It appears that the same garden center issues we deal with here are issues being addressed in garden centers worldwide. According to The Hawkesbury Gazette, "Hawkesbury plant lovers will be forced to travel elsewhere following the announcement Cranebrook Native Nursery would be closing its retail nursery permanently on Christmas Eve." I would appear that our friends "down under" are loosing another retail garden center. "According to Cranebrook Native Nursery owner Peter Adcock, the move is due to the nursery's inability to compete with larger retailers such as Bunnings." "We are the second native nursery in western Sydney to have closed and now the area will not be serviced by a native nursery." I assume Bunnings is like Home Depot or Lowe's? According to Peter,"The sad thing is the trend towards 'McDonald's gardening' - where everyone goes to Bunnings where you can get cheap stock, but the range is very small." He also say's, "No-one wants to be involved in plant-only nurseries anymore. There just isn't a way to make it financially sustainable." Ouch!
I am sorry to see this development. It sounds like the same issues we are dealing with here. I hope that they will find success with their new direction.