slow flowers in australia

Lessons learned from flower farmers across the ocean

There is so much to learn, to experience, and to explore when we are open to the gifts of Mother Nature. She teaches me something new each day, in every season. As a flower farmer and gardener, that’s what it’s all about. I watch my mentors and leaders in the floral community, and I do my best to soak it all in. Someone recently commented on one of my Instagram posts, “Enjoy your twenties and learn as much as you can, because they fly right by.” Well, for me, that’s the goal!

A little flower farm in Oregon is home, and a few months ago, my cousin Rilley Syphers and I followed a dream – to skip winter and travel Down Under. Thanks to the beauty of social media, a generous soul named Ashlea Ranken of Yellow House Flower Farm in Hexham, Victoria, Australia, invited us to stay at her family’s sheep and flower farm. She also arranged for us to visit two other Aussie flower farms. The experience was life-changing and inspiring!

In the Dja Dja Wurrung countryside, a region in central Australia, we sat down together with a cuppa in hand, excited to share our experiences and knowledge with fellow flower farming enthusiasts! Janae and Chris Paquin-Bowden from Fleurs de Lyonville welcomed us into their floral world. We laughed about our mutual experiences, trials and errors, traded helpful tips, and shared future goals with each other, but there were a few main insights that truly inspired us.

Chris asked, “Can you imagine what roses have to be treated with in order to be approved for import?” He and Janae told us about a florist who said her hands burned after working with chemically treated imported roses. Many gardeners and farmers are aware of the environmental issue of flowers flown in from other countries, but there is still a huge need for education. There are many

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EMMA'S INSTAGRAM

RILLEY'S INSTAGRAM reasons to buy locally, but awareness is on the rise in Australia, thanks to farmers like Janae and Chris, who use their flowers to teach and educate.

We also visited Lorelie Merton of Florelie Seasonal Flowers, based in Bungaree, Victoria, Australia. Lorelie specializes in dahlias and introduced us to an entire new way of flower farming. There are farmers who sell seeds and bulbs, or those like me, who sell cut flowers. Lorelie produces and sells dahlia tubers, and she mostly focuses on dahlia breeding. How amazing to be able to name a dahlia variety that you created! We were so inspired by Lorelie's accomplishments. The story of her successful business shows us that there truly is room for all kinds of flower farmers, and that the floral community is an important source of support and respect for one another.

Janae mentioned living by the motto, “What comes around, goes around.” When she and Chris wanted to learn from someone they admire, they offer to help by volunteering their labor as interns, learning by working.

Janae also supports her friends and other small businesses by posting their products on her social media account, or making client referrals as a way to support and help cultivate a healthy floral community.

After returning home to Crowley House Farm, I’ve been thinking of ways I could implement these lessons and incorporate them into our flower farm. Though we are an ocean apart from our Australian flower farmer friends, we face similar challenges. Farming can be a hard and lonely profession, which is why nurturing community and sharing education is so important. Not only do we learn from the nature that surrounds us, we also learn from the people who work alongside us.

FLORA CULTURE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MISSY PALACOL