Backyard Business: Running My First Bouquet Making Night

I'm trying out a bouquet making night for another income stream for the flower farm, and it ends up being a bit more work than I bargained for! Will I be able to source enough cut flowers? Will I have enough flowers for the wedding? Will the participants have fun? And how much money did I make?
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[@jules8164]

I never comment, but I had to this time. You are amazing!!! Wow, the video is so well done and the work that you have accomplished with small children is unreal!!!! You are so talented in every way. You are such an inspiration to me to keep going with my flower farm. I am so tired after cutting and making bouquets, I wonder how I can continue and I am not hosting events, taking care of small children, and editing videos!. When I see you I feel so lazy. Your husband should rub your feet, give you a glass of wine and spoil you because you are an amazing woman!

[@ShiftingRoots]

Oh that is the sweetest comment, thank you so much.

[@shanlynwebb]

The bells of Ireland are just beautiful 💚

[@katjo0812]

I am going to be doing new cut flower garden next spring! 15 variety of Dahlias, 3 types of sunflowers and Zinneas, Zinneas and Zinnias!! Thanks so much for your sharing and knowledge, the good and the bad!! Much appreciated! I am 4B Minnesota.

[@kimiwaffles]

I too wasn’t expecting the amount of time it takes to harvest and process!

[@tmzumba]

I'm a mom of three too, and everything I go to do is so hazard. I'm tempted to follow in your shoes with a backyard flower farm, but this is new to me. I've never worked with flowers, and doing it with the three kids is very intimidating.

[@ShiftingRoots]

This is why I'm a HUGE proponent of starting small, at the backyard scale. You've got to leave room for trial and error, without spending so much money that it becomes stressful.

[@artistinagarden]

You are an inspiration! I can't believe this is just your first year, you are a pro! What a great turn out for your event! The bouquet all look amazing! And the wedding arrangements topped it all off, just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

[@ShiftingRoots]

I should clarify-first year selling. I’ve been growing and arranging for years!

[@whatnow8362]

Love your videos! Thanks for showing the behind the scenes of running a flower business.

[@stephaniel624]

Wow, great new project! I'm glad everything go well. Next time it will be even more easy for you.

[@pixiepetalsflowerfarm]

I love the tin buckets 💛💛💛

[@michellekrantz888]

Just found your channel a couple days ago and look forward to catching up on your earlier videos. I love your wedding bouquets in this video! Also love the conversation in the comments and all the encouragement and constructive suggestions. You have a great positive attitude and I'm also amazed that you're doing this with 3 littles! Bravo!

[@Samantha-ps2vv]

So beautiful! Love your videos. Definitely going to download your E-book!

[@dc0145a]

Loved this video. Getting to travel along with you while harvesting was such a treat. Beautiful bouquets and those wedding bouquets wow!!!

[@ShiftingRoots]

Aww, thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

[@tmzumba]

Her wedding bouquets are fantastically beautiful. This is definitely her zone of genius.

[@cherylbootsveld1620]

The green wedding flowers are spectacular 👍👍👍

[@nancyschwartz5665]

How did the women who attended get invited to join you? You did a beautiful job and it should be expected that your initial expenses would be high. You should be proud of yourself for putting together such a wonderful time for women to be together creating beauty.

[@ShiftingRoots]

For this one, it was for a splurge group, so they already had a group of people. For one I did later, I advertised on social media and it was open to whoever wanted to come.

[@Jha_Nix]

You're an inspiration. I have very few flowering plants in my garden. I'm just starting to grow some from seeds. Most of my plants are succulents. But while watching this video, i'm inspired to grow more. Congratulations for the success of your first bouquet making. Good luck for more upcoming events. 🙏❤️

[@ShiftingRoots]

Thank you so much!

[@shanlynwebb]

The bouquet is beautiful too! 🌾

[@jamierussellville101]

Cosmos are great for small/med vase arrangements for me. I love the dark maroon color the best. Try all the other colors! Deadheading really helps them too (not nessasary but it helps). They're my go to for flowers for my house and my moms house because I can have an abundance to do arrangements for us every week. I also love the dark scabiosa and the dark dahlias. So dramatic 🙃 I did the strawflowers for the men in our wedding and they were awesome too!

[@theboojiefarmer]

You are one busy momma!! Both jobs are SUCH HARD WORK 😊👍💐 Lots of love from San Diego….I love Humboldt, I used to live there 😊🥰

[@ShiftingRoots]

Oh cool!! Thanks so much for commenting!!

[@laurieclarkson9180]

idk..I mean, I guess it depends what you have in the bucket but some flower farmers were talking about buckets and they charged anywhere from $65-85 per bucket.

[@backyardblossomsbyrachael]

Loved watching your video! Just subscribed!

[@ShiftingRoots]

Thank you so much!

[@karenlopez5441]

You are really trying everything! So impressed for first year!! I understand how hard cutting is -I did my first farmers market last week and spent 3 hours and it was so hot! (Even in the morning.) This was a great idea to see come to life and the venue set up was adorable. Was it a place you rented or knew someone there? And how did you advertise to get your signups? Congrats for getting the customers. I would love to try this too.

[@ilenehales7849]

I had to laugh 🤣 your dahlias patch looks like mine except mine are planted a little to close and I have a double orange zinnia like yours. It's nice to see someone else that has similar things 😊.

[@shaleceelynne6504]

So cool! I’d love to do this! I’m so excited for a flower garden next year!

[@ShiftingRoots]

Yah!! I’m cheering you on over here.

[@mullaihomegardens9761]

Beautiful

[@altheab.8907]

I would think people would prefer to choose what they want from buckets of flowers rather than you putting something together for them. You would save time and they would be able to let their own creativity shine through. You could tell them about the importance of fillers and fluff, how to start, and explain the basic principles of design using triangles and odd numbers for balance, and assisting them if they need help. Perhaps you could also give them a questionnaire to fill out asking them what they liked and didn’t like and any suggestions they may have…anonymously, of course. You may get some helpful feedback from the participants. Often times what we do is not perceived in the way we intended. You could set a price per stem and they could choose as much or as little as they want. Please don’t take this as a criticism, that is not my intention. Trying to do what you are doing with 3 small children is a huge undertaking. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for you. May you be successful following your passion. I wanted to ask you if you use fertilizer. I have been using Espoma products for the last few years and have seen a vast improvement in my flower and vegetable plants. This year I started using their Bio-Tone Starter for everything when I first planted or transplanted anything and I have to say the results have been amazing. I will never plant anything without it again.

[@ShiftingRoots]

Don’t worry, I’m not offended. It’s true, it would save some work. I was wondering if there would be too much waiting and congestion that way, but it is definitely something to think about!! I do fertilize, at the acreage, but I’ve been pretty lax about it everywhere else. It does make a difference though.

[@altheab.8907]

@@ShiftingRoots have you ever watched Nicole of Flower Farm? She hosts bouquet bars on her porch. She picks all the flowers, sets out buckets and has a chalkboard with prices. People filter in over the course of a couple hours, make bouquets, she wraps them, and off they go. No containers, no snippers, assistance where needed. People seem to love it. Not sure how she advertises. I’m sure she would help you with any information you would like. Flower farmers seem like a sisterhood….everyone helping everyone else. (That’s what women do for the most part. They help each other rather than compete with each other.). She’s in zone 4 upstate New York. Your flowers seem very short and sparse compared to others I’ve seen. That’s why I asked about fertilizer. Espoma sends out fertilizer to some of the people who do gardening videos I watch and the people don’t have to verbally plug the product. Just seeing them using it promotes the product. Perhaps if you make some videos next year when you plant, it might attract some attention. Proven Winners sends out plants for them to try too. You don’t have a huge following yet, but you’re on your way. You never know what may come of it. Free is always a good thing. Laura on Garden Answer has a lot of planting tips. She has a wealth of knowledge. Her parents own a garden center. She started nervously making short videos several years ago and has grown exponentially. She and her husband do it full time now. Not everyone can achieve that, nor would they want to, but there is opportunity with KZbin. You seem very similar to Laura….young, a little shy, a little unsure, a good person and mom trying to find your way to earn some money doing what you love. I wish you all the best.

[@altheab.8907]

Wrong name for farm in previous message…..Flower Hill Farm…..I had a senior moment.

[@ShiftingRoots]

@@altheab.8907 Yes, I love Nicole's channel!! I might try the bouquet bar thing next year. I still don't know exactly what I want to do and not do with flowers, except for weddings--they have a special place in my heart. Normally my city garden looks a lot better, but we had so much drought and it's not a great year. However, I love your idea about getting free fertilizer! I'll have to message them this winter. Hopefully my channel will grow enough that it's worth their while.

[@altheab.8907]

@@ShiftingRoots Yes, you’ve had terrible weather this year. Smoke, drought, extreme heat. I follow You Can’t Eat The Grass too. They have really been struggling with all of this…and lots of grasshoppers eating the flowers too. Nasty.

[@catherinerye5017]

Those wedding bouquets were absolutely beautiful - probably my favourites that I’ve seen recently and I’ve been bingeing a LOT of videos as I’m just planning a cutting garden here in the UK. I think most flower growers adore using a lot of green, as you can really go to town with the textures, so it must be lovely to have a client who asks for it.

[@ShiftingRoots]

It was really a cool opportunity, I actually wouldn't mind doing another green wedding again.

[@laurieclarkson9180]

"We're back at the house, but not everybody survived the trip. I'm driving, I look in my little...um..thing our van has..that you can see what the kids are doing in the back.." LOL Was that a mirror? LOL I've had that stress. Then again, maybe you do have something different than a mirror that you're referring to..either way..the whole story was great! Whack..take that..frosted explosion grass..LOL

[@ShiftingRoots]

OMG yes, I could not think of the word mirror!!! But it’s curved, so you can see everyone easily.

[@Nolandhomestead]

Had me in stitches 😂😂😂

[@KTudor625]

where did you get those adorable shears?

[@daintyflygirl4va]

How much does it cost you when you get flowers from your friends/other flower farmers?

[@sylviadombrosky8936]

enough about "poor me" only interested in flowers, business, & success/failure. Pull up your socks and get on with it.🤨

[@ShiftingRoots]

Not really sure what you’re referring to. If you watch the rest of the series, I clearly “got on with it,” whatever “it” is. Anyway, fair enough, I’m not for everyone.