You are not blind. If the topic of backyard nurseries has come up, it was before I joined 4 years ago.
I am not sure just how big or small you are thinking in regards to these backyard nurseries, but there are a number of small scale nurseries in my area, central Florida. Some are no bigger than a single grow house on an acre or two of land. They aren't true greenhouses, but more like shade houses that they can drop the sides during the coldest nights to keep the cold out. Personally, I have thought about doing the same when I get a bit of land and start propagating some of our more attractive natives for sale.

i live in tallahassee(woodville),most of the small back yard nurseries i have seen here,usually have mums,and other common plants,i would love to see a backyard nursery with odd and unusual plants,i will be making a small greenhouse myself,but only for my own use,not selling from it,i cannot find what i want here,or it is just to much money,carnivorous plants would be a great idea as would any odd ones,if you did varieties that others do not have ,you could very well sell out each year.i have a few nepanthus i had to divide from a huge mom plant,if you have a place to keep them warm,i would gladly give you a few.you can email me at jeci1974@yahoo.com

Hi Gordo309

I know a few small local gardeners in my area Central Florida that sell to the public, one of them started working in a nursery and now he has his own business.

You might want to check the forum Market Gardener, there if you ask questions they most likely answer you, you can also look on hoop tunnels and how to make them the inexpensive way.

Good luck in your search!

Silvia

Thanks Jeci1974 I sent you an email. I have definatly battled with the idea of whether to grow the ¨norm¨ plants or create a nursery different from what others carry in the area. I really see no reason to just grow the plain jane plants everyone has. Maybe start with just an exotic green house. Get them in the door with decent priced higher quality plants than the big boys and get their extra cash by showing off the oddities.

I've met several at local plant shows. Mostly they grow tilandsia I their backyards and sell at shows. I spoke with one at length. They started as a hobbyist, and as their collection grew they started to have enough pups to sell. They eventually started renting booth space, selling plants and the odd premade arrangement using 'found' wood or other objects as a base for the plants. It did not appear to me they made much money - mostly it paid for their hobby and was a lot of fun. I suspect there are a lot of orchid growers here as well that operate on that model. I would think the rule of thumb would be to stick to small plants that sell for a high value relative to their size. Tillys, orchids, and some carnivores fit the bill. i know of another that sticks to starter plants that are high interest and they flask culture them: I.e. Bananas, sold via mail as 8 inch plants for about ten dollars a pop. That one has become one of the highest ranked nurseries (in that narrow specialty) in the U.S.

Thanks for the wise words of reality. Luckily I have the option to start small and slow. I'm going to monitor the market over the next few years and build upon that. I will absolutely be starting a website at one point as well. I do feel a website is a good way to reach out all over the country, but also to get local customers interested. I also might speak with one of the larger wholesale nurseries in the area, to see if I could do some part time work to get my foot in the door with a bigger guy.

The thing about markets is they are always changing. About two or three months ago, my local retirement community for the affluent started up its own chapter of FNPS and it has created interest among other residents. But there is only one nursery for natives in the area and they are 30-40 minutes away. My own interest in someday doing my own natives nursery has nothing to do with this, but if I already had it up and going, i might have a hard time meeting all requests. 5 - 10 years from now when the 'trendiness' of natives has worn off from the community, things will likely be a different story. I don't think many nurserymen get into the business for the big money. It's more about doing something you enjoy and maybe getting paid for it. So pick the plants that interest you, work at propagating them, maybe develop some cultivars of your own and someday your plants might be the next En Vogue plants.