It’s not just restaurants and shops that are suffering due to the coronavirus lockdown.

At what is usually their busiest time of year, garden centres across the country are facing an unprecedented challenge as they have had to close in line with the government’s social distancing measures.

Chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), James Barnes, described it as a ‘perfect storm’, warning that many traders will lose money.

The effects of this can be felt in Croydon.

“All we’re doing is surviving, where people have placed orders we’re doing the best we can to fulfil them,” said Roger of The Secret Garden Centre in Crystal Palace.

The garden centre behind Sainsbury’s in Westow Street is closed to the public but still carrying out orders via phone and email.

On Tuesday (March 31) the centre posted on Facebook: “The last week has been very testing for all at the Secret Garden.

“Many growers and wholesalers have had to close and we are unable to get the stock we would usually have at this time of year.”

It went on to say that the smaller team is under a lot of pressure to ‘keep things going’.

At the moment the shop is low on vegetable seedlings and other types of seeds.

Other garden centres in the borough are facing tough challenges too.

This includes Woodcote Green garden centre and nurseries in Wallington which, as well as being closed until further notice, has decided to suspend all online orders for now too.

HTA, chairman James Barnes said: “We have hit a perfect storm in the UK. The seasonality and perishability that is unique to our industry means that growers are potentially facing stock losses on an ever-rising scale as each day passes.

“Stock is one of the biggest components of asset value in the sector – stock write-offs will destroy the balance sheets of many and make it impossible for them to continue.”

The organisation is calling on the government to come up with a financial support scheme for businesses facing a “huge financial crisis”.