The Overwhelmed Gardener. Part 2 Florabundance

Another weekend plant sale, this time I'm actually vending. It's the night before and here I am making last minute signs and labels for this weekend's Florabundance Spring Plant Sale.

I don't know if it was the high of last weekend's Hardy Plant Society of Oregon sale and the visit to Cistus and all, but I'm not all that looking forward to this sale. I'm not sure if it's the 60/40 split that's really bugging me or my limited palette of plant material to offer; perhaps it's both.

Florabundance has always held a special place in my heart as it was the first plant sale I ever took part in and I've known some of the vendors for many many years. Many have really seen me grow up at this plant sale and over the years, many have looked forward to my unique selections of plants. I guess I feel like I wasn't able to reach the standard I set for myself having visited many nurseries. The quality of my plant material should be much better!

In this tough economic climate, I guess the 60/40 split (60% to the vendors and 40% to the Arboretum Foundation) has really gotten to me. When I first started, it was a fairly reasonable 70/30, but now it seems like all the hard work in propagating and growing on these plants is essentially a huge donation of my time every time I take part in a plant sale here in the Puget Sound area. While I fully support these organizations and truly glad that the funds go towards programs and causes I care about, I'm losing money and not really progressing or moving forward with my life and business as I'm not really able to save up and allocate funds towards travel, for example, or a collecting expedition abroad. Heck, I don't really have any funds to even think about pursuing an advanced degree like I always say I'll do, but haven't really made a serious effort to either take a class or check out schools and programs I might be interested in enrolling.

Instead, I'm struggling to make sure I find work and keep a small nursery alive in the hopes that things I grow and produce are sold. I know I haven't been the best businessman and I've relied on these plant sales to get me out there, but I've come to realize that I really can't continue this.

Something has to change. As much as I love this plant sale, the wonderful people I get to see, and the great assortment of plants we offer to the public, it's getting harder and harder each year.


R

Busy plant sales make me happy!!

It's been so exciting and so incredibly encouraging to see that interest hasn't waned when it comes to buying plants for gardens during this tough economy.

Having sold plants at the Arboretum Foundation's huge FLORABUNDANCE sale and attended the recent King County Master Gardener's Plant Sale, I was quite impressed with the crowds and fellow vendors who were more than happy to restock after only a single day of brisk sales! It was tremendous!

Edibles are flying off the tables and I've noticed several growers who normally focus on ornamentals start carrying edibles in their booths. Marketing strategy? Oh, absolutely! It's like saying "Here's something you can grow and eat, but also looks pretty. Oh and so does that plant. You can't eat that one, but it's so incredibly cool and this is what it'll do for you."

I've even started to venture into more edibles this year, myself. Yes, I'm following a trend, but at the same time, I'm rediscovering the benefits of growing my own food and that anticipation of the harvest after a long season is always thrilling to me.

Keep it up the good work and ongoing sales, folks. Plants are life!


Riz