The Hillside Greenhouse "Offseason"

by Alycia
​So, I have to confess I don’t really understand blogs.  Still.  Why do people want to read the random thoughts of other people?  Do I have thoughts worthy of other people’s time?
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With that in mind, I’ve settled on explaining a little bit about this time of year for a seasonal greenhouse business.  You might be aware that I purchased Hillside Greenhouse almost 3 years ago now, without having any knowledge of business, no retail experience, and knowing nothing about the greenhouse industry.  Sounds like a recipe for success, right?!  Well, I can tell you that I’ve always been a hard worker, and a somewhat fast learner.  By no means do I have this whole thing figured out yet (and know that I never will), but I think we are doing a pretty decent job of revitalizing the business. I’m kind of proud of that.

So on to the seasonal greenhouse biz in the off-season…first of all, no, we don’t sit around with our feet up waiting for spring to come.  I had zero idea that for a greenhouse to be ready to go in spring (or really the end of winter, when planting starts), you have to get all your ducks in a row in July. 

Once we close up shop in June, I take a couple weeks completely off with my family, actually leave the country and have no phone service or internet access.  It’s definitely just what the doctor ordered after the grueling Spring Season (maybe I’ll explain why some in the industry refer to spring as the 100 Days of Hell in another blog 🙂).  With batteries recharged, I come back and start doing inventory, looking at all the new plant catalogs, collecting pictures of plant combinations that I love, and 1,001 other things that need done. 

Then it’s “Time to Decide”.  We are lucky to have one of the industry’s biggest shows right here in Ohio, and it happens in Columbus every July. “Cultivate” is where the country meets to see what’s new in plants and everything else greenhouse related.  After that, it’s up to me to go through the endless options of plant varieties and combinations and pick what we will have in the shop in the spring.  No pressure there.  It’s a high-wire act to make the calls in July and August as to what is going to be hot and sell in the spring.  And I also have to balance the limited growing space of Hillside and accommodate the tried-and-true-must-haves with the new, awesome varieties that gardeners will want.  I put a lot of thought in to my customers at this point of the year.  What did they like in their gardens this year?  What colors sold the best?  What combinations still look great in baskets and containers on front porches?  Is that one guy going to come get his 8 flats of Roma tomatoes again next spring, or are those ladies going to buy their 12 fern baskets again?  What are customers going to buy at (sigh) Walmart and Lowes because I can’t beat their prices?  What can I offer to my hard-core gardeners for something new and spectacular that they won’t find anywhere else?

All of this adds up to hours and hours of research, looking at numbers (again, and again, and again), agonizing over decisions about what I can fit in the growing space and what it’s time to move away from.  Running a small business is no joke, and I am thankful that I have the time in the summer to give these details my full attention.  Then come August, it’s time to Order!  All the plants we will grow in the spring are ordered by the time it’s time for kids to go back to school, and all the hard goods (the pots, the hoses, the gloves, etc.) are ordered by the time the leaves start to change colors.  In a fun coincidence, this is also when all the holiday orders are due; I’m ordering geraniums in the morning, and picking out the right Christmas wreaths in the afternoon!  Although it’s a bit stressful making all of these decisions, as the owner (and a control freak) I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.  It’s my business, so it had better be my booty on the line when it comes down to it!

I won’t even get into any of the maintenance that we have to put into the structure, which also happens in the summer and fall.  If you’ve been to Hillside, hopefully you’ve noticed some of the efforts we’ve put forth there, and it’s not going to stop any time soon! The maintenance man (my dear husband, Matt) is super excited about that.  Full sarcasm.

Hopefully I haven’t bored you to death.  And if I have, you’ve probably stopped reading by this point anyway!  Next up, I’ll talk about the other season at Hillside, the Holidays. Much different than spring, but I LOVE it and can’t wait to decorate and smell those fresh greens!  Even for a seasonal greenhouse, there’s never any down time.  Thank goodness 🙂