About Scenery Plants

An Ottawa couple turn their love of plants and liking for people into a growing   business.

Ottawa Weddings and Ottawa Trade Shows :

The bride pauses under a white bridal arch, flanked by plants flowing out of classical-style columns. Ficus trees and tropical plants stand behind the head table of a gala dinner for the Prime Minister.

Strategically placed Areca Palm trees and an array of other plants and greenery covered in tiny white lights create a pleasant ambience for a social gathering at the National Arts Centre or the Museum of Civilization.

And, after the wedding, dinner or reception, the plants and props "go home" to Scenery Plants in Richmond, just outside of Ottawa, until the next special event.

The Ottawa plant rental and tree rental business has supplied live tropical plants - and, on occasion, white artificial trees - for various major celebrations, Ottawa weddings, Ottawa trade shows and conventions in the National Capital Region for the last seven years.

Doubling in size every three years, Scenery Plants bought out the rental portion of a competitor's plant maintenance business and is now the only Ottawa plant rental and tree rental company in the area.

Proprietor Gary Couzens says that he and his wife Shirley launched their home-based business because he was "good with plants and liked people". "I just knew I liked plants and trees and had good luck with them and that no one else in Ottawa was doing what I wanted to do." says the 44-year-old entrepreneur.

In the fall of 1997, with the help of friends, Mr. Couzens built a two-storey, 3,200-square-foot storage facility and greenhouse, where the plants and trees were to be housed and nurtured, on the couple's rural property. The greenhouse has subsequently been doubled in size.

The company ("Gary is the green thumb and I crunch the numbers," says Ms.Couzens) receives an estimated 90 per cent of the orders by telephone, email or fax. From there on, says Mr. Couzens, customers "don't have to worry. I do all the delivery and set-up. All the lights are on the trees and plugged in. When they come in, the room has an enchanted look."

Adding that the pickup after the event is equally smooth, Ms. Couzens also points out that Ottawa plant rentals and tree rentals are generally more economical than dealing with floral arrangements. "You get a much a bigger bang for your buck with plant rentals and tree rentals. You can fill a whole room."

The cost ranges from $20 to $40 per plant or tree for Ottawa Weddings, Ottawa Trade Shows or Conventions, which are usually a three-day affair, with a $250 minimum for an order - the cost of renting six or seven plants or trees.

The charges reflect the rising cost of fuel, says Ms. Couzens. "We deal in two of the highest priced commodities - oil for heating the greenhouses and gas for delivering and picking up the plant rentals and tree rentals - and we operate all year round."

Transporting tropical plant rentals and tree rentals to Ottawa Weddings, Ottawa Trade Shows or Conventions during winter was one of Mr. Couzens's great concerns in the early days, he says.

"I was worried about taking care of the plants and trees properly, but it hasn't been a problem. I put sleeves around the trees and back the heated vans into the garage at this end, and most places have indoor delivery docks at the other end. I still have some of the original plants and trees and they're more than nine feet high now."

"And the best part of this business is that people are always so glad to see us."

Iris Winston, Ottawa Citizen

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