Flower Farming Business: Starting, Sustaining, and Surviving
This 4-week series is brought to you by TheGardenersWorkshop.com. Making it possible for flower lovers at all levels to grow and enjoy flowers and to build businesses based on flowers! This video series shares the backside of becoming or being a flower farmer—the thrills, the troubles, and the ongoing challenges. My intention with this series
Life Changing Lessons
You never know until you walk in those shoes-a phrase that I value now more than ever since becoming a small business owner. When I think back on the past two decades and how my life and even my dreams have evolved, I’m stunned. I never imagined that my choices would lead me where
Life-Changing Lessons
You know what I love the most about this adventure of producing online courses for others? It’s witnessing the wisdom and experiences pouring out of these amazing teachers. Their messages are powerful and the lessons are life-changing. Overly dramatic statement? Not at all, because when your business soars, your life is changed. Soaring may mean
Fence talk saved my flower farming life
During my years as a flower farmer and business owner, I’ve learned many monumental lessons. The one I am sharing here saved my flower farming life. It occurred during my early years of farming. I was frustrated and seriously thinking of quitting. It was nearly a hundred degrees that summer afternoon, and I felt like
Warehouse Moving!
I sometimes sit and wonder, how in the world did reading a book (The Flower Farmer) a little over 20 years ago lead me to where I am today? My flower farming idea has grown into a multifaceted business that I enjoy. Today as a flower farmer, author, speaker and online retailer I am totally smitten that
My Gift has Limits
When I embarked on developing Flower Farming School Online I had a list of goals for the project. At the top of that list was to make the course affordable for as many as possible. I remember my early days of starting a business- there was never enough $$$ to go around. I focused on
A New Day for www.thegardenersworkshop.com
A new day has come this cold January day for The Gardener’s Workshop. We have just launched a brand new amazing website and what a journey it has been. This was kind of a forced makeover because the shopping cart platform business we have used since 2005 notified us last summer that they were closing
Facebook Live: Overcoming Challenges to Become a Flower Farmer
What’s stopping you from becoming a flower farmer? Dave and I discuss how we overcame the challenges we faced and more. What is your “I can’t start my business because…..” No experience? No cooler? No acreage? No greenhouse? No delivery vehicle? No startup money? No time? No tractor? ——No problem! Registration for our two Flower
Online Courses
This Fall, Choose from 4 Flower-Based Online Business Courses Taught by Industry Leaders
A week of planting and then off to the Garden Fair!
This week I will finally focus primarily on planting the garden–until I leave Friday for the State Arboretum for the Garden Fair I am a vendor in for the weekend. This is the last sale for the season thank goodness, time to get down to business! This season has been a challenge because of the
Lisa and Steve Ziegler– A Garden Love Story
It all started with a dog. In 1992 I was a happy single girl employed as the office manager at the Denbigh Animal Hospital, loving my job and minding my own business. Then this guy walked in with his yellow Labrador Retriever—without an appointment. His grandfather had just passed away and left the dog, Major,
Flower Farming Myths and What I Wish I Knew…
With special contributions from: A myth has a way of taking on a life of its own and driving us to unhelpful practices. While a myth might be false, it is often widely held and very influential. I’ve fallen for a few flower farming myths through the years, but on top of that, I created
Pipe Dreams and the Land of the Giants!
Do you have an idea sitting in the back of your mind that just won’t go away? Whenever you have a moment to sit and think… it just keeps coming back? The idea seems so impossible. Others may call it a pipe dream (something unattainable) and that may be so! Unless you decide: where there’s
Meet Farmer-Florist Instructor: Jennie Love
I am pleased to introduce you to my good friend, flower farmer, and wedding florist, Jennie Love of Love n’ Fresh Flowers. Jennie and I became fast friends years ago while working together on the board of the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers Growers organization. It became apparent to us quickly that we are very
A Lack of customers is not why flower farms fail….
There have been concerns expressed over all the new interest in commercial flower farming. Seasoned and new farmers are wondering: are there enough customers to go around? I say without hesitation, yes there are enough buyers out there. In the U.S. alone consumers spend between 7 to 8 billion dollars annually on cut flowers. BILLIONS…
Are these courses right for you?
So grateful for all the questions and encouragement coming in about our Flower Farming School Online courses. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify and explain.\ I am sharing some of the questions with you in case you have the same concerns or wondering if the courses are right for you. First, are these courses right
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is breast cancer awareness month. Those who haven't been touched in some way by breast cancer may think "what's all the hoopla" about? Well, I am going to share my story that is known by few as to why we need to make a big splash, stink, campaign or whatever you want to call
Becoming a Flower Farmer, the rest of the story…
I wrote a blog a while ago about my innocent ambitions of becoming a flower farmer. As I reviewed it, I realized my story hasn’t ended and in fact I am beaming with excitement about the late summer and fall this year! Having come out on the other side of high production flower farming has
It’s All About Timing
Returning home from travel to my Cool Flowers garden is almost as good as reuniting with Stevie and Tuc. The bupleurum plants pictured are just one of many cool-season hardy annuals that are patiently sitting and waiting for their time to shine in my spring garden. Since they were planted at the optimal time for
I Believed I Could, so I Did…
I was going through old newsletters looking for a story I wrote about garden critters and I came across this piece. I decide to post to share because I believed I could and it is really that simple. From November 2011 Fresh from the Garden Newsletter: I am often introduced as the girl who took
A Summer Week at a Flower Farm
Thought I would give you a glimpse into what is going on here at our small flower farm this time of year. Monday: Harvest day, Bouquet Subscription Drop-off Lisa, Bobo and Libby begin harvesting flowers at 7:30am. 30-40 Buckets are prepared with an assortment of different floral conditioners. Suzanne arrives to begin making the