OBSERVER Photo by Jo Ward Yerico Farms greenhouses are nearly sold out as gardening becomes a new hobby for many during the pandemic.

Flowers, sprouts and saplings dominated the harshly warm Memorial Day weekend this year as homebound people took to the greenhouses in hopes of making their surroundings more beautiful.

“People love looking at flowers, and a lot of people are taking up gardening this year,” Rachael Yerico stated as she watered plants in a nearly empty greenhouse at Yerico Farms in Sheridan. “Even when it was snowing, we were busy. COVID-19 gave everyone the opportunity get back to the basics. It was a blessing for us this year. People are stuck home and want to enjoy their yards all summer if that’s what we’re left doing.”

Yerico Farms is more sold out than they’ve ever been. Down the road from them at M&R Greenhouses the same could be said. “We were quite busy,” Mary Strawser said. “But people respected distances, wore face masks, everybody was pretty compliant knowing that we need to be precautious of everybody.”

“Our greenhouses are almost empty,” added Kevin Civiletto, manager at Tuscany in Fredonia. “We got hit pretty hard, but we had everyone directed correctly, one way in and one way out. The weather was very warm and people wanted to get out and go places.”

Sales were not just bustling for greenhouses either a lot of first time gardeners were picking these people’s brains for information.

“I’ve had lots of people come in and say ‘I don’t know anything about gardening, please help me,’ they want to know what’s good for shade and what’s good for sun, they want to know how the vegetables grow,” Yerico said. “People are just excited for something to do and since home is where everyone is this year, why shouldn’t it be pretty to look at?”