Founder and creative heart of Lily and Rose Flowers, I’m a hands in the dirt kind of girl. My love of flowers and gardening developed through growing up with a garden of flowers created by my mother, a keen gardener.
My dream of a slower pace in a house near the ocean has become reality and to my surprise, I’ve slipped easily into country life after being a city girl forever! I love the close connection to the land, the space to grow vegetables, the beach just down the road, and the kindness and generosity of neighbours.
When we moved to the 1.25 acre smallholding, my mission was to create a sanctuary for family and friends. This was my motivation to clear the weeds, nuture the fruit trees and regenerate the neglected garden. Then Covid arrived. Staying on the property became our new way of life. The empty paddock in front of the house beckoned, a desire to find a new purpose tugged, and. . . Lily and Rose Flowers came into being.
Learning to grow cut flowers was an easy transition for this lifelong learner and I’m proud to be an alumnus of Erin Benzakein’s Floret Flowers flower production workshop and Philippa Craddock’s Flower School where I found my passion to create beautiful floral designs and to share the beauty and joy of flowers.
About Lily and Rose Flowers
Princess Dog Lily
Establishing the flower patch
First crop of Ranunculus
Lily and Rose Flowers was established in 2020 in honour of the precious princess dog, Lily, my constant companion for almost fourteen years, and for Rose, another dog who I hope will come into our lives when the time is right.
Our little patch was developed by terracing a neglected paddock in front of our house with the aim of creating a space to grow flowers, to share beauty and joy with people in a time of uncertainty and devastation in the world.
Our flowers are field grown from seed, following the natural cycle of the seasons, without harming the environment. And the surrounding land is slowly taking shape with permanent plantings of roses and other flowering shrubs suitable to our mediterranean climate.
Life on the Fleurieu Peninsula
We are lucky to live in a peaceful, beautiful village on the western Fleurieu Peninsula. Our property is nestled in the hills not far from the ocean, abundant with birds and surrounded by old gum trees.
Life on our small scale flower farm is busy. My husband, Amore, and I bought our 1.25 acres in November 2019 at the end of a long search across the country for a place for us and our dog, Lily, to call home.
The backyard had a few neglected fruit trees and roses amongst mostly weeds and leggy pelargoniums, along with diseased eucalypts and lots of out of control aeoniums. The front yard was an empty paddock overgrown with weeds. We’ve been regenerating the neglected land surrounding our house, improving the depleted sandy soil, and growing new plantings suitable for our Mediterranean climate ever since.
I am the creative amongst the flowers. This includes seasonal planning, seed sowing, planting and harvesting of our beautiful blooms. The best part of my work is creating pretty bunches and arrangements for the flower lovers in our local area.
Amore (my love) does all the heavy work on the property. He is the practical guy who constructed the wildlife fencing, installed the irrigation system, and lugs wheelbarrows full of manure and compost to create and maintain the flower beds. He knows how to sow seeds in a straight line (unlike me!) and pitches in on any task that I need him to do.
Creating our sanctuary is a labour of love and the flower patch especially, since our Princess Lily Dog passed away at the end of 2020. We miss her terribly and are now looking out for Rose, the next dog to share our lives.
Growing flowers is hard work, but so rewarding when the results bring pleasure and delight.