Fete in a pot

 Cathy Testa of Cathy T’s Landscape Designs in East Windsor, Conn., has come up with an inspired twist on the Tupperware party: a design-your-own container garden party.

Testa works closely with The Garden Barn, a store in Vernon, Conn., to bring the fun of container gardening to people’s backyards. It’s a fairly simple arrangement. Testa gathers a load of plants from the garden center—which they allow her to take to the host site on an “on hold” basis. The party guests select and pay for their container “ingredients.” Testa hands over the funds to The Garden Barn when she returns any extra plants to the store.
“I sell almost 80 percent of the plants that I bring,” Testa said. “The guests don’t even look at the price on the pots. It’s the convenience and the selection they like. Plus they can ask me a lot of questions about the plants. That’s a big part of the convenience, too.”

Testa charges a service fee for the party. The host will sometimes pay the fee on her own; other times the guests will pool their funds. Before the party, each guest receives an invitation with instructions. Participants must bring a container of their choice and enough potting soil to fill it. Testa will talk briefly before the guests “dig in.” She provides one-on-one design assistance and advice as the participants work. After the event is over, Testa sends a photo slideshow of the party to the guests. It’s a great “thank you” and an easy way to spread word about the event.
“The parties are about two hours long,” Testa said. “It’s time-consuming, but I enjoy it. The guests feel like it’s worth the money. They want to get plants on their deck, and they want to do it right.”

For more: Cathy T’s Landscape Design