North Bay garden centres getting busy

While it's still early in the season, garden centres in the North Bay area are starting to get a lot of business despite the slow start to spring weather.

"Things are starting to get busy, no doubt," said Bob Hudson, owner of Burrows Country Store & Garden Centre.

"We're mid-April now. Last year, the ice was already off the lake, so we're a couple weeks behind, so this year Mother Nature is just being a bit grumpy," Hudson said.

He told CTV News the last two years there's been a big uptick in gardening and it's not always the typical flowers and plants that people are into.

"This year is going to be huge for vegetables. With inflation the way it is, people are doing their backyard gardens. I think people are really going to get into the vegetables even more than they have," Hudson said.

"Fruit as well. We've had a ton of people calling and asking ahead for fruit trees and fruit plants coming in. So the fruit and vegetables are definitely going to be big."

With the warm weather quickly arriving, he expects things to stay busy.

"Traditionally, around here, May the 24th seems to be the annual weekend where people seem to be loading up their flower boxes with things," Hudson said.

"Sometimes it's earlier and people take a risk, but you can still get frost right through till the end of May, so you just have to be a little careful."