I had a day off yesterday to see a friend who was over from Portugal, to see my brother and a quick visit to my parents. Lunch was had at a large garden centre (this is something I rarely do) and we were then able to have a wander round looking at the plants and checking the prices. The first thing I noticed was how dry the pots were, many plants were wilting and the compost had shrunk to such an extent that they would need soaking in buckets.
The prices were eye-watering compared to ours. Shrubs were £4 upwards more than ours, Perennials were £3 more. Why do people pay so much for plants when they can so easily buy the same things for almost half the price in a nursery. Food shoppers are careful to save pennies on their groceries. People shop around before buying other things or wait until the sales are on. So why pay so much extra for things for the garden, especially when those plants which were very dry might just be on their way to being dead.
I have often wondered about this myself. Most garden centres – as against nurseries where plants are actually grown – sell the same plants from the same suppliers – only the prices varying. Mark-ups from wholesale can be quite ridiculous.
Stock is not looked after. The staff are shop assistants, with little empathy to a living thing.
It is very annoying I must agree. I had the same when I used to grow plants myself. Time was a sold real specimens of rarities for silly money, as in cheap. Just because it was from a home and not a plush garden centre.
It makes no sense, but it’s what we are saddled with. I had a conversation with a client about people moving houses and taking on a new garden. First off they decimate it all. If they knew the value of specimen plants they might think twice. Seems there is little logic in the whole business.
Thanks Rob, are you ok?