TRADE was down for garden centres across Dorset over the Easter week due to the cold snap.

As the biting weather continued over the Easter weekend, many reported visitor numbers and sales figures as down as residents across the county refrained from getting started on their gardens for spring.

Chris Chambers, manager of In-Excess Garden Centre in Ringwood, said: “It was sporadic for us over the weekend, as the weather was 15 degrees colder than the Easter weekend last year.

“We are looking at a deficit from 2012, as this weekend I would say the average spend was down by £17 – £20 per customer, and visitor numbers are 40 per cent down on last year, on Easter Sunday alone. It was also quieter than even a normal weekend.”

Simon Edwards, director of the Golden Acres group, which has branches in Ringwood and West Parley, said: “It was difficult for us because of the cold weather, so the non-gardening things, like gifts and bird tables, were still selling well, but the number of transactions and visitor numbers were down, as people browsed rather than bought.

“There is a degree of pent up demand in the fact that people clearly want to get out into the garden, but a lot of my staff have told me that customers are waiting for the weather pick up first.”

Martin Stewart, MD of Stewarts Garden Centres at Christchurch and Wimborne, said that it was frustrating weekend for them.

He said: “We actually had more people through the doors over the Easter weekend than we’ve had in previous years, but the sales were made in the coffee shop, and on the indoor sales, as opposed to plant sales.

“To add to the frustration, we had to shut on Easter Sunday under the trading laws, and it probably would’ve been our busiest day of the year. It’s a really important weekend for us and we were 17 per cent down on last year.”

Simon Goldsack, owner of Holme for Gardens, in Wareham, said: “It was all weather-related, as trade was down compared to March last year, by about 25 per cent.

“The worrying thing for us is that we have four hit months every year from March to June, and the danger is that the bad weather will follow on from April and May of 2012.

“The average spend for a customer is £15 – £25 and whilst we are more recession-proof than some other trades, we were £15,000 down on shrub sales for this March compared to last year.”