Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"When I saw his book
"So You Want to Start a Nursery" I half expected to open the cover and find a four-letter word: don't. What I found instead was a comprehensive how-to textbook as well as a sober reality check."
—Ken Druse, New York Times, September 11, 2003
Review
"If I were truly thinking about starting a nursery, this book would be an indespensable starting point, and if I were already operating one, this book would make me closely re-examine my business practices, reduce costs, and increase profits ... it will spare every nursery owner (or dreamer) from the hundreds of headaches they are likely to encounter on the road to success."
—Ronny Lopat, American Gardener, May/June 2004 American Gardener
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 328-330).
Synopsis
When Tony 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 --- and is the winner of the American Horticultural Society's Commercial Award. 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 avoids excessive detail about soil mixes and greenhouse pests in this comprehensive overview --- he directs readers to other easily accessible sources of information on such practical matters. Instead, he focuses on the business and planning concerns of the nursery owner-from considering whether to consult a lawyer about a partnership to whether to build your own greenhouses. 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.
Avent's approach to the nursery business is witty, wise, and decidedly irreverent. Far from being a dry recitation on business practices, "So You Want to Start a Nursery underlines the "people" part of the nurserytrade. This book will be a must-read for horticulture students, industry insiders, and advanced gardeners who dream of turning their passion for plants into a job they love.
Synopsis
In this popular primer on how the nursery industry works, an award-winning nursery owner discusses the merits and disadvantages of retail, wholesale, mail-order, liner operations, and much more.
About the Author
Tony is well known as a lecturer and garden writer and is the recipient of prestigious awards from the American Horticultural Society, the North American Rock Garden Society, and the North Carolina Association of Nurserymen. Tony Avent runs his nursery, Plant Delights, together with his wife, Michelle; they receive help from their cats Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, and Zirconia.