Manchester garden centre 'frighteningly quiet' after 'rubbish' November

A beloved garden centre in South Manchester has said they are struggling with a ‘frighteningly quiet’ period of time as people gear up for Christmas.

The owners of Bud Garden Centre, located in the grounds of St Margaret’s Church in Burnage, took to social media to share that they had so far had a ‘rubbish’ month with low sales.

Earlier this year, the garden centre relocated from a residential street in Burnage to its new church-site spot. Run by owner Brenda Smith, the garden centre has been loved by locals for more than 14 years.

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But in the social media post this week, Brenda admitted that she was facing a bit of ‘uncertainty’ over the future of the business as rent goes up and an increase in sales is needed.

Brenda wrote: “It has been a frighteningly quiet week at Bud. I hope it means that you’re all saving your cash for the Xmas trees and ethical gifts (most of which are on sale now).

“November is always rubbish, but not quite as rubbish as this. However, we’ve had an OK year so far: better than last year, though 2023 wasn’t great - basically no growth, really, but holding our own.

“I said to Jason yesterday, ‘Bud is over’: my stock phrase from the early days after a slow week. I know it isn’t, but it’s so easy to get jittery. Uncertainty is, without doubt, the worst thing about running your own business.

“What will happen next year? No-one knows. Our rent more than doubles and though it is still low (remember, we don’t have a warm building or utilities except water - which we paid for) we will need an increase in sales to cover it. Our relocation bill was about £30K.”

The news was met with messages of support from regular customers and