A Blooming Success

As with many women, motherhood was a turning point for EMILY SCHEMPER. That’s when she discovered her gift for gardening — a talent she has since turned into a business, called Petalhouse.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” Schemper says. “After motherhood hits you, I think there is a bit of personal searching and trying to find who you are now. I felt excited and motivated about the idea of helping other people find their own beautiful place in their own backyard, and playing with the entrepreneurial side of me hadn’t been fully unleashed until then.”

Schemper’s mother-in-law introduced her to container gardening after she gave birth to her first child. What began as a pastime yielded unexpected benefits. In addition to providing an outlet for postpartum stress, gardening also fed Schemper’s creative side.

“It was an ‘aha’ moment for me when I understood how my mother-in-law put together her containers, and I realized it was an artistic outlet,” she says. “I think of a garden like an artist’s palette and how to paint the picture when I’m thinking about how to construct a container or composing a flower bed.”

Schemper delved into the subject, reading up on gardening, watching hours of video on YouTube, and experimenting with her own plants to learn which ones grow in what soils and how to make attractive and sustainable arrangements.

Soon Schemper’s yard was filled with a bevy of containers and flower boxes bursting with flamboyant, unique arrangements. It wasn’t long before neighbors and other passersby noticed and many asked her to do their flowerbeds and plant containers.

“Every time someone walked by our house, they commented on my containers and how they liked them,” she says.
Initially, Schemper charged only for her materials and a nominal fee for her arrangements, but last July, she decided to formalize her business and opened Petalhouse. Through Petalhouse, Schemper offers customized container gardens, and she designs and installs flower beds composed of annuals and perennials for residential and commercial sites.

“I feel really proud of coming up with designs no one has seen before,” she says. “I go against the grain and try new things and come up with new plant combinations and ideas that have not been done before and that will thrive in Wilmington’s climate.”

Schemper also offers in-person and virtual consultations and basic gardening classes, some of which are free, to groups. She hopes the classes will introduce others to the joys of gardening.

“There are a lot of people out there like me who never thought they could keep plants alive and have a lot of talent in themselves that is waiting to be let out,” she says.

Petalhouse has done well since its opening, Schemper says, especially considering all of her clients have come by word-of-mouth.

Now, she says she is ready accelerate her business this spring and summer. Schemper has already spotted a lot of empty pots and planters — and each one is untapped potential for future business, she says.

“I hope I can help people out,” Schemper adds. “Hopefully, we’ll get where everywhere you look there are flowers.”

To view more of photographer Aris Harding’s work, go to arisharding.com.

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