Make Money Picking and Selling Wildflowers
Wildflower gifts and arrangements are popular. This demand has opened up a niche for people who want to pick and sell wildflowers as a source of extra income.
If you’ve ever spent time in a local craft/gift shop, you’ve probably seen handmade wildflower gifts. Cards, pictures, candles and many others feature real wildflowers. They make beautiful additions to craft items and are popular with customers. This demand has opened up a niche for people who want to pick and sell wildflowers as a source of extra income.
Contacting local crafters and artists can help you find places to market wildflowers. You can also contact bigger companies which use wildflowers in products they manufacture.
Sometimes flower shops and decorators also purchase wildflowers.
People who pick and sell wildflowers typically get paid either a few cents per flower or a few dollars per pound. If you aren’t sure what you should charge, talk to a florist, horticulturist or artisan for an idea.
Before you pick and sell wildflowers, make sure you follow a few simple rules and guidelines:
- Make sure its legal to pick and sell wildflowers. Most locales don’t have rules regarding this one way or another. However, some have rules when it comes to the removal of wildflowers.
- Find out if there are any wildflower species which are protected in your area. If you pick and sell wildflowers that are protected you might be in for a hefty fine or even a short stint in jail.
- Familiarize yourself with noxious weeds. Many wildflowers are actually weeds. This is okay; they’re still marketable as long as they aren’t on a local list of “noxious” weeds. Noxious weeds are those that may poison or cause damage to other local plants, wildlife or humans. Noxious weeds are often non-native plants that have been displaced from their native territory to another area. If you do pick them, not many dealers will buy them from you anyway. Make an effort to avoid them.
- Don’t pull wildflowers up by their roots. Instead, bring a pair of scissors or gardening shears and cut the flowers. Leave the plant’s main stem when possible. Pulling out the roots destroys the whole plant, which can upset the balance of the environment. Besides, leaving the root means that the plant will produce more flowers for you to harvest later on.
- Know where you’re picking. It may not be illegal to pick and sell wildflowers, but it IS illegal to trespass on private property. Don’t remove flowers unless you have permission or aren’t on private property. Likewise, don’t remove flowers from public parks until you find out if this is legal in your area.
- Grow your own wildflowers. This can be a very rewarding experience, both for the money you make when you pick and sell wildflowers, and for environmental stewardship experience you’ll gain.
People who pick and sell wildflowers for extra income tend to be nature lovers who really enjoy what they’re doing. It’s a wonderful way to get in touch with the great outdoors, spread the environmental message through art and craft, and make money too.
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