Even though many garden centers in the US had to (because their business was considered as "non-essential" by their state) or decided themselves to close their doors. Also the garden centers that are still open see decline in sales as orders are being cancelled. But they continue promoting gardening as "Spring isn't cancelled", they say.
Below some stories from garden centers out of 3 different states:
Michigan
As everyone, the garden centers comply to the imposed rules of their state. Wenke Greenhouses retail garden center and nursery in Kalamazoo (MI), for example would normally be opening their doors to customers next wee, but due to Gov. Whitmer's executive order for all non-essential businesses to remain closed, Wenke Greenhouses shared they would postpone their season opening until mid-April, wwmt.com reported. Fortunately, growing operations at Wenke Greenhouses are able to continue during the closure, as a part of the governor's executive order, critical infrastructure workers were allowed to continue working. Food and agriculture workers were included in the umbrella of critical infrastructure.
Wenke also runs a wholesale division, so while their retail store may be closed, their staff was still busy getting flowers and plants to other garden centers, landscapers, and greenhouses. Their wholesale business serves customers in the upper Midwest and Southeast.
Click here to read the complete article on wwmt.com.
Ohio
All over Northeast Ohio, small business owners are scrambling to change the way they operate during the coronavirus crisis, www.news5cleveland.com reports.
That includes Patti Boyert, a fourth-generation greenhouse grower and vegetable farmer and her husband, Mike, a third-generation farmer. The couple owns Boyert's Greenhouse and Farm in Montville Township, which has been around for 35 years. Due to COVID-19, they are dealing with a dramatic loss to their business just ahead of their busiest time of year. The Boyert family estimates sales could be down $50,000 to $60,000 over the past two weeks."We're losing about half of our sales everyday that we should normally be getting right now," Mike told news5cleveland.com.
As a safety measure, the shop and greenhouses are temporarily closed to the public. The business is using curbside pickup and doing deliveries.
Click here to read the complete article on news5cleveland.com
New Jersey
As the Easter season of rebirth approaches, nurseries and garden centers in South Jersey are hoping the season of coronavirus won’t kill their businesses in the most critical two months of the year, the Daily Journal reports.
The omens are not promising, even as New Jersey clarified this week they are “essential” agricultural operations that need to stay open. Their often underplayed roles in back-of-the-house food gardens as well as relaxation are getting more attention.
In Vineland, Coia’s Garden Market is reeling from across-the-board cancellations from churches of their Easter season flower deliveries with decisions to livestream Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services. “And we’re all in the same boat, all of the garden centers around,” Theresa Coia todl the Daily Journal.
In Delran, Flagg’s Garden Center & Landscaping has seen traffic decidedly slow. People still “trickle in” but most trade is initiated at a distance and often concluded that way, owner Rich Flagg says.
“And we are doing phone orders and curbside pickup and deliveries,” Flagg says. “We suspended our delivery charge for local deliveries for the duration. But, yeah, the foot traffic through the store has definitely lightened up.”
Click here to read more stories from NJ garden centers on eu.thedailyjournal.com