Wednesday September 23, 2020 | COLWOOD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
With a bit of rain and cooler weather, it looks like fall is on the way!
GardenWorks in Colwood says ‘celebrate the new season’ with a dash of classic fall colour from fall garden mums, absolutely smothered in buds and blooms. Their 10 cm retail pots are regular $4.99, now $2.97 this week while supplies last.
A sure sign that autumn is here is that GardenWorks does not bring out their chrysanthemums if the weather is expected to remain warm, as the blossoms do best from September to frost. The blossoms on plants already fully in bloom just don’t hold up long in the heat.
Chrysanthemum flowers bloom in a range of colours in shades of white, yellow, orange, lavender, purple, and red. They are the traditional flower for the month of November.
Known as short-day plants, flowering is triggered by the shorter days in late summer and early fall. Flowering can also be forced in a light-controlled greenhouse.
Shopping during COVID:
Early in the pandemic, GardenWorks would deliver or have purchases ready for pickup. By summer all stores were open, with 2-metre distancing in effect.
GardenWorks recommends having a ‘wish list’ ready before arriving at their store as a way to speed up your shopping trip.
They ask that customers limit their GardenWorks visit to one person and one family member, as a way to support social distancing guidelines. They accept payment by credit and debit as a way to avoid co-handling of cash.
No slowing down:
Garden plants and gardening products have been popular in the pandemic. Not only is that seen anecdotally in communities, but even the financial profile of BC consumer spending released by the BC Finance Minister last week showed an increase in the gardening and outdoor sector during the spring-summer phase of the pandemic.
Starter vegetable plants have been a popular item this year at GardenWorks and other retail outlets, as more people have either started new food-growing gardens or expanded their existing plots. Not only is a crop garden an engaging and educational hobby, the stronger interest in food growing helps mitigate against food insecurity during the on-going pandemic.
