plant sale?

Has anyone ever had a plant sale? similar to a garage sale. I have way more plants than I had anticipated this year(from seed), and was wondering if these type of events were very successful? Any info would be great.


Thanks,
brian.

PoppySue is probably the fount of all knowledge on successful home plant sales. And yes, it has been done - if I do one this year, it'll be my third annual. Elena had a very successful one a couple years ago. (I know because I was there, lolol.) Horseshoe had some good advice for me, too - especially on the veggies.

If you have access to any large groups of gardeners (church ladies' groups, pond clubs, gardening clubs, etc.) you should get the word out to them as early and often as you can. Also take advantage of any free/nearly free advertising you can get. (We have local weekly papers that cost ~$5 for a garage sale ad. A local radio station does free advertisements during a "swap" hour.

In about a month I am having my fourth annual plant sale. They are lots of work, but the money is way better than rummage sales, and plant babies are renewable assets!!

If there is a good thread with more ideas, I 'd love to see a link to it!! Legit

I haven't done one for a few years now. It got to be more than I could handle. It started out small but after a few annual sales half the town would be waiting for me to hang my sign up. I guess the success was because I sold things so cheaply.

One thing that helped me was to make up signs for each plant. I would cut a photo out of a catalog, or snatched from the internet and put the important plant specs down. If you don't you'll have to stand there and answer a bazillion questions all day long. ... Not that you'll have to answer zillion anyway. People don't like to buy things they can't see blooming. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I love to go to plant sales too. They are so much more fun then buying stuff at HomeDepot!

Since Terry has already mentioned my name (hi Terry), I will say that I think they are wonderful and also a lot of work. I was like Poppysue and practically gave everything away just to keep from having to have them all here at home to take care of. I have been too lazy to do any more, but age will do that to a person. If I were younger I would consider having one ever year. I am going to add a few to my garage sale items this year since I have already got more than I want to deal with. I can't resist starting more and therein lies my downfall.

Flowerjunkie, Daisy in Houston, is having a big sale this Sat. and she does quite well with hers. She has a huge variety of plants and her prices are quite reasonable too. If you are in her area and are interested in attending, you won't be sorry. Just email her and she will answer you and give you the info. needed to find her place. Wish I could go! Boo Hoo!

Hey, I'd love to see plant sales and I think more people all the time are getting into gardening. I wish I was in your area, I'd be there! The trick is to do it like poppysue says. Give them info and they will tell their gardening friends and you'll make more gardening friends too!
Bonnie

Something else that works for me it having a note pad for all vistors to jot down their email address for future sales notifications. This allows them to place fall orders (I have two sales a year, Spring and Fall) for something they saw in your yard. I will sell plants right out of my yard if I have extras or I am just not interested in growing that plant any longer. Having good freinds around to help with digging of plants, offering suggestions to customers, providing plant information, is a big plus. There is no way you can do it all yourself since plant people love to talk to you about your plants. Your helping freinds can be rewarded with plant gifts. And Poppsue is right "cheapo" is the way to go. People (myself included) love bargains. So if you sell at less than they would pay at the garden center...you'll do good.

Send emails to everyone you know and have them forward on to plant people they know...it works. Dave's Garden members are especially wonderful in getting the word out! I'm getting emails from people I have never met which are planning on coming to my sale. Go to all the plant sales you can and those people will tell all their customers of your plant sale.

Have prices and plant name with basic growing conditions on the plants being offered. This cuts down on alot of questions and allows you to spend more quality time with your freinds and guest. Make in an enjoyable experience so they'll come back. Its not worth doing if it isn't fun for all.