WINNIPEG -- As the snow melts and the weather warms up, many Manitobans are looking forward to spending more time outside.
But with the pandemic still limiting contacts, some people are preparing for another summer in the backyard.
In the parking lot of Home Depot, Kevin and Cathy Scott were loading up some lumber for a landscaping project in their yard.
“We decided to do an extra feature on our back deck,” said Kevin. “To give it a little more privacy, and a little nice extra feature for a sitting area.”
He said he adds improvements to his yard every year, but with COVID-19 restrictions in place, a lot of people are beautifying their backyards.
“I think people are making sure that they’re staying safe, so they’re looking at their backyards and cottages, and a number of other things for projects.”
On Friday, the province’s latest round of relaxed public health orders went into effect, but Manitoba is still in Code Red, and many people are preparing to spend another summer at home.
Owner of Viking Landscaping Ben Johnson has been in the industry for 16 years.
He said people who weren’t able to travel last year are using their travel money to upgrade their backyards.
Now he’s on pace to be busier than last year, and the uptick in business is going to impact the supply chain.
"Right now I think there’s enough to get going, but it’s going to run out very early,” said Johnson. “I think last year with the pandemic, it was probably about July when the supply started running out, this year it might be May or June.”
Johnson said supplies like lumber, bricks, trees, and shrubs will all be tough to acquire come summer.
Kevin said even though this is a pandemic project, he hopes to enjoy in the future as well.
“This is probably a day job for me, and then hopefully we’ll spend years sitting there enjoying fires on the back deck.”
