Provender Nurseries MD Richard McKenna has more than 20 years expereince supplying nursery stock to landscapers.
After a couple of rollercoaster years he looks into his crystal ball to predict trade in 2023.
On the big issue of biosecurity, he worries that the Government is becoming more detached from the industry and he wonders why nurseries aren;t given compensation when they have to destroy stock which is found with pests and diseases, something he says is happening under the radar at several places UK-wide. The accredited nurseries are bearing too much of the blame while retailers and internet importers, as well as the public, are a bigger risk to biosecurity.
McKenna also reflects on the lessons learned after the ravages of the pandemic:
"We learned everybody reverted back to nature, back to the garden. Everybody appreciated how important it was to be surrounded in green.
"Gardens don't judge. It's a space that's safe, its' green it recharges the mind, it recharges the soul."
Presenter: HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby
Producer: HortWeek digital content manager Christina Taylor
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