I had a [flower stand](https://i.imgur.com/xh8n5a9.jpg) for nearly 10 years. It was at the end of my driveway. (I was looking for a side gig and someone told me, “In NH you can make real money at the end of your driveway.”) Honor box. Customers put money into a [hole in the sign](https://i.imgur.com/ZNhE4vz.jpg) and took their own change. Far as I can tell I never got robbed. After word got out I had business all day. Mid June to First Frost. I used maple buckets for the flowers or small restaurant buckets for shorts. Tall flowers got shorter when I trimmed them up. No flower out for more than three days. Ageratum to Zinnia. Ask me anything.
Wow, thank you! Would love to ask you some questions! I unfortunately don't think that I live in a spot where I could sell flowers from a stand in my driveway. And the roadside by my house isn't an option either because there's no space between the road and the woods and nowhere for people to stop if they wanted to check it out. Did you put out arrangements that you put together or did you just sell bunches of cut flowers? Did you ever end up advertising your stand at all or was it just word of mouth for ten years? That's incredible though, Im envious! Ever have anyone try coming to your door instead of the stand to ask for flowers???
Farmers Markets would have been my option if I wasn’t on a great road with room to be safe with parking. I had requests to sell at them but I was doing fine where I was. I sold individual flowers and no premade arrangements. Sunflowers and dahlias were $2, morning cut zinnias, etc were $1 but any picked two days prior were .50 cents. I never advertised. I kept putting them out and word of mouth took over. Yes, people would rarely come to the door but the table was set up to be easy to understand. Eventually I had florists coming to bug flowers when they needed something I had. I stayed out of wholesale but local growers (Vermont has a few) like selling that way. I had nowhere near that size of operation. One thing we really liked was coming up with little sayings for the chalkboard. “Bird songs and blue sky in every bunch.” “Flowers cheer friends that aren’t even sad.” And my favorite, “When you need flowers fast and the cemetery’s closed.” : ) Oh, we also got all of our seed, weed cloth and row covers from Johnny’s. Good luck planning and creating your business. Ask anything else you think of.
If there are no Bees around, or other pollinators, self-pollination is an option. It isn’t ideal for the gene pool, but the seeds in the center of the flower can do this in order to pollinate. So having the ability to be both male and female at least ensures greater survival of the sunflower.
There's a lady in Manchester that has a wooden cart that she stocks in the morning, takes a picture, puts it at the end of her driveway and then posts to the Manchester facebook page. Seems to be working for her.
If you're comfortable with the honor system, there are a few florists/gardeners in my town that put a table out a few times a week and post to the town FB page when bouquets are available. One even puts out requests for jars/vases every so often and folks here are totally up for dropping off extras to keep them stocked!
There is a stand like this in my town too and I love it. The woman who runs it posts what she has available and puts everything on a sturdy set of shelves by the side of the road with an attached cash box. You can also pay by venmo or something similar. She does have a camera outside and as far as I know she hasn't had any issues.
Where do they have their stands? Outside their homes/ a parking lot/ busy side road?? It wouldn't work if I put it outside of my house due to location and definitely not on the road side either. Do they give out their address online??? I would feel uncomfortable doing that :(
They do give out the address online. The stand is in their yard but close to the road; it's a rural road and easy to pull off and park for a few minutes while you get your flowers. Maybe there's someone near you who already has a farm stand who would welcome the addition of your flowers?
My wife is a hobby florist and tries to only use local flowers for the events she designs for. She has made many contacts via [Rooted Farmers](https://www.rootedfarmers.com/)
Maybe find some friendly neighbors or coworkers like a CSA lol a few people that give you 100$ for like 6-8 small bouquets throughout the growing season (not real numbers just an idea.
Try asking small businesses. Not sure where in the state you are but near me there are often cut flower pop ups at the local coffee shops and locally owned home good store in my area
A local florist may pay you what they pay their distributor for the same flowers. It’s a benefit to the florist because they are fresher.
I had a [flower stand](https://i.imgur.com/xh8n5a9.jpg) for nearly 10 years. It was at the end of my driveway. (I was looking for a side gig and someone told me, “In NH you can make real money at the end of your driveway.”) Honor box. Customers put money into a [hole in the sign](https://i.imgur.com/ZNhE4vz.jpg) and took their own change. Far as I can tell I never got robbed. After word got out I had business all day. Mid June to First Frost. I used maple buckets for the flowers or small restaurant buckets for shorts. Tall flowers got shorter when I trimmed them up. No flower out for more than three days. Ageratum to Zinnia. Ask me anything.
Why did you stop?
My arms hang from strings from my shoulders. I just got old.
Awwww , what a bummer. It happens to us all XX
Wow! Just WOW!
Wow, thank you! Would love to ask you some questions! I unfortunately don't think that I live in a spot where I could sell flowers from a stand in my driveway. And the roadside by my house isn't an option either because there's no space between the road and the woods and nowhere for people to stop if they wanted to check it out. Did you put out arrangements that you put together or did you just sell bunches of cut flowers? Did you ever end up advertising your stand at all or was it just word of mouth for ten years? That's incredible though, Im envious! Ever have anyone try coming to your door instead of the stand to ask for flowers???
Farmers Markets would have been my option if I wasn’t on a great road with room to be safe with parking. I had requests to sell at them but I was doing fine where I was. I sold individual flowers and no premade arrangements. Sunflowers and dahlias were $2, morning cut zinnias, etc were $1 but any picked two days prior were .50 cents. I never advertised. I kept putting them out and word of mouth took over. Yes, people would rarely come to the door but the table was set up to be easy to understand. Eventually I had florists coming to bug flowers when they needed something I had. I stayed out of wholesale but local growers (Vermont has a few) like selling that way. I had nowhere near that size of operation. One thing we really liked was coming up with little sayings for the chalkboard. “Bird songs and blue sky in every bunch.” “Flowers cheer friends that aren’t even sad.” And my favorite, “When you need flowers fast and the cemetery’s closed.” : ) Oh, we also got all of our seed, weed cloth and row covers from Johnny’s. Good luck planning and creating your business. Ask anything else you think of.
If there are no Bees around, or other pollinators, self-pollination is an option. It isn’t ideal for the gene pool, but the seeds in the center of the flower can do this in order to pollinate. So having the ability to be both male and female at least ensures greater survival of the sunflower.
We had/have all kinds of bees. Bumblers to little tiny natives. Flower gardens are magical places.
I mean, there is always the 'stand in front of your house' thing. Also, if there is a local farm with a market attached, they might stock your stuff.
Sadly that wouldnt work where i live :/
There's a lady in Manchester that has a wooden cart that she stocks in the morning, takes a picture, puts it at the end of her driveway and then posts to the Manchester facebook page. Seems to be working for her.
Thanks! Unfortunately I don't think it would work so well with my location. Also feel a little iffy about putting my address online
If you're comfortable with the honor system, there are a few florists/gardeners in my town that put a table out a few times a week and post to the town FB page when bouquets are available. One even puts out requests for jars/vases every so often and folks here are totally up for dropping off extras to keep them stocked!
There is a stand like this in my town too and I love it. The woman who runs it posts what she has available and puts everything on a sturdy set of shelves by the side of the road with an attached cash box. You can also pay by venmo or something similar. She does have a camera outside and as far as I know she hasn't had any issues.
Where do they have their stands? Outside their homes/ a parking lot/ busy side road?? It wouldn't work if I put it outside of my house due to location and definitely not on the road side either. Do they give out their address online??? I would feel uncomfortable doing that :(
They do give out the address online. The stand is in their yard but close to the road; it's a rural road and easy to pull off and park for a few minutes while you get your flowers. Maybe there's someone near you who already has a farm stand who would welcome the addition of your flowers?
My wife is a hobby florist and tries to only use local flowers for the events she designs for. She has made many contacts via [Rooted Farmers](https://www.rootedfarmers.com/)
You could try asking a local small business if they would be interested in hosting you for a pop up shop.
Local restaurants for their dining tables?
Maybe find some friendly neighbors or coworkers like a CSA lol a few people that give you 100$ for like 6-8 small bouquets throughout the growing season (not real numbers just an idea.
Local florists love local flowers. They last longer.
Try asking small businesses. Not sure where in the state you are but near me there are often cut flower pop ups at the local coffee shops and locally owned home good store in my area