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Aren't Garden Centres and Nurseries essential?

(56 Posts)
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Shinyredcar Tue 31-Mar-20 13:03:32

I was horrified to hear this morning of nursery and garden centre stock having to go into skips because they are to close as 'non-essential'.

Gardening is essential to mental and physical health, and as for the fate the pollinators we shall not be supporting, it is madness. Growing food in our current circumstances non-essential?

It's said that most won't recover from the loss if they can't trade at this, their busiest time of year.

What can we do?

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paddyanne Wed 01-Apr-20 20:52:21

My lovely MIL lives 40 miles away so we dont do her gardening for her.FIL was a man with the greenest of fingers and his garden won prizes every year for decades.She has a gardener now and was quite upset he wouldn't be able to work during the CV crisis .That was until this morning when she heard the FM announce gardeners were allowed to continue with their work and a bonus one for MIL window cleaners are allowed too.As long as they dont actually have contact with the occupants.MIL is delighted. she can shout instructions through the window and her lovely garden wont be neglected after all.
Maybe not essential services but the added bonus is they can see if she's OK on their weekly visits

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Callistemon Wed 01-Apr-20 20:57:06

I'm very keen but

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Hetty58 Wed 01-Apr-20 21:01:09

Gardening materials can be ordered online. There is absolutely no way that garden centres are 'essential' when we are in a pandemic crisis. Allotments remain open (except communal stores and tea huts) because it's easy to socially distance there.

Of course, it would make sense for excess plants to be left outside for collection. Any distribution, unfortunately, would count as an unnecessary journey.

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Lizbethann55 Wed 01-Apr-20 23:12:09

I am gutted that our local garden centre closed the day before we were going to go. It is very popular (especially since a huge housing estate was built either side of the road that leads to it, but it is only small. We decided against going on the Sunday as we knew it would be busy so were going to go on the Wednesday (our day off) and it closed on the Tuesday. So disappointed. My dear friend who lives on her own is an absolutely fanatical gardener. She is waiting delivery of 300 plug plants that she ordered online. She reckons they will keep her busy.

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Shinyredcar Thu 02-Apr-20 11:31:57

I have been heartened by the number of replies from people who are trying to think of ways that our garden centres can stay in business, and our gardens continue to grow. I shall have a much wilder garden than usual this year. My pollinator-feeding plants will be the ones that have brought themselves here without my help.

I do agree with those Gransnetters who see gardening as an aid to mental and physical health, as well as our nutrition.

I hope we can all enjoy our gardens now and when we come out the other side of this current crisis, and the wildlife which will find them.

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