Who goes to Garden Centres in January?

[Phyz]

Normally no-one but currently the destination of choice for a day out.

Admittedly the coffee shop is closed but you can still wander around the clothing franchise, the gifts, greeting cards, books, fancy fudge and other food. Browse the garden furniture and hot tubs.

All essential of course.
I wonder how many visitors actually buy a plant?
I had some sympathy with garden centres last March as Easter is their main selling season but not now.

@Phyz Sounds like you need a hobby.

It’s not the goods a shop sells that is deemed essential but the whole shop that is deemed essential.

Essential items has not been defined in law nor guidance. So anyone can buy anything from any shop that is permitted to be open.

I don't think people are going to garden centres for 'a day out'. Ours has an excellent fruit and vegetable shop. You can buy fuel, logs etc and some household items. It is less cramped than the small Coop in the village where there is often a queue.

My local garden centre has been closed for ages, and never driven to see if any others were open, as not been anywhere most of the year. I am a keen gardener, and would visit in January if open, as like to get some ideas for stuff for Spring , and look at house plants too. But a while ago, I decided to get three artificial houseplants on line, never ever done this before.

I just went for seeds and compost because they are time sensitive - I need to start getting some of the earlier veg for the allotment started off soon. I didn’t go to browse, and I don’t think many people are. My garden centre was quiet and my plot partner said this morning that Bents on the East Lancs (garden centre on steroids) was dead.

@Everleigh2021

they are open as are all shops, but you are supposed to only leave the house to get 'essentials'

whats happening is people are coming out i'd say 50/50....some essentials and some not. this will probably result in stores being closed in next round of restrictions and stores going to click and collect only

last spring it was hideous and we sold out of all compost and watched our plants die.

any gardeners i would recommend you get your stuff whilst you can but of course i can't say that really because it drives you all in to store. i'm a gardener too but working in store i got what i needed no issue.

Wrong

The law is perfectly clear - in England you are legitimately allowed to obtain the services or goods from a business that is allowed to open.

Garden centres are allowed to open. Ipso facto people are allowed to go to them.

@TheFaithfulBorderBinliner

Because my Brexit voting, Tory supporting, moaning about the second vaccinee, parents need somewhere to go. I heard all about it last night after their trip to M&S, apparently they saw some teenagers walking down to the beach. Apparently all the secondary school pupils are passing it around. I honestly dispair, I don't want a race to the bottom, to shut down all minor form of support and joy but my parents and their friends are so awful as far as our local teens are concerned. The local kids have been amazing, so patient, so understanding, they are afraid to go out. Next time your out, count the teens,in our area, it is the elderly out and about in force.

Agree with this. Our local garden centres seem busy if the car parks are anything to go by (and the fact that Police had to be called when the traffic to one was so much it snarled up from the car park and blocked a main road). I live in a retirement area and am sick of the elderly going out then complaining about others doing the same. Local social media is blitzed with "I went for a walk on the beach / in the park / to the supermarket and was appalled at other people being there". They can't wait for the vaccine to reduce their risk of illness so they can go out and about yet complain about young people, whose risk is even lower, daring to set foot outdoors or speak to anybody.

@AlecTrevelyan006

open to interpretation isn't it, which has always been the problem

this is on gov.uk before what you wrote, so who is right?

*Leaving home
You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary. You may leave the home to:

shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person*

Its almost as if...humans aren't meant to be forced to be socially isolated in their house, and will do anything to get out the house. 🤷‍♀️ Why people are shocked that everyone floods to the few places that are open genuinley baffles me.

Quite a lot of people when I have gone with my mum there in normal times (have not gone to one since August).

However, we could manage without them being open for once.

I'm not this year but in normal times I would definately be at a GC during January. Seeing what they had, starting to choose seeds, plan the allotment and garden for the year...

I went to one today to buy a new wheel barrow

I buy live food for my lizard from our garden centre.
Also they have fresh local produce, milk, fruit veg and honey.

Experienced gardeners, people who know that not being able to buy compost or seeds last year was a flipping nightmare.
Honestly it’s the best time to stock up as they are super quiet, I bought compost the other week, I was the only customer, the soil was outside, I was in and out (to pay) in about three minutes flat.

You can’t buy compost online, shipping would be ££

@Belinda554 - I found that out to my cost at the first lockdown. Had a load of seedlings to be potted on, plus new seeds and salad leaves to plant, and nothing to plant them in! Ended up getting a delivery from Wickes of all places, but had to wait a fortnight and had a minimum order of 300 litres. We used it all up in a couple of months on the plot but I really don’t want to be stuck in that position again, so got 180L last weekend.