Hayley's homegrown flower happiness

My story started with growing flowers purely for the practical reason of attracting pollinators to my garden.

By Hayley: Flower grower at Maie Bloom Flower Farm

Location: Manawatu

Garden size: Half acre

Follow me: @maiebloomflowers

Now, I grow flowers not only for better fruit set in my fruit and vege patch, but also to feed the bees, butterflies, and other pollinators as part of a thriving ecosystem in my garden. I also grow for the beauty flowers bring to my life and the joy sharing them with others brings.

When we first moved to our property, all that existed were paddocks, a shed, and our house. The first thing we did was start to plan and build a garden. We planted mainly fruit and veges to feed ourselves and our family and friends. I dotted a few flowers in the vege patch to encourage bees and pollinators.

As the seasons progressed, I found myself making space for more flowers. My flower seed collection expanded as I learnt more about different kinds of flowers I could grow and just how easy many were to grow from seed. I have always loved photography and began photographing the blooms and seeing the positivity they generated online.

Eventually I developed a cut flower patch so I could share bouquets along with our fruit and veges. I started to bring bunches of flowers inside to make floral arrangements and found even more joy and relaxation in that too. I fell in love with the colour and happiness they bring to a space. I also love the joy they bring to a person receiving a thoughtfully arranged bouquet. Soon, I was flower obsessed! I continued to develop my cut flower garden and have also included shrubs and perennials to expand our growing season. This has allowed us to start our own little boutique flower farm.