How a Picnic Table, a Yellow Umbrella, and a Few Signs Turned into a Whole New Sales Channel
I've always run my business from the front of our home, tucked away on a quiet country dirt road — the kind where two cars passing at once is considered traffic. Every single sale from our flower stand has been driven by me (or word of mouth): first with Facebook posts, now with email marketing. Business took off quickly— but I’ve always built the biz in a way that lets me stay on the property — minimal running around, no overcomplicating things.
But this weekend, I tested something new.
Here’s what I did:
The Setup
Now that our main peony field is producing a surplus — and knowing I prefer to keep things close to home and as low-effort as possible — I knew it was time to get creative about how I moved the harvest.
Our property is a long rectangle, stretching from that quiet dirt road in front to a busier two-lane road out back — one that connects Plymouth to Ann Arbor with plenty of daily drive-by traffic.
For years, I’ve only used signage out back. But never tried selling. This year, I thought… why not?
We moved one of our U-pick tables up near the field, printed six yard signs ($164 total), and tied a yellow umbrella to the fence post for a pop of color. (I want to add the umbrella to the table but am hesitant to drill a hole into it.) The signs said “Peony Bouquets” and “Potted Peonies,” and I made a quick Canva sign with pricing and payment options.
My 15-year-old son, Tyler — who is way more outgoing than I’ll ever be — had been warned for weeks about manning the stand come peony season. And this weekend, we opened for business.