Succulents make life vibrant for Bethany Cranfill

Bethany Cranfill, with her husband Jesse, a teacher at Maple School, was growing their own succulent plants at their home for years when she decided that it would make a great business for her to try. Armed with a wide variety of plants and self-taught knowledge through experience, Cranfill set out to open her own succulent business.

"I quit my job and decided to do this full time, making a living doing something that I really love to do." She grows the plants in a garden setting in her backyard, filled with different kinds of succulents, dotting the landscape with pops of color. "A lot of the succulents can have very vibrant colors when they bloom," said Cranfill.

Cranfill began by selling the plants at different pop-up events, as well as through her social media pages. She then started receiving invitations to speak at different schools about growing the succulents. "They are a very drought-resistant plant, so they are perfect for our area. They do not need a lot of water and can withstand even an unusually harsh winter."

Currently, Cranfill still sells the cuttings from some of her plants, but has focused more on holding workshops for growing succulents. She will be speaking to over 150 students next week at different classrooms, teaching the kids about growing them and how to care for them. "They learn how to plant them, and at the end of the workshop they receive their very own potted plant to take home"

Cranfill has a great helper in her son Levi, who she home-schools. "He loves helping me with the workshops and helping with the plants," Cranfill said .

On top of the succulent business, Cranfill is also a published author. "I would use a couple of different children's books on plants for my workshops, but they didn't focus on succulents." So, with encouragement from her husband and son, Cranfill wrote a children's book, "Goldie the Ghost Plant."

"The book teaches kids about how strong succulents are and how they can have their own plants and take care of them," she said.

The book is available on Amazon, on Cranfill's social media pages or by emailing [email protected].