In Full Bloom

Want to fill your house with freshly picked, sweet smelling blooms and out-of-the-ordinary foliage that hasn’t been transported halfway around the world? 

You’re in luck — Tauranga’s Floral Hub is back for the warmer months, at a new inner-city location, showcasing the best that local growers have to offer.

Each Thursday morning, at 7am outside the Holy Trinity Church, a group of 10 to 15 women gather, from small-time hobby growers through to serious amateurs and large-scale professionals. Local florists get the first pick, with the first 30 minutes dedicated to them, then the public are welcome from 7.30am to 8.30am.

“Some people wander through before work, taking their time, enjoying the experience of selecting flowers to make their own bunch. We’re doing a flyer drop, hoping to attract more people working at nearby businesses,” says Skye Wishart, who’s enjoying her second year as part of the market. “We also get dog walkers, exercisers and others who are passing by and want something nice for the house.

The market is in its third year. Its first iteration began in 2019 as a weekly event with five or six growers in the Bethlehem Hall. Post-Covid, Vanessa Pennington, from Thornberry Roses, was one of two women who were keen to keep going, so she found new recruits through Instagram and word of mouth, and the market ran at Our Place Tauranga.

Vanessa was already running a sizeable operation selling roses to florists (see profile, opposite), but just loved the idea of having a market. “The market is sustainable and local, connects growers to florists — rather than auctions, and it’s easy because you just sell what’s looking good in the garden the day before.”

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For people like Skye, who’s a hobby grower, it’s about learning, and taking time out of her busy life of studying and parenting, to do something for herself. “I’m so small scale, often I take a few buckets and just join someone else’s table. I enjoy the meditative picking process, and I love that exciting feeling of getting up in the dark and heading off with a boot-load of flowers, then seeing what amazing flowers others have grown.”

When chatting to the market growers, no matter what the size of their operation, the common theme that arises is the social aspect — being able to talk about their gardening successes and failures, to share and gain knowledge, and also to connect with florists and the public.

For florists, it offers a great opportunity to access flowers that are fresher, cheaper and more local than buying them from Auckland auctions. They’re also able to source different types of flowers rather than the usual selection from the big commercial growers. 

“I use locally grown flowers and foliage from a range of talented growers in the Bay of Plenty throughout the year — I love that everything is hand-picked, fresh, seasonal and delivered in buckets with NO packaging,” says floral designer Kelly Scawin of Hand-Picked Flowers. 

“When The Floral Hub starts up in October, I love feeling the sense of community it brings to the floral industry here in Tauranga. It’s a time for designers and growers to connect face to face on a weekly basis.”

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Meet the growers

‍Below, a range of growers — from a relative beginner to a large-scale exporter — share some details about their love of growing flowers.‍

Anna Wilkins, Field Blooms 

“I’ve loved gardening and flowers from a young age. Flowers have the ability to instantly make someone’s day better. They can also transport us back to a moment in time, keeping special memories alive. I was fortunate to spend time gardening with my grandmothers, soaking in the lessons they had to share from an era where gardening was commonplace.

I grow unique seasonal flowers in Pongakawa, 15 minutes out of Te Puke. I began with a bare paddock and eight beds, which I gradually increased this winter, with the help of my family. I believe in the slow flower movement, including reducing the amount of miles flowers travel, plus the impact of the chemicals on the environment and human health. I’m using different regenerative and organic methods.

I mostly grow annual flowers, and some foliage such as pink manuka. Favourites are roses, tulips and Australian native flowers that we can’t really get here! I love smokebush and all eucalyptus foliages.

My tip to new growers is to start small and go from there. Don’t get disheartened by failures. But it’s surprising how many hats you have to wear. You have to think about multiple crops at a time, irrigation, marketing your product and establishing good relationships with florists too. If you’re small scale, it can be hard figuring out whether you solely supply to florists or sell direct/retail. Also, since flowers are not my only job, it tends to fit in around what else is going on that week. The goal is for it to be full time one day!

I enjoy The Floral Hub for the friendly community of growers. I was sooo nervous at my first market but everyone was welcoming. It’s fun seeing the array of flowers, and to be able to discuss flowers with people and to get to know florists. It’s also great to be able to share the trials and tribulations of growing, and get advice from people more experienced than me.”‍

@fieldblooms

Vanessa Pennington, Thornberry Roses

“Flower farming started for me when I didn’t want to go back to an office after having children. I had a big vege garden and was passionate about regenerative agriculture and the role of nutrients in plant health. The cut rose industry in New Zealand was dominated by large-scale commercial glasshouse operators and I saw a gap in the wedding market for locally grown organic garden roses.

I grow about 450 garden roses, including a number of David Austin roses, plus dahlias and some annuals. The true garden rose is my favourite flower! Don’t give me the imported, scentless, thornless, stiff rose. There is just something about a field-grown garden rose that sets it apart. I love how it changes over time — you pick it in bud form and within a few days that bud unfurls to create an incredible mass of petals. And the scent transports you — there are many times when I have walked past a vase of roses in the house and the scent literally stops me in my tracks!”‍

thornberryroses.co.nz 
thornberryroses

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‍Vania Riddington, Mangrove Creek‍

“My parents grew flowers commercially so growing has always been a big part of my life. They tried to encourage me away from horticulture as a career so I followed my love of cooking and science, and became a food technologist. After five years, I was ready for a change and it coincided with my parents’ wish to retire. I took over the management of their business so they could stay on the property. Now my husband Darryl and I have our own business on our 4ha property on the harbour, just north of Ōmokoroa.

Around half the property is flat, where we grow flowers and foliage, and the rest is made up of grazing paddocks, bush and an orchard. We grow over 20 different flower and foliage crops; most are perennials.

Our largest crop is hydrangeas, grown in bags to produce the pink/red tones. We grow a lot of fillers such as Phylica, Pieris and Erica, mostly due to the fact that they have a longer picking window than statement flowers and annuals. We export around 60 percent of our product, but we grow some crops specifically for the local market and have incorporated them into the landscaping of our property; for example, flowering manuka in our riparian plantings, banksia/grevillea on steep banks and magnolia for stock shade, so sometimes I have to run a gauntlet just to pick a bunch.

For the Floral Hub, I also raid my parents’ substantial garden and can often be found high in the copper beech tree with loppers over my shoulder. Fortunately I love climbing trees!

I love being a part of The Floral Hub, seeing customers with armloads of beautiful flowers — there’s such a feel-good factor. I really enjoy the social aspect too, getting to catch up with other growers regularly to commiserate/celebrate.”‍

@mangrove_creek

@thefloralhubtauranga
The Floral Hub runs Thursdays, spring and summer, 215 Devonport Rd, Tauranga; 7am florists; 7.30-8.30am public.

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Photography by ilk