What do you want out of a Nursery?

Aloha,
I had big plans for doing things as you mentioned. My plans were brought to a halt after learning about (more) insurance, permits and (more) Dept. Of Ag. rules & regs.

I wanted a play area for the kids when mom came shopping, nixed by insurance. They refused to write us a policy if we went that route.

I wanted to help the home gardener..nixed by the Dept. Of Ag. I can only buy from cert. fire ant free growers.

Donna, I hope to have a web site in the near future..

Hug your nurseryman/woman, they most likely need one :-) I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Well, Wal-Mart sells it for "X" amount"...and I just smile and say "yep, they sure do!" So far I've had the good, the bad and the ugly in just one month..but the good far out do the bad, thank goodness!

Congratulations, Lisa
I know you will do well with your new business. My favorite nursery has a good stock of perennials that are not offered at Walmart places. Garden extras, bird feeders, stones, ect. The owner knows her plants and is always willing to help. You will do great, have fun!
Teresa

So far anything that WalMart has to offer would make a knowledgeable gardener puck !
The bad part is that most of their clientile don't know a rose from a cocklebur.
They buy anything that has a flower.
Our supplies guy from Iowa, had a number of growers go bankrurpt last year, because of the low wholesale prices paid by various big boxes.
Maybe someday they will wake up and quite selling their plants to those operations. He said about 10% of what should have been his profit was used to cover unpaid accounts. Twas a sad day when any old place thought they are a garden center.
Keep up the good work, we need more like you !!
You fellow "small guy" nursery,
Bernie

Good luck Lisa.

Congratulations Lisa! I wish you lots of luck.

Thank you Teresa, Bernie, Jim and Elsie for the well wishes and encouragement. It is appreciated..

Bernie, 'tis hard going up against the Lowes, Home Depots, KMARTs and the WalMarts..but we are..also hard because there are 2 other very fine nurseries in our area...we hope to offer something different. Our landscaping business has increased, we had to sell part of the grass cutting business so hubby could have more time to landscape. It has been a pretty wild past 4 weeks!

You're up to your neck in plants, people and hopefully money! It sounds like a very ambitious venture and also very rewarding just to give your dream a try. Many people don't go for it and will always wonder if they could have succeeded.