My Climate Change Garden

Next month’s Chelsea Flower Show, which marks its 100th anniversary and as usual sold out months ago, is only  six weeks away. Hard to imagine that May is also just 22 days away when you look out the window and see the state of most gardens and the temperatures on the weather forecast every night.

It appears that many exhibitors are being badly hit by the long winter and delayed arrival of spring. The Royal Horticultural Society said some growers and designers were struggling to get plants ready in time for the event. Jinny Blom, who is creating the B&Q garden in conjunction with Prince Harry’s charity Sentebale, is among several designers experiencing problems in getting plants ready. The Woodland Trust reported that spring sightings of ladybirds have fallen tenfold since last year, from 1,169 to 119, while numbers of cuckoos and hedgehogs are also substantially lower.

The Easter weekend, traditionally the busiest time of year for garden centres, has been one of the worst for trade in recent years. A number of large garden centres have reported sales down by as much as 50 per cent. Steve Ashworth, managing director of the Wyevale Nurseries chain, said sales to garden centres were down by 50 per cent in comparison with March last year, while its overall sales were down by 30 per cent. He said: “Our team had virtually nothing to do over the Easter period; we stood many people down.”

Robby Ward, owner of the Alleyn Park Garden Centre in south London, said its sales were down 46 per cent on this time last year. “It has been a horrendous March,” he said. “We have cut down on most products and are being very careful in what plants we are buying in. People who would normally spend money in March [with us] have spent it on something else. We will never recoup that.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/trouble-in-store-for-agriculture-crops-and-gardensjoin-the-economy-in-not-growing-8563101.html