When Avent announced that he was quitting his job to build a specialty nursery, his former horticulture professor begged his student to reconsider, telling him he couldn't possibly make a profit "without doing something illegal." More than ten years and 20 nursery catalogs later, Avent owns a thriving national business with nearly 30 employees. He wrote So You Want to Start a Nursery to debunk myths about the ornamental-plants nursery business and what it takes to succeed, whether you're a backyard hobbyist or a wholesale grower. (And he still has a clean arrest record.) Assuming that the reader has some basic knowledge about how plants are grown, Avent focuses on the business and planning concerns of the nursery owner. While recounting humorous stories of his baptism by fire as a beginning nurseryman, Avent also provides a primer on the nursery industry as a whole, with discussions of the merits and disadvantages of retail, wholesale, mail-order, and liner operations, to name just a few. Readers of this book will obtain the tools they need to make a business plan of their own. This book is a must-read for horticulture students, industry insiders, and advanced gardeners who dream of turning their passion for plants into a job they love.

Annotation. Nursery Management second edition is an introduction to setting up and running profitable and efficient nursery businesses covering production, wholesale and retail nurseries at various scales of operation. The book discusses all the practical aspects of nursery management from site selection, production systems, and plant propagation through to materials and equipment. Conventional as well as non-chemical biological control measures for pests, weeds and disease control are included. Management issues for production nurseries, wholesalers and retail nurseries are treated separately for each operation and cover products and services, budgeting, production management, work scheduling and staffing. The chapter on marketing looks at the major changes that have taken place in the nursery industry, particularly the roles that landscapers, garden centres and hardware stores now play in retailing. It covers market research, promotions, distribution and consumer laws and shows the operator how to define the scope of their operation to fit their resources and how to sell their product for maximum return. This accessible guide is essential reading for anyone considering entering the nursery industry, and for those already in the business. Covers production, wholesale and retail nurseries Discusses practical aspects of site selection, disease control, production systems and equipment Explores marketing issues including distribution and relevant consumer law.

A backyard nursery is a great business opportunity for the person seeking some level of self-employment. It can be a full-time operation for the entrepreneur, or a part-time enterprise for a stay-at-home Mom, the retiree who wants to supplement a pension, or the landscaper who wants to make additional income by both selling and installing plants.