Refilling the Inventory.........

The off season here at the farm is spent building inventory for the beginning of the Spring sales season. Every year brings an increase in sales and we have used our spare time to get ahead of schedule this Fall. Peggy has found several suitable new molds during the Summer and along with some new ideas we tested this year we think we will have an outstanding selection of items to offer.

One item that surprised us this year is what we called "the smalls". When molding larger items our recipe is adjusted to accommodate the size of the project we are working on. When we are finished there is always that glob left at the bottom of the bucket. Being the tightwads that we are we found some small containers to utilize that last bit of leftover mud. When I first began building them I thought maybe give them away as samples. We did plant a few with single succulents for display and soon found they were some of our best sellers. This year I have made it a priority to find some new shapes and sizes to include in our inventory.

Just for Fun.........

Occasionally there is a chance to do something just for fun. It was mid September and the local Federated Garden Clubs gathered to hold their Fall Flower Show. A few local business were offered the opportunity to artistically display a table of products in addition to the show's regular display of horticultural selections and designs. Well the joke was on them as I have little or no artistic ability so I piled it out just as I would when I'm confined to vending in a small space. Needless to say it worked out well because many were interested in the product I had to display.

Miniature landscapes, fairy gardens, or whatever label you might attach to them are all the rage and that proved true during the two day event. Onlookers whether they be experienced gardeners or complete non gardeners were fascinated with gardens that were built to such a small scale. I certainly had a fun weekend answering questions and commenting on the gardens and supplies to build them. Like all things the party is soon over and I returned to the nursery to savor the quiet days, slow cups of coffee, and a chance to meditate on new garden designs for next years growing season. Hey if I run out of daylight I can always create a papercrete container or two!!

Something New......

With a head full of ideas I occasionally find enough time and the right materials to put together a new design. During a renegade shower of rain this week I had time to pick through a pile of driftwood sticks gathered during a hike. This pile had laid in the corner of a coldframe for several months awaiting some unforseen project until I finally selected one to utilize as a handle for this papercrete trug. Now I need to determine what sort of plant material I need to fill it with. Succulents most likely..........

Almost every container built here at the farm gets tested buy one cat or another. In the evening as shadows grow the farm cats gather near the grow mat where we pile the finished containers and test those containers for proper size, shape, and comfort. We have not found a good explanation as to why they like them so well but you can find them lazing comfortably each evening. That's the cat named "DOG"

Papercrete Plus.......

Thanks to the Pinterest Community for the free flow of information in picture form. We have all heard it said, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and it still holds true if you can stretch a simple idea that far. Having seen certain materials used in such fashion I thought of a pile of driftwood sticks I gathered earlier in the Summer. They were originally collected for another project but a spur of the moment idea caused me to stop and put a tripod together to display a papercrete bowl.

Now that it is built I have let it sit by the door of the greenhouse so that each time I walk by I can study the form and nature of the creation. I'm waiting for some tidbit of inspiration to hit which will allow the utilization of a yet unknown item as a feature to create a miniature landscape around in the papercrete bowl.

Busy Summer.....

We have had a busy and very productive Summer. Following our trip to Natchez, Mississippi we moved on to

Monticello, Arkansas to vend at the Arkansas Master Gardeners State Conference. We found that folks in that area were ready to start creating small gardens. From there we moved on to

Wichita, Kansas to vend at the first annual "Hostapalooza", an event created and presented by the Wichita Hosta Society. We found that folks in south central Kansas like both Japanese maples and small gardens. From Wichita we made a mad dash home on Saturday evening to reload the truck and trailer for a Sunday trip to set up in St. Louis, Missouri.

Memorial Day found us vending at the 40th Annual "Gypsy Caravan" a fundraiser for the St. Louis Symphony. This was also a one day event catering to twenty thousand customers flea market style. We had a unique product and although the day was hot sales were exceptional. Since Memorial Day we have taught papercrete classes, held a miniature gardening workshop, traveled to Oregon to shop for new varieties of Japanese Maples and fairy Garden plants, and made preparations to travel to 

Pella, Iowa for the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa's State Convention. Pella is a gardening community and was a great location for us to serve some long time miniature garden lovers and try to infect everyone else with the "Fairy Gardening Virus" 

We have finally settled in at home to build a new supply of papercrete containers and fairy/miniature landscapes for our customers delight. We have a two week break before our next event. It's time to get busy!!

More Mini Gardens.....

I usually try to build my miniature landscapes or fairy gardens in papercrete pots but a shortage of time and demand for little gardens has forced me to build a few gardens in other style containers.You can see lots of other small gardens at the Magic Onions Blog

Miniature gardens are always fun to build and thanks to both customers demands and the suppliers willingness to develop the products we have the unique supplies to create these miniature masterpieces.

Vending in Natchez, Mississippi.......

First let me say, "Natchez is great when it comes to Southern Hospitality, Barbeque, and Po-boy sandwiches" and thanks to everyone that made my time there such a joy. It's always nice to be surrounded by gardeners especially when you have a product in demand. The gardeners at the 2012 Southern Region Master Gardeners Conference have been a joy to vend to and share my experience with. The conference has opened a lot of doors to vending and speaking at future venues. Finally  I think I have done well to infect as many as possible to both the Japanese Maple and Miniature/fairy gardening virus.

Most of these pots found new homes somewhere in the South....