| You'd love your backyard plant nursery to be full | | | | These grasses have earned the name |
| of profitable plants. So what are the ways you | | | | "ornamental," due to their distinctive color or form. |
| can profit? What are the plants you could sell for | | | | They also can vary greatly in size, from six-inch |
| good money? Here are four. Grow these and you | | | | tufts to twenty-foot giants. They're fairly easy to |
| could be making big profits with your backyard | | | | grow, and are in high demand. Landscape |
| plant nursery: | | | | designers frequently use them as groundcovers, |
| 1. Groundcovers | | | | specimen plants, near ponds or streams and in |
| In general, anything that clumps, vines, mats or | | | | rock gardens. Decorators and floral designers love |
| creeps to cover the ground is considered a | | | | to use them as cut flowers and everlastings. |
| groundcover. Groundcovers are fairly easy to | | | | Cities love them as well. Ornamental grasses can |
| grow and can make you some of the highest | | | | do well in urban environments due to their high |
| per-square-foot income of all plants. Groundcovers | | | | tolerance for poor soil and air pollution. Some of |
| provide erosion control by being able to stabilize | | | | the best ornamental grasses to grow include: blue |
| the soil. They also reduce the need for watering | | | | lyme grass, fountain grass, giant reed and switch |
| as they can cut moisture loss, and act as a living | | | | grass. |
| mulch, which prevents evaporation. Plus, the | | | | 4. Value-added products |
| dense cover can prevent weeds from taking | | | | There are many fun products that can come out |
| over. The "big four" of groundcovers include: | | | | of your backyard plant nursery. More and more |
| English Ivy, Pachysandra, Vinca and Winter | | | | people are living in apartments and condos and |
| Creeper. Some growers make a nice living just | | | | simply don't have room for a full-size Christmas |
| growing those. | | | | tree. Still, many want to get in the Christmas |
| 2. Landscaping trees and shrubs | | | | spirit, and are instead buying table-top Christmas |
| Trees and shrubs are everywhere. Someone has | | | | trees. If you can grow these fun trees, you could |
| to grow them, so why not you? Popular plants | | | | see a lot of business. Italian stone pine and Elwood |
| include azaleas, rhododendrons, firs, Japanese | | | | cedar are two particularly popular varieties. Or |
| maples, junipers and spruce. Find the trees and | | | | how about bonsai trees? Bonsai is the popular and |
| shrubs that are suited to your area and are in | | | | fun Japanese method of stunting trees and |
| high demand, and get growing. It might take | | | | shrubs without altering its natural appearance. You |
| awhile before your trees and shrubs are ready to | | | | can make good money selling bonsai, which |
| sell, but when they do, you could see some big | | | | continues to be a big seller. |
| profits. To speed things up, buy small plants, called | | | | These four ways can make you some nice |
| "liners," from wholesale nurseries and move them | | | | profits. Ask around. Find out what people are |
| to bigger containers when they're ready with | | | | looking for, and if you can grow just that, you'll |
| minimal transplant shock. | | | | see a lot of business. Soon you could be profiting |
| 3. Ornamental grasses | | | | with your own backyard plant nursery. |