Amidst a continuously changing set of Covid-19 safety protocols, the Richmond Hill Garden & Horticultural Society's Greenhouse Team worked since Autumn 2020 to propagate plants for what is typically the organization's largest annual fundraiser - the spring Plant Sale.
When it became evident that the pandemic was worsening and a grand sale at a public venue would not be feasible for the spring of 2021, our society investigated and pursued an online sales channel. Early in April, leveraging a members-only feature of our website, we trialed the online sale of worm compost to our members, with curbside pickups arranged on Saturday afternoons at a location in Richmond Hill.
When this proved to be successful, our Greenhouse Team began snapping photos of plant offerings available for sale in April, and posted these along with names, descriptions, quantities and prices as "Inventory" in our Online Store. Sales were vigorous, and safe curbside pickups were arranged at another location in Richmond Hill.
To-date, nearly half our members have participated in these online sales, purchasing about 270 bags of worm compost and more than 450 plants and mixed containers of plants.
Sales will continue through mid-May, with more plants being added to the Online Store as they become available.
Access to our Online Store will be extended to the public starting May 10th.