How to grow and sell plants and flowers

Growing plants and flowers is a great hobby that is difficult to master, but extremely rewarding once you have got the hang of it. You can even make a living out of it. Perhaps you could grow rare plants and sell them on? Or experiment with different arrangements that stand out from the usual displays?

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Choose your plant or flower

There are countless routes you could go down when it comes to growing plants and flowers. As you will most likely going to be starting off on a very small scale, it is recommended that you decide on a specific type of plant or flower to perfect and make that what you are known for. Have a look around your local area and see what other people are selling at markets and in shops. Try to find a niche that you can fill.

Care for your plants

There are many things to remember when growing plants and flowers, but perhaps the most important is to make sure they have the right environment to grow in. Every plant is unique, so do plenty of reading up on your specific area.

Some basic rules to always remember include the container or pot you are using must be big enough, you must keep your plants at a steady temperature, make sure that your plants get the right amount of natural sunlight, do not over- or under-water your plants, and remember to give your plants fertilizer and or plant food.

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Label your plants and stay organised

Labelling your plants and flowers is extremely important if you are looking to sell them at a later date. There is nothing worse than putting in lots of effort when planting and grow them, only find out you cannot recognise your plant.

Keeping your plants and flowers organised with labels is a quick and easy way of saving yourself lots of time in the future. You will be extremely pleased with yourself for doing it.
Often seeds and bulbs can with labels already, but these are often poorly made and it can be a good idea to source better quality labels elsewhere.

Companies such as South East Labels offer a wide range of horticultural labels, such as synthetic ‘slug proof’, waterproof, loop lock and stick-in labels.

Visit www.southeastlabels.co.uk to find out more information. Labels are also useful for selling your products; you can price them and show your customers information.

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Find your marketplace

Do as much research as possible. Find a market or shop that will stock your product and ask around, you will soon find the perfect place to sell your flowers and plants. If your local town does not have anywhere for you to pitch a stall or stock your product in a shop then you should certainly consider selling online.

Useful links

Plant of the week
The Guardian newspaper offers a 'Plant of the week'.

BBC Plant Finder
Useful resource on identifying plants from the BBC.

Which? Guide to herbs
Which? magazine guide to growing your own herbs.

How to fight the winter fatigue

Many factors can be taken into account to explain the feeling of tiredness that comes with January. Mainly, the lack of sun and the cold weather are making us feeling drained and depressed. Combine this with the return to work and the end of a month-long of festivities and you have a month that feels like a bad hangover. If you should take only one New Year resolution, it should be to do everything to avoid the January blues and fight the fatigue.

Sleep more, keep active and eat well

It seems simple and obvious, but these three things have to be done properly if you want to start the year in the best conditions. First, make sure you get plenty of sleep, but instead of what you did in December, go to bed early and get up early. You will need some energy and willpower to get up when the night is still dark, so make sure you have at least 8 hours of sleep.

Even though you feel tired and without energy, push yourself to be active. You will feel more energised if you do some simple things like walking to work, going for a walk or a ride at the week-end, or practice any sports you enjoy. The gym is a good alternative since it's indoor. The important thing is to not overdoing it or you'll get more tired!

The cold is draining more energy from your body even if you don't do much, so make sure to eat well. Keep a balanced diet, especially if you over-indulged during the holidays, but be careful to eat enough calories to fight the cold.