The pandemic caused industries like gardening and houseplants to bloom in the last two years. Local nurseries reported seed shortages, and thousands of people bought a houseplant for the first time.
One US seed company, which has been open for nearly 150 years, told Reuters that in March 2020, it sold more seeds than ever before. The increase in demand caused many companies to halt online orders.
Amy Thompson with the Purdue Extension Office in Monroe County said interest in gardening has continued past the initial jump two years ago.
“Everybody was growing their own food, starting gardens, just interest in it has gone off the charts. I think that continues.”
Thompson thinks working with plants helped a lot of people feel in control during the pandemic.
Talia Halliday owns oak., a store that sells houseplants. She says at her other local business, houseplants were her best seller in 2019 – which led her to open up oak in 2020. She says because of the boom in gardening and planting, it’s tough to get inventory in her store.
“The garden industry in general was up over 75 percent. They haven’t seen something like this since the 70s. People were at home so we saw a huge influx of people buying houseplants, and gardening, and patio furniture.”
Halliday said after the pandemic boom, she’s not sure what to expect from sales.
