Can the 'barbecue brigade' drive up plant sales?Garden centres take note of people wanting to decorate gardens for summer living

摘要

The "barbecue brigade" want to liven up their patios with colourful flowers for entertaining guests in the summer. This means after a slowing of sales in May especially and also June following a strong start to the season, there are plenty of sales still to pursue before autumn.Bedding grower Mike Smith, director of WD Smith & Son in Essex, says people buy plants in warmer weather and they can do that in June, July and August. "Gardening has changed a bit,' he notes. "You don't see sales in the same numbers and it's obviously slowed up but there are more sales in those months than there used to be. There are less traditional gardeners around and peopledecorate their gardens for summer living and if they're entertaining and using the garden as an outdoor room they make it look good when friends are around."