WATCH: Cold weather and rain has led to a slow start for the gardening season and it has meant big losses for the flower industry. Isabelle Raghem reports.
Gardening season is usually in full force by now, but this year the season is just getting started .
Those in the flower industry say a wet April and below seasonal temperatures has taken a huge toll on their bottom line.
“The weather always predicts what we’re doing, how we’re doing and whether people are coming in to shop,” says Manager at Wildwood Outdoor Living Centre Jasmine Maxwell.
“It’s really though to get people get excited about gardening when it’s cold,” says Owner Gord Nickel, “we’re down about 10 per cent, hopefully we can make it up in May when the sun does shine.”
With mother’s day just a few weeks away, local florists too are happy to finally see some warmer temperatures.
“The long cold winter has affected us in ways we’re not used to,” says Brown’s The Florist owner Natasha Crawford.
The flower shop on Fort Street prides itself in purchasing 75 per cent of their plants locally, but the owner says that’s been a big challenge this year.
“It’s been tougher temperatures for growers […] and it trickles down to us,” says Crawford.
Flower businesses hope with a bit of patience, revenues this summer will in full bloom.
Tyler Bennett
