I really, really want them to succeed. And some do, but many others are battling to maintain attendance. Local garden clubs and horticultural societies are the "grass roots" of the hobby. They're a sorely needed voice to challenge the dominance of the global horticultural supply chain. So why are so many clubs struggling? Here, I propose that these garden clubs are not "failing because they can't find new members", but rather that they can't find new members because they're failing - failing to take on what I view as their four essential functions.
Please feel free to share this video with your local garden club or horticultural society. As mentioned in the video... I don't mind being wrong about one point or another, I mind us not having the conversation.
This is how I decide which plants to sell in my small nursery business. The goal is to stay out of direct competition with the mass market plant retailers. That way I can charge a little more for "hard-to-find" plants, and my customers get the benefit of shopping a more interesting assortment than the "usual suspects" at the garden center. It's probably a little more than you need to know about the way my mind works, but no apologies on my part: you can always skip forward in the video. To go straight to my planning spreadsheet, you can nudge ahead to around 9:15.
If you find these videos useful, there are a few little things you can do to help me out:
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Follow our farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleyrosefarm
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm
Or better yet, subscribe to this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FraserValleyRoseFarm?sub_confirmation=1
And for a place to indulge in random garden anarchy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety/
Photo credits:
Himalayan blue poppy CC BY 2.0 Axel Kristinsson
Scarlet Sage CC BY 2.0 brando (Flickr)
Shiso CC BY 2.0 FarOutFlora
Bonsai CC BY-SA 3.0 Ragesoss
Brahea armata CC BY-SA 3.0 Berthold Werner
Pilea CC BY 3.0 Quackor
Zinnia Queen Red Lime CC BY-SA 4.0 Don McCulley
Plants for sale cc-by-sa/2.0 - Given Up geograph.org.uk/p/3057339
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKcUBRPspxQ
Enjoy roses in a grower's pot or decorative container on your patio or out in the garden! Here's a selection of compact (mainly) roses up to around 4ft height with regular pruning. There are literally thousands of roses you could choose to grow in pots, but I've selected these for their range of colors, bloom forms, fragrance and other special qualities. Definitely feel encouraged to add your own pics of roses you've enjoyed growing in pots instead of planting right in the ground.
If you find these videos useful, here are a few things you can do to help us out:
Send a tip: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fvrosefarm
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Drop us a "Like" on our Facebook business page:
https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm/
Leave a review of our farm on Google:
https://g.page/r/Cfi8qXv8QReZEBE/review
For shareable articles on roses and gardening:
https://www.fraservalleyrosefarm.com/articles-on-roses-and-gardening/
Photo Credits:
Maurice Utrillo by Burkhard Mucke CC BY-SA 4.0
Pillow Fight by T. Kiya CC BY-SA 2.0
Bolero (2) by T. Kiya CC BY-SA 2.0
Little White Pet by rosier CC BY-SA 3.0
Little White Pet (2) by Leonora (Ellie) Enking CC BY-SA 2.0
Twilight Zone by bluefootedbooby CC BY-SA 2.0
Cream Veranda by Salicyna CC BY-SA 4.0
Lady Emma Hamilton by cultivar413 CC BY 2.0
Jubilee Celebration by Geolina163 CC BY-SA 4.0
Elle by Wilrooij CC BY-SA 4.0
Beverly by Salicyna CC BY-SA 4.0
Arthur Bell by Salicyna CC BY-SA 4.0
The Fairy by Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz CC BY-SA 4.0
Cinco de Mayo by Captain-tucker CC BY-SA 4.0
Grace by Salicyna CC BY-SA 4.0
Julia Child by T. Kiya CC BY-SA 2.0
PLayboy by Hamachidori CC BY-SA 3.0
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpWIy-pOA4c
The most common garden hose repairs: 1) fix a leak/cut in the length of the hose 2)replace the hose end fitting . Both repairs are fast, easy and relatively inexpensive (compared to replacement) and I'll show you the "how to" in this video.
If you find these videos useful, there are a few little things you can do to help me out:
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Follow our farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleyrosefarm
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm
Or better yet, subscribe to this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FraserValleyRoseFarm?sub_confirmation=1
And for a place to indulge in random garden anarchy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEUPjnq2JPg
This is my second heated bench for seedlings and cuttings. I use a soil heating cable buried in moist sand as a way of distributing heat directly to the roots - minimizing waste. Total budget was in the range of $100, not including lumber for the basic bench, so this kind of bench is pretty reasonable for a small grower like me.
If you find these videos useful, there are a few little things you can do to help me out:
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Follow our farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleyrosefarm
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm
Or better yet, subscribe to this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FraserValleyRoseFarm?sub_confirmation=1
And for a place to indulge in random garden anarchy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgVy6F06S7I
If you're new to roses and rose gardening, here's an introduction to the subject. I've posted in-depth videos on specific rose care topics, but this one is a general overview across the basics: location, soil, pruning, fertilizing, watering, and basic rose terminology.
The rose site I referenced: www.helpmefind.com/rose
Contents of the video:
0:00 Intro
0:50 Why grow roses?
1:50 Description of the cultivated rose
2:27 Size and habit of plants
3:14 Flower form and color
5:48 Grafted/own-root roses
6:40 Sun exposure
8:07 Soil
9:03 Support
10:04 Containers
11:01 Fertilizing
12:10 Watering
12:33 Pruning
14:12 Pests
If you find these videos useful, there are a few little things you can do to help me out:
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Follow our farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleyrosefarm
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm
Or better yet, subscribe to this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FraserValleyRoseFarm?sub_confirmation=1
And for a place to indulge in random garden anarchy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety/
Photo credit:
Rose ‘See You in Purple’ byKrzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUAfGVBjc1Q
When you start your own plant business or backyard nursery, it's up to you to let the world know about it. That's where it pays to have a marketing plan right from the start - and in my opinion, it's a better strategy for the small plant business to focus on social media and community engagement rather than paid advertising. One of my best tools for connecting with potential customers has been presenting at garden clubs and other local groups. Public speaking is more than a little uncomfortable, I admit, but has proven very useful in getting the word out about my backyard rose nursery.
If you find these videos useful, there are a few little things you can do to help me out:
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Follow our farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleyrosefarm
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm
Or better yet, subscribe to this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FraserValleyRoseFarm?sub_confirmation=1
And for a place to indulge in random garden anarchy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si3YfeQog_I
In this video I'll share what I learned about watering plants in pots & containers as a professional grower.
Here's the full story of the watering "contest":
The owner of the nursery where I worked (John) had bought a watering tunnel, which did pretty much what you saw in the first pot. It attached to the end of the conveyor at shipping, and absolutely drenched the plants before we were to load them on racks. You saw how much water runs off the pot after the quick soaking. My guys on the load dock were pretty irritated by the "water park" this was creating in the loading area. Everyone was going home soaked!
The owner (who BTW is a great guy!) had 3 reasons for insisting on this: 1) he had paid for the watering tunnel, and wanted to see it used, 2) he thought it was the best solution, and 3) he didn't have to lift the pots on the loading dock!
The hero of this story is Paula, who was my boss at the time. If she thought the watering tunnel was doing a great job, I'm sure she would have gone along with the owner. What she saw was that it was leaving loads of water splashing all over the load dock, but she was still getting complaints from customers about dry plants.
So she challenged John to a contest. She asked him to prepare a couple of flats his way (through the watering tunnel) and also prepared a couple of flats her way (by watering the plants several times while still on trailers before labelling). She made good an sure that all pots were dry at the beginning of the trial. A day later, they went back and checked the pots.
John scratched his head at the results, but was gracious enough to remove that wretched watering tunnel the following day.
Morals of the story:
1) Don't be afraid to challenge upwards when you can back it up
2) Don't bet against the shipping manager when it comes to shipping plants!
If you find these videos useful, here are a few things you can do to help us out:
Send a tip: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fvrosefarm
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Drop us a "Like" on our Facebook business page:
https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm/
Leave a review of our farm on Google:
https://g.page/r/Cfi8qXv8QReZEBE/review
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZUDi_dbn8
Whether pruning or for propagation, your plants will benefit from clean, sharp blades. This video will cover basic sharpening, disinfection and tightening adjustment for bypass pruners (secateurs) and loppers, particularly those styled after the Felco models. I use a carbide sharpener because it's fast and relatively easy. I clean with household hard surface cleaners like Lysol or Clorox wipes (but *not* with bleach).
If you find these videos useful, here are a few things you can do to help us out:
Send a tip: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fvrosefarm
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Follow our farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraservalleyrosefarm
Or Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olOaCGAcu3c
I'm revisiting the topic of rose pruning, focusing on the traditional "rules" and gardening folk wisdom. Some make a lot of sense, others depend on the situation, and yet others are without merit in my opinion. You may remember that I did this topic with basically the same points a few years ago, but since then I've upgraded from SD video to 4K, so I figured it was time for a refresh.
Here's the timline:
00:00 Intro
00:40 Prune when the forsythia blooms
02:27 Reduce to 5 stems at 18"
03:43 Focus first of dead, diseased, damaged & crossing stem
05:27 Prune to outwards-facing buds
06:38 Use clean & sharp tools
08:00 Angle your pruning cuts
09:55 Open the center
If you find these videos useful, here are a few things you can do to help us out:
Send a tip: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/fvrosefarm
Have a look at our Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/fraservalleyrosefarm
Drop us a "Like" on our Facebook business page:
https://www.facebook.com/FraserValleyRoseFarm/
Leave a review of our farm on Google:
https://g.page/r/Cfi8qXv8QReZEBE/review
For shareable articles on roses and gardening:
https://www.fraservalleyrosefarm.com/articles-on-roses-and-gardening/
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yasp148VM94