Garden centres are blooming

Garden centres enjoyed a bumper weekend as spring finally arrived in the West Midlands. After the coldest winter on record for 31 years, centres have seen a slow start to the year.

Some industry experts believe they are three or four weeks behind in the season compared to last year. Fruit trees, 'grow your own' products, lawn feed, tools and shrubs were all selling well as the rising temperatures saw people turn their thoughts to gardening.

Wolseley Bridge Garden Centre near Rugeley was among those enjoying more visitors through the doors at the weekend.

Assistant manager Robin Gilford said: "Sales are so much better than they were a couple of weeks ago. This year the pick-up has been very sudden, probably because we had really bad weather over the winter and then a burst of sun.

"House plants are selling really well, all kinds of seeds and 'grow your own' products have really picked up."

Clent Nurseries was among those enjoying more visitors through the doors this weekend.

Worker Sue Hull said: "This weekend does seem to have marked a bit of a turnaround with more people visiting and the sun making an appearance. It has been a harsh winter and it has been very quiet – when we had the severe snow we had to shut because it was not worth opening as people could not get up here."

Phil Knight, manager at the Pavilion Garden Store on Bridgnorth Road near Wolverhampton, said: "There was definitely an upturn in trade at the weekend, it brought some people out probably for the first time this year. We are selling things like fruit trees and lots of essentials such as feeding products and tools."

At Codsall and Wergs Garden Centre, duty manager Denise Bloor said: "We're selling a lot of potatoes and shrubs at the moment."