How damaging has the coronavirus lockdown been for growers and the wider garden industryImpact includes business closures, reduced bedding production and rising imports

摘要

The first UK nursery to close in the aftermath of the coronavirus lockdown, Baginton Nurseries in Coventry, shuts on 31 August after 39 years growing bedding plants. Owner Will Lamb says: "Following an extremely difficult season, my wife Caroline andI have, with great sadness, decided to close the nursery at the end of August. A combination of reasons has given compelling support to the decision, which was not taken lightly." Cuts in council bedding orders, caused by the coronavirus crisis, are believed to have been a factor in the decision to close.The Bedding & Pot Plant Centre was created at Baginton Nurseries by the British Protected Ornamentals Association (BPOA) technical committee and the AHDB in 2014. The BPOA is now looking for another site, though project manager Chris Need says moving tomore events/workshops and fewer trials, based on grower feedback, for the next three years of work means the impact will be "relatively small".