You may be able to grow the most beautiful flowers in the world, but if you can’t find a market for them, they’re just an expense. On the other hand, if you can sell but have nothing worthwhile to market, it’s the same result. To be successful, you must do both reasonably well.

It’s not that we don’t grow beautiful flowers because we do. And, we are not faced with finding a market. No, indeed. The dilemma is one of our own creation, brought about by being good at what we do. To put it simply, our successful flower business has attracted brides who now want us to arrange flowers for their weddings and, for reasons of our own, we are reluctant to agree. The problem is a gnarly one and there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution.

All I can do is tell you my stories. Maybe you will find the seed of an idea you can cultivate and use.

My bread and butter market
Many of my flowers are sold to a wholesaler, others go to retail florists and the rest are marketed directly to the consumer through farmers’ markets and one small classified advertisement in the local newspaper.
At the local farmers market I sell flowers in sleeved bunches ($3.50 to $15) and three sizes of mixed flower bouquets ($6 – $18). During slack times I promote do-it-yourself flower arranging and demonstrate basic design principles. Grooming tips, new design ideas and ways of prolonging a flower’s vase life are freely offered. It is my theory that providing such information will minimize disappointment and encourage the purchase of more flowers.

After a session of making bouquets I usually have a variety of single flowers, less-than-full-count bunches and miscellaneous foliage left over. These are gathered loosely into two or three containers and taken to market “as-is”. I make an effort to keep similarly priced varieties together so they can be sold by the stem without requiring a multitude of signs or a lot of conversation. Per-stem prices are determined by dividing the bunch price by stem count and rounding up to the nearest quarter. For example: Zinnias and snapdragons are $4 and $4.50 for a bunch of ten, so the single-stem price is 50 cents; sunflowers go for $1 each and lilies sell anywhere from 75 cents per stem (3-bud Asiatics) up to $3.50 for Casa Blancas with three to six buds. I seldom count the stems in a loose filled bucket although I have a fair idea how many are in there. The idea works and on a good day I can sell several buckets of singles. Once in a while a customer will buy a whole bucket full of these flowers without planning to rearrange anything.

Because the stems are loose in the container and within easy reach I also use it as a source of replacements for flowers in bouquets and bunches that get damaged during the day. I find it good PR to say, “Oh, oh. Looks like that zinnia (or whatever) has had an accident. Here are some spare parts. Please choose the one you’d like as a replacement”. This helps me maintain a high standard.

Little things
Every bouquet has a packet of flower food attached inside the sleeve with my name and address label.
At the back of my market booth, within easy reach, I keep a supply of rubber bands, decorated bouquet sleeves, narrow rose sleeves and a few plain micro-perfed sleeves I use for straight bunches. Some customers like to assemble their own bouquets and I ask if it is to be a gift. If it is, I offer a fancy sleeve, perhaps a bit of foliage and a rubber band. Single roses and sprays may get a twig of heather or baby’s breath and a leaf of foliage in a suitable sleeve.

Packets of flower food are available singly for ten cents each or seven for a dollar.
Although not directly associated with flower sales I provide a pair of canvas chairs just outside my booth with an attached sign that reads, “Rest here”.

One of the markets I attend allows dogs and a container of clean water at doggie level invites them to drink (and leave my buckets of flowers alone).

Carve a niche
Not wanting to actively compete with my retail florist customers for the formal wedding work, I needed to develop a new niche. Drawing on experiences from an earlier life, I decided to make things easier for the scores of people who work at serving the community. They are the committee chairpersons, volunteer workers on school and community events, generous friends and relatives of a bride-to-be and party-giving hostesses.

A classified advertisement in the local newspaper seemed to be an appropriate and cost-effective way of reaching these folks. The phrase “celebration flowers” described both product and purpose and to start the ball rolling I contacted civic groups directly. We’ve developed a good relationship: they buy my flowers and I give them good prices; the flowers make them look good; they receive accolades for their service and buy more flowers.

In general, the marketing concept of celebration flowers involves filling large containers with compatible flowers which the customer arranges at home or the celebration site. A five-gallon bucket will hold seven or eight bunches while three or four bunches will fill a three-gallon florist-type bucket. These filled containers sell anywhere from $15 to $75 depending on volume and variety. For me its a fine way to sell flowers. Unexpectedly, the small ad appealed to couples who come to this very scenic area to be married. This phenomenon, established years ago, prompted several well-located farms and wineries to develop wedding gardens. We work well with these folks and deliver their flowers by the bunch or the bucket as we would for a restaurant or hotel. When the wholesaler told me that my flowers were prized by designers of tall, large arrangements for use in hotels, museums and such, it really tickled my imagination. It wasn’t long before I was making and selling my own oversize arrangements to an equivalent, but smaller, local market. The price range for 25-stem bouquets of oversize flowers is $45-$60 .

Bottles into vases
For my daughter’s creekside wedding I needed twelve hanging vases and couldn’t find anything both suitable and affordable. Not willing to mortgage the ranch I carved what I needed from 2-litre pop bottles and found they worked very well. Today I cut the tops off pop bottles to use as disposable flower holders and carve others to hang from wires or nailed to a wall or fence. Filled, and sometimes covered with cloth or tissue, they become handsome, hard workers who don’t hang around after the party is over. Dropped into the hole of a cement half-block they provide a trendy industrial look. Smaller bottles make respectable holders for pew arrangements.

Making prototypes
Soon after I began selling celebration flowers directly to the consumer I learned how much my clients needed a reasonably accurate estimate of flower quantities and cost. If several similar arrangements are likely to be needed, making a prototype seemed logical. And, they can be made a week, or more, ahead which does a great deal to calm the arranger’s fears.

At the appropriate time (like when I had a good estimate of how much they were willing to spend and whether, or not, I wanted to be involved) I would invite the arranger to compose the prototypes at my location and offer one hour of my undivided attention. There would be a charge for extended time at $25 an hour. The session has advantages for both of us: access to many flowers, professional influence, the opportunity to arrive at an estimate and place the order. Price quotes and flower quantities are documented on an order sheet effectively eliminating the possibility of having one of those, “Gee, I thought you said—” conversations.

As a grower selling to a wholesaler I have access to everything the company sells and the opportunity to buy at 25% below the wholesale-to-retail market. This allows me to still make a profit when I buy and resell. If the arranger wants a flower that I don’t grow and my wholesaler doesn’t carry, we come to an understanding that if I can find the flower (and I usually can) the price is going to be cost plus 10%.

The arranger is expected to come to the prototype session on time, armed with a list of anticipated arrangements, design ideas and the containers that will be used. Charging for time after the first hour encourages compliance. I have floral arranging supplies available at cost and the pre-selected flowers conditioned and ready. The work area is spacious, well-lighted and the customer has access to the flowers in two reach-in coolers. As the composition progresses, the excitement builds and we enjoy the process. When the prototype is completed the stems are counted by variety, multiplied by the number of arrangements and the numbers are divided into bunches. From those numbers we arrive at a cost estimate. This usually gives the customer a pleasant surprise and often causes an immediate increase in quantity and/or a selection of more expensive items. While they are still dancing gleefully I accept a deposit of 50%. The balance is due on delivery.

We arrange for flower delivery, or pickup, and return of my flower buckets. After listening to the advice of well-seasoned flower providers, I decided to go ahead and loan my second rate buckets and not worry too much about getting them back. Clean three- and five-gallon buckets are readily available and if by loaning a few I can lower a customer’s stress level at an important time it seems worth it.

As a woman owning a variety of small businesses, I have learned that the way to commercial success is to find out what the customer wants and give it to him. You may not know immediately how you are going to make it happen but the challenge will be exhilarating and customers will reward your courage. I believe that if you make it your business to provide high quality flowers and outstanding service your customers will reward you with their business and become people you can count on, no matter how tough the times or the competition.¶

Joanne Harrison owns and operates Harrison Flowers in Hood River, Oregon where she grows cut flowers, shrubs for flowers and foliage, vegetables, berries and cherries. She can be contacted at builder@gorge.net.