A green-fingered Bermudian has put her skills to good use by setting up her own nursery business after losing her job during the recession.Rebecca Angelucci, who was let go by her employer last year and had been doing temporary work in the interim to make ends meet, came up with the idea of starting the enterprise selling plants, flowers, herbs and vegetables earlier this year and has never looked back since. The business aptly-named Rebecca’s Secret Garden is based at Ms Angelucci’s home in Devonshire where she lives with her husband Marco and two sons with hanging and custom-made baskets and containers to meet all budgets for every occasion.Ms Angelucci, who had been working as a medical secretary for nine years, joined a dental practice as a front desk receptionist in October 2009, but was made redundant five months later, so she started temping as an administrative assistant for an insurance company and was let go two days before last Christmas.“I was pretty down about it at the time,” she said. “The only thing that really cheers me up is gardening so I went down to Aberfeldy and Brighton Nurseries and picked up a few six packs of flowers with the intention of planting them in the garden. Then I went into a warehouse store I saw some seedlings and brought them home, planted them in some containers, put them inside for the winter and brought them out in early March as they started to grow.“In late February I came up with an idea to start my own business selling plants so I went online and did some research on how much it would cost because I had very little savings left and asked my husband if he was open to me giving it a try and he gave me his full backing.”From there, she asked around the neighbourhood and put an advert on eMoo looking for second hand baskets and containers, went to house sales and even picked up one or two pieces from the garbage collectors that people were throwing out and started making her own arrangements using the transplants and cuttings from her garden.Having got permission from her landlord to display her stock in the back yard, Ms Angelucci approached Dilton Caines the owner of Howard’s Mini Mart about setting up a stall outside his store on Sundays to sell her plants and, after agreeing to give him a cut of the profits for using his property, with the help of her sons she managed to sell three quarters of the stock in the first week of business before Easter.Giving her arrangements a unique brightly coloured look to reflect Bermuda life and homes and has priced every one depending on size at least $10 less than her competitors with a coat of varnish on the basket to keep them in good condition.Each basket has annual plants and one or two perennials which can be planted out in the garden later in the year and Ms Angelucci also grows thyme, sage, parsley, chives, basil, rosemary, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and Jamaican thyme, as well as indoor plants, violets and marigolds. Baskets range from about $25 to $55, while teapots planters cost $15 and mugs $10. Her creativity knows no bounds, with a number of interesting items on show from an old box which she refurbished and planted up to metal stands with an array of pretty flowers hanging out of them.“I have just learned about gardening from experience over the years as well as asking questions at the nurseries,” she said. “Both of my grandmothers were also keen gardeners and I learned a lot from them as a little girl.”In fact a childhood memory of reading the novel ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett inspired her to give the business its name. Ms Angelucci said that business had been good so far, doing a good trade on Mother’s Day, but she needed to get the word out to reach a wider audience and let people know where she is.Having raised her children on her own for 12 years, she is used to working hard and is determined to make a success of her new venture.“I have always been a survivor and a fighter and I am very persistent,” she said.“I have applied for job after job, but the market is so tight at the moment. I am fully qualified and willing to work and although I would love for this business to become long-term, ideally I would like to have a full-time job and run the nursery as well.“Hopefully by this time next year we will really be up and running.”Ms Angelucci said that the support she had received from everyone had been overwhelming, with her family, neighbours and friends rallying round to help her out and provide resources. It is a full-time job planting, growing, watering and maintaining her stock during the week and selling them at the weekend, taking two to three weeks to replenish each batch, but she is up for the challenge.With a number of exciting new ideas for the future of the business and plans to have a different theme for each month with poinsettias at Christmas, Ms Angelucci also offers advice on plant care and an after sales service. If successful, she sees herself moving the nursery into a bigger area.“I think it is a very small and intimate business with a big heart and lot of love, devotion and thought goes into what I do to match people’s different personalities and tastes,” she said. Rebecca’s Secret Garden at 18 Upland Street is open Saturdays between 8am and 5pm.For more information contact 517-3740 or 536-0076 or e-mail r.m.angelucci[AT]gmail.com