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If you’ve got a green thumb and want to capitalize off your expert flower arrangements, opening a floral shop could be the right move. That may sound daunting at first glance, but there are many different opportunities to start and grow no matter where you are in life. If you’re interested in learning more, read on fortips onhow to start a floral business.

Have a Passion

Any small business is going to have its ups and downs at the beginning. It’s essential when you find yourself head-on with those struggles that you know why you’re doing it in the first place. While it’s not necessary, having a love for what you’re doing will help continue to drive you past the early hurdles. It helps if you’ve had experience either in the floral industry or as a hobby before. The more talent and experience you have, the better it will be.

What Is Your Initial Investment?

A lot of the initial planning will be dependent on how much time and money you can invest at the start.  While it can be good to have seed money available, a physical location to rent, and supplies ready to go, it’s also feasible to begin as a side hustle out of your own home. When thinking about how to start a floral business, it’s beneficial to have a budget for both money and time so you know what limitations you’ll have to work around. 

Consider Your Inventory Needs

Once you have a budget, you can begin to gather the supplies you’ll need to carry out your vision. Many of these items will be self-explanatory, such as ribbons, scissors, clippers, and a source for flowers. You may also need to account for expenses such as a refrigerated truck that can handle your cooling demands, all of which will depend on your current capacity.

Get Your Name Out There

If you haven’t the faintest idea of obtaining clients, offering your services to friends and family can be a good start. If someone has a birthday or baby shower coming up, that’s an excellent opportunity to show your skills and get word of mouth going.  Once you’ve created a portfolio and begin to market yourself, you might consider creating a website, making some flowery business cards, and posting your arrangements on social media like Instagram.  Once you’ve begun to establish a clientele, you’ll be able to build on your experience and help your floral business continue to grow.

During spring cleaning, you sometimes come across items that deserve a second chance. Gardens offer those chances, turning old junk onto eye-catching, rustic, and charming objects d’art amidst all the natural colors and textures. Give your personal backyard Eden something extra with these upcycling ideas to beautify your garden.

Furniture Planters

Have an old wooden chair that’s becoming rickety but probably has a few more years of standing power in it? Cut a hole through the seat, insert a pot or planter, fill it with soil and seeds, and set it up in an area of your garden that could use a visual filler or conversation piece. Get a viny plant to wind its way around the chair’s back, armrests, and legs, and then flowers at the bottom. Benches, rocking chairs, dressers, and similar furniture works as well. Add some color to them with waterproof paint. Make it clear they’re not for sitting by festooning them with greenery!

Tire Planters

Over their lifespan, tires perform a thankless job before being disposed of. If they’re lucky, they’re shredded and turned into mats or playground filler. Usually, even if they’re reasonably green and eco-friendly tires, they’re simply thrown into landfills and left to rot for a very, very long time. That durability makes them perfect planters for your backyard garden. Clean them up, give them a bright and cheerful paint job, then fill them with soil and flower seeds or other decorative, nonedible plants. Stack them to create a nice, layered effect.

Containers and Non-Container Planters

Do you have popcorn tins, old kid’s boots, plastic buckets, mixing bowls, baking trays, or other items that have seen their day? After cleaning and painting them, you can turn them into accent planters for a quirky upcycled look. The challenge is to incorporate them into the landscape, not simply leave them in a line along your porch. Consider bolting them to a wooden fence to break up the monotony of a flat wall. Stack stones in a back corner and create tiers on which to rest the planters to make the most of a smaller space.

Stump Planter

Nature can inspire upcycling ideas to beautify your garden. If you’ve had to chop down a tree because it was diseased or dying and are left with an unsightly stump as a result—well, you can still turn that to your advantage. Get out your tools and prepare to bring new life to the old by carving a hole into the stump and turning it into a planter. Clear away any leaves or branches, then drill several large holes into the top of the stump. Use a hammer and chisel to cut away the wood into a wide circle, leaving an inch away from the sides. Repeat until you reach the depth you’d like, then fill it up with soil and fertilizer. Plant seeds or an already grown plant. Keep in mind that you can carve niches into the stump as well to hold pots or other decorations. Remember that, although the stump will eventually rot, you can make yours last with a polyurethane sealant.

Have you caught the gardening bug? If so, then you’re about to enjoy a very fulfilling and valuable hobby. Like anything else, there’s a right way and a wrong way to get started. If you want to become an expert gardener, then you need to master the basics first. We want you to succeed in growing your first plants, so here are some important tips for new gardeners.

Do Your Growing Research

One of the hardest things for new gardeners to get right is the timing. Getting the timing right is critical for growing healthy plants. Each plant will have a different bloom time. The region that you’re in also plays a part in when you should plant. Here are a few tips for nailing the timing:

• Know which plants you intend to grow first.
• Check out a growing calendar for your area to know when to plant.
• Learn the average first and last frost dates in your region.

Keep It Simple at First

A lot of beginner gardeners tend to bite off more than they can chew. Remember, while you may want to grow a mile-long, bustling garden, you’re still new to gardening. That’s why starting small is a great idea. Try starting with a simple raised garden bed with a few plants.

By starting simple, you’ll get to know the needs of your plants. You’ll also get familiar with the climate in your area. You could even start with some seed paper sheets to keep it light and simple!

Scout for the Sunniest Areas

Your plants will need a lot of sunlight to thrive. Most plants need at least six hours of sunshine each day. That’s why you need to find the perfect spot that gets the most sun. Make sure there are no significant obstructions, such as trees or houses, in the way. Also, try and view your selected spot during each time of the day to make sure it gets consistent sun.

Set Up a Watering System

Plants need water to survive. As a result, you need a quality irrigation system to provide your plants with a steady water supply. Your irrigation system needs to stay in pristine working condition. If you spot signs of a faulty irrigation system, you’ll have to seek repairs. Any leaks? Get them sorted as soon as possible so that you’re not wasting any water.

Your Soil Is Everything

You should know that there’s a big difference between dirt and soil. A seasoned gardener can instantly spot the difference. Soil is dark black and rich in nutrients, and it usually has worms. You can perform a home soil test to check the potency of your soil. You can also fertilize the ground to improve the quality of the soil. If you don’t have rich, robust soil in which to grow your plants, you won’t find success as a gardener.
There you have it—some important tips for new gardeners. Follow this guide, and you’ll have a vibrant garden growing before you know it. Don’t give up!

When looking at the current climate change projections, it is hard not to have a bleak outlook on the future. During times like these, when people are uncertain about events to come, folks tend to look toward leaders for guidance. Politicians, police officers, scientists, and even business owners need to set an example for the rest of the world. If you own a business and wish to be a responsible leader in your community, you should learn these ways to reduce your company’s carbon footprint. 

Minimize Food Waste

No matter the size of your company, if you are purposeful with the way you purchase and discard food, you can reduce a major source of environmental strain. When you cater, work with companies that are dedicated to minimizing their waste. Purchase from businesses that work with local farmers, thereby decreasing the amount of travel waste. Also, your company can create its own compost program to turn food trash into fertilizer.

Invest in Renewable Energy

With fossil fuels being a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, environmentally responsible companies are moving away from those sources in favor of greener options, like solar or wind. If you want to limit your company’s carbon footprint, there are federal, state, and local incentives available to businesses ready to make those alterations. You can check out these incentives at the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.  

Use Product Destruction Services

No company should feel like they alone are responsible for all the work in managing a switch to a greener mode of operation. In truth, there are many, many businesses whose sole purpose is to assist corporations in their renewable efforts. One such industry is product destruction services.

This industry protects the environment by properly disposing of paper, including sensitive documents; eliminating harmful recalled products, and composting. Working alongside a product destruction company, you will feel much more secure in your environmental goals.

Use Sustainable Web Hosting Services

Most people are unaware of the vast amount of fossil fuels used up by web hosting services. The unfortunate truth is that unless you are told otherwise, it is likely that your website is on a data server stored in a warehouse that is powered by fossil fuels. Data servers must be cooled and powered at all times, which makes for an unsustainable arrangement. Thankfully, one of the ways to reduce your company’s carbon footprint is to partner with a certified sustainable hosting member, like CanvasHost or Sustainable Hosting, to eliminate the environmental costs of fossil fuel-powered hosting.

In the last year, many people have picked up new and enriching hobbies. Gardening is one of the most popular choices among them. You get to nurture a living thing from a seed and watch it grow to its full potential.

Sometimes, however, keeping track of everything your little green buddies require to reach full bloom can be difficult. Luckily, some fuzzy friends can help you give your plants what they need. Below is a guide to how gardening with moss helps your garden thrive.

Moss Can Indicate Disease in Trees

The growth of moss can sometimes indicate disease in various types of plants and trees. For instance, if you start to notice an overgrowth of moss on your favorite oak tree, this might be a sign that the tree is sick or dying.

Of course, moss overgrowth on trees and plants doesn’t automatically point to illness, as moss can develop without taking nutrients from another source. But, in some cases, it can indicate that a tree is in poor health: when there are fewer leaves on the branches, more sunlight will hit the bark, creating an ideal space for moss to prosper.

Moss Provides More Nutrients to Potted Plants

Moss can also serve as a potent fertilizer for your potted plants. Putting a layer of moss over the soil in your pots can help the plants succeed, as the moss will retain each drop of nutrients and return them to the ground. In this way, the plant is not only benefiting from the extra nutrients but also receiving a boost of moisture. This can be especially helpful if you wish to have a thriving garden but your time to care for each of your plants is limited.

Moss Serves as a Great Home for Beneficial Insects

Moss also attracts certain types of insects that are directly beneficial to the health of a garden. When you think of insects, your mind probably leads you to thoughts of creepy-crawlers that you would rather not find in your house. When it comes to gardening, though, some of these creatures will keep your plants free of harmful pests and diseases.

For example, moss makes a perfect dwelling for spiders and worms, two insects that keep the harmful bugs away and ensure your soil stays nutrient rich. Furthermore, moss attracts lightning bugs, which are whimsical reminders that nature is beautiful.

Gardening is an incredible and rewarding way to spend your free time. You get to watch something burst forth from a seed and grow to full fruition. Even better, there are so many creative ways to provide your plants with everything they need to flourish. With these tips on how gardening with moss helps your garden thrive, you can do even more for the health of your plants!