Vt. nurseries, garden centers continue to see brisk business

BRADFORD, Vt. (WCAX) – Enthusiasm for home gardening — and other domestic DIY projects — took off during the pandemic, and some businesses in the Upper Valley say it’s still growing.

Friedrich Gross of Corinth was among customers taking advantage of the sunny weather Tuesday, stopping by J&M Landscaping in Bradford to pick up starter plants for his vegetable garden.

“I really found it satisfactory to dig around the earth and all that but also it’s nice to eat fresh vegetables,” Gross said.

“We definitely notice a difference with the weather,” said Tiffany Murray, the new owner of Murray’s Market, which is expanding its gifts and flowers sections at its Bradford store. She says they’ve also noticed that the home and gardening uptick that was highlighted during the pandemic appears to be growing. “I think we just kind of got used to being home. Staying home and doing more stuff around your house. We are seeing a lot more patios.”

Down the Connecticut River Valley in Lebanon. Reading resident June Huebner says she definitely spent more time in her yard over the last couple of years. “I had a lot of rocks in front of my house and I made a huge garden,” she said. She was looking for a weeping willow at Gardener’s Supply Company. “I used to have three of them where I lived but I moved and they were too big to take with me.”

The store’s Malice Fabel says annuals and soil are currently hot sellers. “You catch the gardening bug and it exponentially increases throughout the year, so now they are just building on their little garden that they started,” she said. But Fabel says it’s also important to know what you’re doing and ask the experts. “Our last threat of frost is still the middle of May.”

Back at Murray’s Market, Gross says he caught the gardening bug long before the pandemic. “I mean, in Vermont, if you don’t have a garden, why do you live here, right?” he said.

In addition to garden prep, many nursery businesses are expecting a busy Mother’s Day this Sunday.

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