Orchids in the Hhott House greenhouse in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood

On a recent afternoon, just after a sudden rainstorm that felt like we’d been doused by a giant garden hose, drops of water fell from the rows of blueberry bushes, bee balm and lilies outside The Hhott House garden center. Inside the greenhouse the orchids dripped too, though they’d been watered by an actual hose.

“Early in the pandemic, they were encouraging Victory Gardens,” said Ann Costigan, Hhott House’s manager of the wartime vegetable gardens the public planted to supplement their rations and boost morale a hundred years ago. The garden center, which was curbside service only closed from March until Memorial Day weekend, was jammed as soon as it reopened. “It’s been crazy,” said Costigan. “We couldn’t keep up with demand.”

Open for four decades off state Route 3 outside of Saranac Lake, The Hhott House is one of a number of garden supply shops that have seen a jump in business since the COVID-19 pandemic began as house-bound people turned to gardening, both to raise their own produce and to grow flowers in uncertain times.

“Gardening is very therapeutic,” said Costigan, whose shop sells vegetables, herbs, annual and perennial flowers, trees, shrubs and houseplants year-round. “In the winter it’s like a jungle,” she said of the greenhouse in the back.

This year Costigan has seen a continued demand for flowers, as well as a rise in first-time gardeners.

Hhott House staff (left to right) Lori Dinsmore, Ann Costigan and Morgan Hammond in the greenhouse with Arthur the rooster. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood)

“This one guy called and asked if we had vegetables. In April,” she said, then paused. “You have to start somewhere.”

The Garden Center in Ray Brook closed three weeks early this year, after selling 14,000 geranium plants and 2,800 hanging baskets of flowers, according to owner Dan Wikoff.

“My shop sold out faster than it ever had. I saw more customers than I ever had before,” said Wikoff. “People are happy when they’re buying flowers.”

This is Shelly Hough’s 10th year running Willy-Nilly gardening in Saranac Lake, which she closed for August after a “hard year” and is reopening for a six-week fall season on Labor Day.

“The logistics were tricky,” said Hough of 2020, a year she described as difficult but “good,” and very, very busy.

When lilies are in bloom, they command your attention. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood)

“I went through more vegetables than ever,” she said, as customers planted their 2020 Victory Gardens.

There were issues with the supply chain, a shortage of annual plants, and difficulty getting not only supplies but drivers to haul them — so much so that Hough closed a week early because she couldn’t get enough product.

“It’s like dominos,” said Hough, who said she routinely put in 14 to 16 hour days. “You keep on moving so you don’t get run over.”

Hough credits the New York State nurseries she works with for helping get her through the summer. She’s looking forward to a bit more rest before the fall season, when she’ll reopen with pumpkins, gourds, squash, hay bales, cornstalks — and a lot of mums.

At the Hhott House, folks are still lining up, and Costigan has so many loaded tomato plants that she’s started filling a basket near the check-out counter with ripe heirlooms. “We all have gardens,” she said of the free tomatoes.

Herbs on a cart are ready for sale. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood)

“The quiet season has not been so quiet,” said Costigan. “Gardens are never done.”

A butterfly has plenty of places to land. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood)