So You Want to Start a Nursery by Tony Avent

So You Want to Start a Nursery by Tony Avent

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.

Tony Avent is a garden writer, educator, and plant explorer and breeder. The American Horticultural Society, the North American Rock Garden Society, the American Hosta Society, and the Perennial Plant Association have all given him prizes. With his wife, Anita, Avent operates Plant Delights and Juniper Level Botanic Garden.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780881925845
ISBN 10	0881925845
Title	So You Want to Start a Nursery
Author	Tony Avent
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Timber Press
Year published	2003-07-11
Number of pages	340
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.