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Welcome to Humans of Agriculture. This podcast series is dedicated to discovering more about our food system, from the people involved in it.
Along the journey we'll be meeting people from all walks of life from Australia and from afar. Join us as we find out how our communities and our culture shape what we eat, and ultimately who we are.
More people, More often, Identifying with Agriculture
Oli Le Lievre 0:00
G'day and welcome to the in the know on the goede podcast produced by humans of agriculture. Our podcast is designed to get you across the things that matter in the agribusiness in a way that's just well, cutting easy to understand. Think of me as a friend I that is learning with you as we discover and chat about the topics from farm to fork, and even beyond. Well, welcome back to the internet on the go podcast. We kind of cover things that try and get people across things that are happening in Australian agriculture, but in ways that you're learning from basically a friend. I've got a new friend today, once it's happening with us this year, is Mel's finally agreed that she will do more talking on the microphone. Now it's good to have you. Oh, thanks.
Unknown Speaker 0:45
It's good to be here.
Oli Le Lievre 0:45
So I guess for a bit of context, it's Valentine's Day week, there's some crazy stats of what people spend on love, actually unbelievable. And we started talking quite a while ago that flower farming is kind of, I guess, an unknown industry. And it's been on the radar of things we'd love to cover. I think this is probably just a little bit of a teaser that you guys yourself and when you went looking for people to sit down with might have got one rejection, which is very Valentine's Day. So thoughts and prayers are with you guys. But then you found a cracker of a person to go and find. So tell me like, What can we expect in the episode?
Speaker 1 1:23
Yeah, well, we did have a bit of a poor experience. But as fate would find it we found live up at Mom's spree and, and she was great, like so much respect for someone with such a creative flair and a passion for flowers, I think you can really expect that to shine through in a bit of an episode where it is a little bit different. But we're still dealing with an agricultural product at the end of the day. But it's just something that's it's really unique, I guess, in buying flowers, but huge learnings in terms of the industry. And we'll put some links in the show notes to like where we got this research from, but I had no idea just how big the industry is. And so only it's worth like over $800 million, the flower industry, which I thought was crazy. And around Valentine's Day, Aziz, you're gonna spend almost $500 million on gifts, and most of them are flowers. It's
Oli Le Lievre 2:14
insane. It's actually us, you know, like, what, what sticks out to me there is that I think isn't a lot of export industry worth, say a billion dollars, or this little thing that we don't think so much about is a huge, actual little economic driver. And he knows the agriculture as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1 2:29
it's crazy. And I think something that really stuck out to me is when will where all these flowers coming from around these peak periods, like Valentine's Day and Mother's Day and things like that, up to 90% of them can be imported. But live speaks really well. Because that's changing a little bit like what the consumers actually wanting and where the trends are going. And so people aren't always after that really, like perfect flower, I guess. And like their traditional red roses, they're more into the quirky, like perfectly imperfect. And it's interesting how the industry supposedly doesn't have a heap of like regulations for actually being really difficult to find online as well. So I think going forward, this might ignite some conversations, and anyone in our audience who does know, like some of the stuff around the regulations for labelling and whatnot of locally grown versus imported for flowers, like, please reach out to us because we are like curious, and we're still learning.
Oli Le Lievre 3:24
So mill a few things that stuck out to me and it just kind of one quote or one part where live talks about kind of the love not just for growing flowers, but also the end product that they are creating has so much emotion tied into it and, and also for so many, like significant events for people, whether it's births, marriages, deaths, like flowers are really significant to people. I think that stood out. And I think the other part, I actually really liked the way you interviewed here, you asked a few questions. And I think what came across to me was that you're really kind of listening. There was only I'll say a few words that you said, which was actually really cool, as an interview where it was, how you giving love what she needs, directing her and kind of guiding the conversation to things that you were curious about that I think we learned. And I think this is a really interesting kind of conversation starter for where we're going.
Speaker 1 4:09
Thanks. So I actually felt so naive to into flowers. Like for example, she spent like five years growing some flowers that she's only harvested 30 flowers from like these actual plants five years ago, and so it's such a long term investment of what she's doing. Well,
Oli Le Lievre 4:25
let's get into it. So
Speaker 1 4:26
live we're in this beautiful creative space here. We're on Josh our own country. Can you tell me a little bit about this place? Mom's free and
Speaker 2 4:35
your home? Well, I've been on farming mom's free here since 2003. So this is a third generation mixed farming operation. We've got here in montgomery, we have sheep cattle and then we also do some cropping as well and then I grew a few little flowers and I'm slowly spreading the flowers out into the paddocks when my husband's not looking at So
Speaker 1 5:00
take me back to that. I guess that I'm really interested in the decision making for the business as you said, we pass sheep and cattle on the way in, we see the crops. What was it that made you actually implement or plant flowers in the first instance,
Speaker 2 5:15
I guess flowers is my little thing. So Tim's sort of runs everything else to do with the farm. And then I just love flowers. So I love how they make people feel when they receive them. I just love making them, they just make you feel good, they make people happy. And then growing flowers is even better. So I find when I'm creating something, it's even more special. If I know I've actually grown that flower. And then seen it the whole way from putting the seed in or the seedling and then to nurturing it growing and then harvesting that flower and then arranging that flower and then passing that on to somebody else. So the flowers I grew here on the farm at Pemberley, I don't sell so we have a large garden and then I have some rows of flowers in the paddock. Next were Airbnb, but generally they're just for my creative use. So the more flowers I put in, I guess I like to work on large scale floral installations. So I started growing flowers, I guess. So I wouldn't have to buy as many flowers. So I was able to work on these large scale installations, I guess without outlaying too much money. And
Speaker 1 6:26
so you're working, I guess through the very beginning of planting all the way through until when you say like you're putting together these creations like what's what's the end destination? You're going through markets, your events.
Speaker 2 6:39
Yeah, so I work as a wedding and event florist. I've got fabulous area here with lots of amazing little wedding venues, sort of beautiful wedding venues in Spring Hill, we've got a number of ones there. So yeah, I take on only a small number of weddings per year just to try and maintain that lifestyle work balance. And I guess being there for the children and helping out on the farm. And I guess that feels my creative cup. So I try and do one wedding generally a month. And then also to allow time for my what I call my floral art projects. So doing exhibitions and just I guess, experimenting and playing in the paddocks, and creating floral art pieces. Just for fun, just for me, I guess. Yeah,
Speaker 1 7:23
Have you always had that creative flair that love for flowers, I actually
Speaker 2 7:27
wouldn't call myself creative at all. And I was really terrible at art back in high school. So I guess I find I just have a vision. So we were chatting a little bit before about vision, I kinda just have a picture in my mind, I see something like I might see an old piece of machinery or like an old Land Cruiser. And I'm like, wow, that would look really fabulous. juxtaposed with yellow water law. I guess I just dream up these weird ideas and I can visualise things really easily. And then I love just sort of creating and things don't always sort of division I have in mind is not always exactly the end product. But when I'm working with flowers, the flowers kind of sounds weird, but the flowers kind of tell me where to position them. So my style I would say is kind of like wild, organic, rambling sort of representative nature. So I don't like things to be too perfect. I sort of like to work with the curves and the quirky stems and things of nature and place things where they tell me they want to go if that makes sense. I have
Speaker 1 8:30
absolutely so much admiration for anyone with that creative flair but for this business like you mentioned that Airbnb as well like it seems very diverse I would have flowers brought to the farming operation.
Speaker 2 8:43
I guess it's given me a sense of ownership on the farm. So it's given me something that's mine that I feel I'm contributing to the farm as well. And with growing our flowers so my little flower rose that I have my peonies and my daily as I have growing next to the Airbnb cottage. So I guess I'm envisaging in five or 10 years when the peonies are really established and things that guests will be able to picnic in that paddock and be able to experience that sort of beauty as well
Speaker 1 9:12
because it is beautiful. And I'm not going to do it justice here and explaining it but we're, we're sitting on top of a little hill we've got this beautiful water it's a reservoir done this little shed up so that the doors are open. There's yeah the sun shining in and it's just this beautiful, beautiful creative space.
Speaker 2 9:29
We are very blessed in this region. We're in this lovely sort of little lush, amazing sort of growing area where we generally have a nice little touch of green most of the year around when we have beautiful rolling hills so is a really fabulous place to live. And then we've also got a fabulous balance between I guess, city and country so we are able to we're just one hour up from Melbourne we are able to duck down to Melbourne catch the train really easily. And it just takes an hour and then have the day in the city. Do Get your CD fix, and then come back to the country and have all those benefits that living in the country gives you
Speaker 1 10:05
absolutely. And market access as well, I'm assuming
Speaker 2 10:09
Yeah. So it's fabulous. As well as our amazing local growers we have around here, I try to use them as much as I can. But if I can't get what I need, it's always really easy to pop down to the market once a week and grab what I need there as well. And also, I guess, being close to the city for opportunities with the floral art as well, exhibitions and things like the Flower and Garden Show and various different things. Yeah, that are sort of, you know, not too far away that I'm still able to participate in and then also have the benefits of being on the farm growing my own stuff, and then taking that stuff to the city.
Speaker 1 10:45
And people like growing flowers in the area. Are they doing similar things to you is events like is there a huge demand for that? Yeah,
Speaker 2 10:52
so there's a great little growing group here in the message and ranges, we have like lots and lots of fabulous little micro flower farms and more popping up all the time. So it's wonderful to have people in a close proximity that will grow things for me. So dalias are one of the like in flower in season flowers at the moment that lots of flower farms have around here. So it's all sort of seasonal, sort of flowers that are sort of grown in this area around here. And such fresh like fabulous, as you can see behind us here like yeah, these are dailies, here they are Yeah, just like a fabulous product like so perfect. And the quality and the freshness is just, I guess, not what you would get if you're buying something from the market. And it's already a few days old, it's already travelled quite a few flat what we call flower miles, which is the distance from where it was grown to where it ends up. So like I've got a lovely relationship with five or six growers in the area here. And we sort of try and support each other and help each other out. And they know sort of what sort of flowers that I like, what sort of stems I like, what sort of stem length, they know that I like things that are a little quirky, maybe a little different that other florists perhaps wouldn't like they're the things that I really gravitate to. And they sort of keep them aside for me or they'll let me know when they've got things, which is wonderful to help and support each other in that respect. And even just like when, when I'm doing a wedding or when I'm doing an installation or work tagging those flower growers, like that's a huge thing for them. So they get such a, I guess I really love seeing where they're in product is ended up. And I guess that helps with the promoting of their business as well as mine as well. So we sort of try and help and support each other as much as possible. And then those little flower growers within themselves have a lovely relationship. And perhaps if they don't have that one bucket short of something in an order, they sort of work together to put an order together if need be. So it's just like a wonderful community sort of area and something that where I guess I'm blessed to be part of this little flower community.
Speaker 1 12:58
It's a great little collective. And when you're talking about like orders, like for other growers around this area, who's buying them, like where are they going to next?
Speaker 2 13:07
So lots of different places. So lots of the growers sell directly to florists. Lots of the growers also sell directly to event florists that or wedding an event florists that perhaps don't have a shop as such but work like me from home in a barn in a studio. So you'll find most wedding and event florists don't have a shop because that then limits them going out and doing functions because they have to man the shop or pay for someone to obviously hold the fort while they go out and create on site I guess. So they supply directly to them. They are lots of them also do markets themselves. So I go to we have lots of fabulous farmers markets in the area here. So you'll often find one or two of the growers that all of the markets throughout the message and Rangers with their beautiful seasonal flowers that they've just literally picked the night before bunched up ready for people to grab on Saturday or Sunday morning. And then also lots of the flowers as well. Some of the growers sell to little independent grocery stores so little like little IG A's and things like that. They will sell flowers there as well.
Speaker 1 14:14
Can you tell me about like soil as you know the core for any agricultural production for flowers? Like what influences I have? What is it? What does it mean and what soils are here? Well,
Speaker 2 14:23
obviously soil has a huge part to play in how well first of all your flowers grow. And then I guess the size of the bloom and how many blooms you get off a particular plant, I guess correlating to how healthy the plant is. So like I said before, we have like a lovely, reasonably consistent, fairly high rainfall in this area. Although that being said the last 12 months or so we have had quite a bit of hail like everyone else, some flooding. So that has impacted obviously lots of growers and their soil. Lots of sort of crops didn't get washed out last year of flowers and things like Lots of the flower farms around here as well tend to try to do no dig gardens. So basically, that's where you sort of try not to dig the garden bed before you plant your plant or your flower, I guess with the hope that that then doesn't disturb the weeds. So they find that there you get less weeds. If they plant on top without digging the hole bed disturbing the soil. They sort of build the bed up and then plant within that
Unknown Speaker 15:26
zero table farming. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Unknown Speaker 15:28
Yeah.
Speaker 1 15:29
And how is it? How is it changing? Like so you can be quirky and creative. Not everyone's after that, you know, perfect flower. Now, how is that? I guess developing like what are people wanting?
Speaker 2 15:42
So there's a real trend, perhaps in the last five years or so particularly in the last three years, I've noticed, too, like you were saying less of a perfect traditional arrangement, I guess enter something that is a little more organic, a little bit more garden esque. I sort of call it a little bit more representative of how things would grow in nature. So slightly imperfect, like we were saying before, maybe curvy stems. There's a trend back to traditional sort of old school sort of heirloom flowers, perhaps like grandma used to have in her garden like daily years, and foxgloves and gladiolas and beaded iris and Daphne, all of these sort of really old school sort of plants and like lilac, that have that sense of nostalgia, I guess, and I guess, evoke emotion in people, because that's really what flowers are about evoking emotion and conveying a message and through the flowers. They are all making like a huge big resurgence. And so traditional imported roses and things like that not as popular anymore. People love sort of garden sort of roses. So it's more of that, I guess, getting back to nature a little bit more and to traditional sort of garden sort of flowers. It
Speaker 1 17:01
does certainly evoke that, like it's a feeling isn't it like being surrounded even just by the flowers that you've popped on behind us. But I'm also thinking that if you're planting these flowers, like there's bending over collecting them or harvesting them, like there's there's hard work to get them to the stage that they are in these beautiful flowers. It doesn't just involve us it doesn't just happen like this. And so what's that, that process if I was you know, if you have one of your paddocks here, which we're about to go and have a tour over, I'm very excited to see, like, what's the process actually in the paddock?
Speaker 2 17:34
Well, I guess flower farmers say it's not all linen aprons and pretty fairly flowers. So I guess it involves lots of mud in the Macedon Ranges, especially in the middle of winter. Yeah, so it is hard work. growing flowers and I guess it's a long term thing to growing flowers is not a short term, sort of project. It's sort of a long term investment, especially if you're growing things like King Proteas if you're growing things like peonies, which really don't flower until through the third year, that's when you get your first bloom. So things like dailies are a little more quicker. So generally put your tuber in. Within eight weeks, you've got a flower. So that's sort of a quicker sort of thing, but it's not easy. And it's Yeah, hard work. Like you were saying slogging through mud, digging through weeds. Not all pretty flowers, but then you get this beautiful product at the end. And it becomes quite addictive, especially the daily as you sort of think Oh no, it's hard to maintain because once things grow as well, you've got to maintain them. So watering, constant watering, weeding, you know, keeping things tidy cockys can be a pain around here, so nipping buds of the flowers. So the cookies were really bad this year in my dailies and I sort of on the advice of another flower farmer from Bendigo I got some khaki scare tape, which I'd never heard of. It's like a reflective sort of rainbow I guess coloured shimmering sort of tape that you tie to a garden stake and it crinkles in the wind and scares the birds away. So that's worked with the all the rain and the flooding we had last year as well. It's been a really bad season for snails and slugs. So I've never really had snails or slugs in my garden at all, never had to bait never had to put anything out. And then this year, one whole bit of daily is was wiped out by snails like hundreds and hundreds of snails. And obviously I don't like to put down bait because we have the dogs and the cats and then they also lizards can eat the snail bait as well and it kills the native wildlife and other grower in this fabulous little community. I asked for some tips. She suggested I put out beer traps, which is just a little container with a hole in the top filled with beer. And then the slugs and snails are attracted to the beer and then that does something and yeah kills them. So that same So I've worked a little bit so and so you haven't actually used any chemicals. Nice. So most of the flower farms around here, which is another fabulous thing, and why the flowers look so amazing and so fresh is that they have no chemicals, no preservatives, because we're picking up the product. You don't need any preservatives, any chemicals. And so then you get beautiful fragrance, which perhaps, if you buy imported flowers, they're normally lacking in fragrance. Yeah, so they're all certain flowers are obviously more fragrant than others. But you find with organically grown flowers, they retain that fragrance more so. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 1 20:35
And so with this trend going like where do you see it? In the future? Will it continue turning that way? I know you were talking to me before about different by sustainability, environmental focus and changing display. So there's no foam and no sort of plastics and carcinogens. Is it going to continue trending that way? Like what are people wanting?
Speaker 2 20:54
Yeah, so there's a huge well, not so much of a trend. But there's a huge shift in the forestry industry at the moment. I guess it's similar to food crops to get rid of floral foam, and to use more sustainable forestry techniques also to to reduce flower miles. So I guess to make things more environmentally friendly, so to really promote and to try and buy locally sourced seasonal flowers, things that are in season, things that are close by, but then also to try and eliminate floral foam, and to use other sustainable floristry techniques like reusing chicken wire using floral frogs. And I guess, also, I guess, educating consumers and buyers about perhaps what they're buying where their flowers have come from if they've if they're imported, and trying to I guess shifted the consumers to buying locally grown seasonal flowers that are grown and created using more sustainable forestry techniques.
Speaker 1 21:55
Yes, there's real like marketing education aspect to it. And so as consumers, what do you suggest, like what should we be aware of if we are purchasing flowers.
Speaker 2 22:05
So at the moment, flowers aren't labelled at all. So even at markets, it's often difficult to tell what's important and what's locally grown. So I would suggest, especially Valentine's Day, coming up to ask your florist what an alternative is to perhaps important red roses to ask them what they would suggest if you have a favourite flower to chat to them. And then they can sort of make something up. So there's lots of alternatives to things. There are lots of great Australian grown flowers. So if you still wanted that a traditional look of red roses, you don't have to necessarily get the red imported roses, we have lots of great Australian rose growers like nude blooms and grandi flora, which do amazing roses and we're lucky in Australia, roses are still in season at the moment. So you can still get that look or go for something totally different. So there is more of a shift to moving on from that traditional sort of look as well to something totally different. So going for something like you know, the beautiful dailies, which are really abundant at the moment and are like wow, they just so gorgeous. And if you want that red colour, you can still get that red colour or you can get you know, beautiful pinks and purples and all different sorts of hues and tones and shapes and sizes.
Speaker 1 23:23
Do you know who's sitting the train? Like I think if I was in I think of like Netherlands and in places like that those countries really setting? You know, I guess the tone? Are we are we copying off people.
Speaker 2 23:34
I think Australia has its own floral style and floral design. So yeah, there's obviously some fabulous really world renowned floral designers in Australia that are really setting the trend and leading the way. But there's also some other countries like I'm a fan of New Zealand florists as well. I just like they have a real wild sort of style with lots of texture and which really appeals to me, but I guess, yeah, everyone has their own sort of style. And,
Speaker 1 24:00
and so for anyone who is maybe looking to try their hand, like even if it's just in a garden, what's the best piece of advice you have for for growing flowers,
Speaker 2 24:08
I always think it's just a trial and error. So the best advice I can give you is just give it a go. You might be put off by the amount of time things take to grow. But the best way to start something is to just do it put it in now time goes quickly. Starting with something like something that's relatively quick growing like sunflowers cosmos, the dailies is a great one to start with because they're fairly quick growing, you literally just put a tuba in the ground, and then you get this amazing product at the end. So that's what I always recommend to people to start with. If you're in a different sort of area. I always say just go for a wander look what people have growing in their gardens. Generally what's growing in the local parks and in people's garden is what grows well in your area. So I would say to use that to help you choose what you should plant in your area.
Speaker 1 24:57
Yeah, and that feels like you're doing it It's a really great country. Well, here on this place where you've got the livestock, the flowers of the crop and for you this creative space where you can do something that you love and build those relationships with the people around you. So really excited to go out on finally getting the paddock and, and have a look for ourselves. So leave. Thank you so much for this chat and being on the humans of agriculture podcast.
Unknown Speaker 25:21
Thanks so much for having me, Emily.
Oli Le Lievre 25:24
Well, that's it for another episode from us here at humans of agriculture. We hope you're enjoying these podcasts. And well if you're not, let us know hit us up at Hello at humans of agriculture.com. Get in touch with any guest recommendations topics, or things you'd like us to talk and get curious about. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. Right subscribe, review it, any feedback is absolutely awesome. We really do well. So look after yourselves. Stay safe, stay sane. We'll see you next time. Say
Transcribed by https://otter.ai