Pandemic seeds gardening boom

Jun. 26—HIGH POINT — The gardening boom that began last spring continues, boosting sales for local landscapers and nurseries despite disruptions in supplies.

The plant business has stayed busy since the pandemic's start, said Pam Rogers, who has worked with Price Landscaping since the late 1980s.

"It's been the best two years that the garden center industry as a whole has seen since the good ol' days," Rogers said. "Plants make people happy. People had to stay at home, and they rediscovered gardening and wanting everything to look great outside."

The strong housing market also played a key role for landscapers, Rogers said.

"Once you buy your house, the landscaping really adds to the look of a home and to the comfort," Rogers said.

More shoppers than ever are seeking houseplants, flowers, garden decor, trees and shrubs at Soviero's Tri-County Garden Center, owner Pat Soviero said.

"We are always busy in the spring because it's our busiest time," Soviero said, "but we have seen an increase in sales this year."

Those sales include vegetable garden needs specifically and home projects in general, Soviero Manager Jessica Proctor said.

"More people are still working from home, so they have time to get these projects done," Proctor said.

Austin Wood, president of Outdoor Supply Inc. in Archdale, also saw the growing boom take root in spring 2020, and only a limited supply has held it back.

"We were seeing a huge demand for the landscape supply of soils, mulches and pine needles. There was a time in March and April when we couldn't keep up with demand because the supply was just not there," he said.

The high demand for pine needles this year was unusual, Soviero said. A shortage of trees and shrubs requiring long-production times to get to the size for sales also complicated the selling season.

"We can't get the varieties we would like to get or high numbers," Soviero said.

Those shortages added challenges, Proctor said.

"It's difficult when you can't get some of your product because there's a shortage of supply to be able to meet your customers' needs," Proctor said. "We have been able to meet the demand for the most part. A lot of people come in and tell us, 'Nobody has pine needles this year,' or, 'Nobody has this shrub and you guys have it.' So we've been fortunate. Really it seems like across-the-board there isn't any industry that hasn't been affected by a shortage of supply."

At Nelson Greenhouses, Manager Ron Nelson said there were some hits to business related to the pandemic — decreases in orders for churches and the High Point Market.

For example, its greenhouses normally sell more than 500 poinsettias in the Christmas season but sold only 80 last Christmas, Nelson said. He empathized with a grower who produced 25,000 poinsettias.

Sales related to the recent spring High Point Market improved slightly, and sales to churches are starting to return, Nelson said.

"Hopefully everything will get a little better, but I don't know how much," Nelson said. "Right now we're going to grow this year and just play it year-by-year."

The stay-at-home restrictions related to the pandemic also reinforced a growing interest in gardening by young people, Proctor said.

"High Point has increased its involvement in community gardens, so that has led to younger generations being involved with growing their own food," Proctor said.

Soveiro agreed more young people are getting interested in horticulture.

"I've found that a lot of people are starting things from seed than they used to," she said. "The younger people are getting more into seed rather than plants, which is good."

Smartphones and access to the internet made consumers of all ages more knowledgeable about plants, gardening and landscaping, Rogers said.

"This whole industry has been positively affected by a big increase," he said, "but I think we're all glad that things are getting back to normal for everyone."

cingram@hpenews.com — 336-888-3534 — @HPEcinde