Are you ready for a great year?

Spring and Summer 2020 taught us a lot about human nature and our need to be outside and in the garden.

Garden Centres had a successful season despite early lock downs in the spring and summer. With people isolating at home many turned to gardening to refresh their yards and with pandemic supply concerns, to grow their own vegetables and fruits.

According to a recent study by Axiom, in 2020 gardeners spent 42% more time tending to their hobby, and overall, there has been an increase in younger age groups (19-39 years old) spending more time gardening. The real kicker is the younger generation overwhelmingly is reporting that they found they really enjoyed gardening. This is tremendous news for our industry who for years has been struggling to engage younger gardeners.

It seems despite the unusual year we have all seen, gardens have never been more of an opportune distraction for people. Many studies, such as the American Institute of Stress, have proven that gardening can help decrease stress, with the exposure to sunlight, nature, increased creativity and physical activity.

The momentum from last year’s forced 'staycations' also saw a record number of pools being installed and the demand continues right through 2021. With pools, homeowners want to create the perfect backyard oasis with lush plants and gardens. Creating a beautiful and private back yard oasis became a priority for many, increasing the demand on garden centers and flower growers to provide options for shoppers.

Concern also rose around food supply chains and pricing. As seen before during world disasters like World Wars, people have begun focusing on self sufficiency and sustainable living by turning to gardening. A CTV article notes, a company in Prince Edward Island saw a 457% increase in seed sales in just 7 weeks.

Curbside pick up, online inventories, and guides offered the opportunity for gardeners both old and new to continue their hobbies.

Coming into the new year, even with restrictions expecting to ease and a vaccine around the corner, we may expect to still be spending more time in our homes and itching to get outside to tend to our gardens and other landscaping projects. From the respondents, 86% plan to garden the same or more in 2021, especially those in the younger age groups.

Will you be ready?

The results look favourably to independent garden centers, where 45% of gardeners opted to purchase their supplies. Next year, 94.2% of those gardening are already planning to visit garden centers more often! The winter season really is the perfect time to start planning your summer gardening projects, and for garden centers and greenhouse growers to be planning for their upcoming seasons too.

Based on these statistics, we expect this to be a busy year for garden centres. Are you ready?

Businesses that held off on upgrades and expansions due to uncertainty in 2020 could be looking at 2021 as the year to build. Whether adding to your Freestanding Greenhouses or building new Curved Glass Greenhouses, GGS works with growers to build what is right for them. This could include simply adding shade structures to expand the outdoor shopping areas and accommodating a socially distanced crowd. We provide expertise and manufacture numerous greenhouse solutions to fit your specific plan.

At GGS we work with retailers from concept to completion to ensure your garden center is unique and represents the plant and shopping environment that you want. Whether you are adding on to an existing retail location or building from the ground up, the GGS team is here to help. Get started today.