When will garden centres re-open?

After being shut down on March 23, it is expected that garden centres in England will be able to reopen from Wednesday May 13, with social distancing measures in place. Extensive lobbying of Government and much positive publicity in the media from the likes of Alan Titchmarsh seems to have pushed garden retail to the front of the queue. The Wednesday reopening has been widely reported this weekend and confirmed by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not confirm the details in his speech to the nation on Sunday, but the Wednesday reopening is included in separate government guidelines.

The Welsh Government had already announced that garden centres could open from Monday May 11. The situation in Northern Ireland and Scotland is not yet clear.

What will garden centres be allowed to sell?

New guidance for garden centres from the HTA states: "It is essential that all businesses carry out a full risk assessment of their entire premises before any reopening takes place. Cafes /restaurants should remain closed – no onsite food consumption. Play areas must remain closed and preferably locked or cordoned off.

"Products to be sold to focus on plants; seeds; bulbs; composts /growing media; pots/ planters; garden hardware, pet foods and accessories; bird care; food products/cookware/giftware."

This is a relaxation of previous HTA advice to stick to plants and gardening goods only.

What’s the word on the patio?

A new YouGov poll shows 70 per cent of people surveyed are comfortable about garden centres reopening – far more than for clothes stores, hairdressers or restaurants. This is partly because garden centres have big open air spaces where customers can easily carry out social distancing.

Backing gardening and the chance to buy plants is also an easy way the Government can help improve people’s mental and physical health when they are stuck at home. Moreover, by allowing garden centres to open in the first wave, politicians can help stricken growers without having to pay £250m in bail-out grants that the horticulture industry has been pleading for.

Yes there will be queues…

The weather has been perfect for gardening. Online and home delivery plant and compost sales have gone ballistic – with queues to even get on websites or order by phone. So there will be plenty of pent-up demand at garden centres. The industry has lost hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of sales during peak season.

The UK – along with Spain and Italy - has had some of the strictest lockdown conditions on this sector. Holland never shut its garden centres, while parts of Germany, Switzerland and some Scandanavian countries have had centres open again for several weeks. Queues were reported in Austria and Belgium when their garden centres reopened recently. So, expect to queues of cars at garden centre gates with staff marshalling.

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What restrictions/safety precautions will be in place?

Starting at the gate, there will be limited numbers of cars allowed in car parks, and spaces between each parking place. As with supermarkets, customers will be encouraged to use disinfected trolleys and hand sanitiser dispensers. Numbers are are likely to be limited to one person per 10 sq m, leading to an estimated maximum of 40 per cent of usual footfall.

Horticultural Trades Association chairman James Barnes sent suggested guidelines to the Government on April 10 in the hope of an early steer on centres reopening so that they can still catch a bit of May’s peak season. In those guidelines, he suggested creating a separate entrance and exit and a one-way flow, e.g. with customers arriving through the plant area and exiting through the shop, to limit crossover with other customers.

Staff will clutch coronavirus customer care guidebooks and the walls will be papered with signs asking symptomatic customers not to enter the store, and reminding both staff and customers to always keep two metres from other people. Markers on the floor will indicate the correct distance. Staff will discourage browsing.

On leaving through the main shop, customers will find spaced-apart tills, surrounded in plexiglass screens. Payment will be by card rather than cash.

Will cafes be open?

No. UK restaurants are unlikely to re-open until late summer. Some garden centres have drawn up plans to halve table numbers so that, when restrictions are lifted, tables are set well apart. It remains to be seen how many casual gardeners will visit garden centres without the lure of coffee and cake.

Will this mean a long-term change in the industry?

Yes. There will be a shift to online sales – already a whole new sector of pop-up sellers (such as Hope Plants, Plant Love UK, Love Gardening Direct, Plant Pack, Plant Savers and Plants 2 People) have set up. Consumers have become more used to buying plants online. Established online specialists such as Crocus, Hayloft, Thompson & Morgan, Suttons, Mr Fothergill’s and Gardening Express have also been run off their feet.

Previously, gardening was well behind other sectors in online sales because people like to touch, smell and feel plants before taking the plunge. Garden centres also attract an older clientele and it could take time for them to trust they are safe again.

Matthew Appleby is the editor of Horticulture Week