I sold at fairs for years, and my products were garden art that could be mounted on copper stakes. I found some great buckets at Walmart that had lids, and I filled them with cheap cat litter. My stakes would go into the buckets, and they were heavy enough not to tip over. The lids made it easy to transport the buckets and not lose the litter. I also used a vintage suitcase to carry my wrapping paper & bags. I set it up on the plastic totes that I packed my items in, and it was always a hit with my customers. I also bought craft paper bags, the kind with the handles, or at Goodwill I'd buy gift bags and use those to put my customers purchases in. They just loved it...I know I get excited when I have a gift bag rather than a plastic bag! You can also find lightweight 6' folding tables for around $40. Easy to put up and easy to handle. I would put out about half my product at a time, and then bring in a new piece as one sold, and I offered to hold a customers purchase while they shopped. When they came back they'd see something new and have to buy it too! I also priced my items ending in .95, like %19.95 rather than $20, there is something psychological about that, they see it's under $20, so they 'justify' purchasing it. I kept a roll of nickles in my bag, but rarely did people want their change. I got an old bankers bag and kept my $ in there, and kept it packed up in my suitcase. Every week (or every show) I'd add $50 in change to keep it stocked, because inevitably I'd get a bunch of $20's and have to make change.

Hi Phylrae, I've killed Fuzzy Wuzzy several times and hope you have better luck and better judgement than I did planting too early in cold outdoor soil. It's 4 ft tall, doable in a pot, but will still need a stake or support. I've had luck in ~14 inch x 14 inch shrub pots, no problem. Tubers form well, easy to tend and move if needed. Slightly smaller pots would probably work too. Bumble Rumble is highly acclaimed for its colors. They should do well in a pot too. Great colors! Ditto for Giggles. The only caution is that the collarettes have far fewer outer petals so cut flowers amply early so you don't lose those outer petals to age and thus much of the appeal of the bloom. I've had good luck with a couple collarettes as cutflowers, so no worries, just a word of caution on their delicate structure.

I'm a pretty lucky guy, except for the fact I'm single...;-] My Bichon (one of three, this one named Caesar) is sitting in front of one of 8 sections of the 500 sq.ft. of thermopane that makes up the sunroom bordering the Dahlia beds. I've ~800 sq.ft. of windows more or less facing the lake (which is beyond the beds.) Each main thermopane is 73"x74", but the room's walls are all 10' tall almost all glass, the rest cedar. While I'd love to take credit for the incredibly hard work that went into everything, all I can really take credit for is the design (and the Dahlias!) I pushed a wheel barrow a while and picked up garbage...;-]...oh, and brought beers! Calpat, shame about not being able to have a Dahlia garden. I will post my variety list soon and you can pick one that I'll dedicate to you and keep posting regular pictures of it so you can try and enjoy it a little. linht, don't forget, the window faces NNE, not sure if that would really keep your orchids going. I get ~1500 lumens in the daytime, but because I'm facing north, that doesn't give me much of a growing season relying on the sun alone. I have put in 12 x 4' 40 watt T5's and could only get 3-400 lumens out of them at plant height (I put the lights on the 10' ceiling.) I plan to try again in the fall and make some sort of adjustable lighting frame and/or multiple shelves on a side wall with the lighting mounted underneath. Poochella, the cloth has a "X" at each hole, and it is porous and will let water through. It's "nursery grade" garden cloth, not some sort of plastic (in case that's what you might have thought.) Do you see me having a problem with it? I tried to leave as little space open as possible to avoid weeds. I also wasn't planning on covering it with anything. My beds should be so dense that you'll barely be able to see the cloth once they're in bloom. As for support, I have "permanent stakes" from Lee Valley, both 70" and 35". They worked well last year and so should do again this year. Since all of my Dahlias are cuttings, I didn't need to put the stake in right away (because I'm not worried about hitting a tuber.) I am waiting for the arrival of the sprinkler folks to do my new sprinkler design for these beds. Once they're done, I'll put my stakes in. In the interim, every Dahlia has a 10" hardwood stake with the name and a code number that tells me everything about it (tuber year, date cutting taken, date of first bloom...when that happens, etc...) misslucinda, I never understood the different names of house styles. Mine is cedar sided outside but without any decorative bits. It's designed for people inside looking out, not for people outside looking at it...;-] I took the same approach with my beds. People who live lakeside often call their lakeside lawns their "front yard" because they believe its the side other's see more often, and the one they want to look the best for others. Anyone passing my place once my Dahlias are in bloom will likely only be able to see some 10 or so of the 60+ that are in the beds. That's because I put all of my tallest the furthest away from my viewing position...in the house. So they'll be screened, but I'll be able to see everything. Never did understand the term "curb appeal"...;-] Thanks everyone, I will try and keep the pictures up-to-date, maybe as each plant gives its first blooms. Cheers, Russ

Go with the flora series. They're easy. Learn what you're doing and make sure you like it. (only buy small quantities) then if you want to expand you can look into mixing up your own nutrients. Probably only grow a single kind of plant first. I recommend tomatoes or herbs. That way you're not trying to make everyone happy or trying to troubleshoot across three different kinds of plants. Of course, lets hope no trouble shooting is required.