frantically trying to set up an online shopping service which takes a bit of sorting out what with payment methods and the like. Should imagine that there are thousands of businesses busy doing the same, making it even more fraught.