Winter Fragrance: What’s Blooming on the Flower Farm
It’s the start of winter on our New Zealand flower farm. There aren’t too many things flowering at this time of year, but those that are in bloom are highly fragrant. The Erlicheer and Paperwhite Narcissus can be quite intoxicating and will fill a room with fragrance. Their scent is often described as rich, floral, strong and sweet. Our bulb supplier simply describes it as “a scent to die for”.
I was listening to a podcast earlier this week while picking flowers and planting on the farm. It was discussing how insects can determine how healthy a plant is. There is a lot of science behind this, and without getting too nerdy, insects fly above plants and can detect signals that reveal whether they are struggling, flourishing or somewhere in between.
For insects that like to munch on plants for lunch, those sitting somewhere in the middle are often the most appealing. As a plant becomes healthier, it becomes less attractive to some insects and more attractive to others. Eventually, when it reaches peak health, insects are no longer interested in eating it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
As a flower grower, that is where I’m aiming to get our plants: to the point where all the suckers, such as thrips, little nibblers, such as Japanese beetles, and larger munchers, such as grasshoppers, decide our plants simply aren’t appealing.
Once plants become healthy enough, these insects can no longer easily digest the parts of the plant they are interested in.
It’s a lofty goal and one that may never be completely achievable. However, I am always reading, listening and learning about sustainable flower growing and how we can get our plants as close to peak health as possible.
Another aspect of plant health mentioned in the podcast was fragrance.
Fragrance can be sacrificed by a plant when it isn’t healthy. The healthier the plant is, the stronger the scent of its blooms or leaves will often be, provided it is naturally a fragrant variety. Commercially grown cut flowers have often been bred to reduce or remove their fragrance. Sadly, scent has sometimes been sacrificed in favour of longevity, helping flowers withstand being picked, transported and sold through flower markets around New Zealand and across the world.
However, we love growing and using fragrant flowers and foliage in our fresh flower bouquets and arrangements. We love the memories that scented flowers can evoke: freesias that were your grandmother’s favourite flowers, sweet peas rambling through the garden when you were young or the familiar scent of roses in summer.
I’m also passionate about those receiving our locally grown flowers being able to put their nose into their bouquet and inhale the fragrance. That isn’t always something you would want to do with commercially grown flowers, as they may have been sprayed with chemicals at some stage of the growing process.
Nothing grown on our flower farm is sprayed, except with natural products used to feed the plants and provide the nutrition they need. Our focus is on growing healthy, seasonal flowers that smell beautiful and are naturally better equipped to ward off nibbly creatures and be able to be delivered nationwide but still look as beautiful. From eucalyptus, rosemary and scented geranium foliage to fragrant flowers such as daffodils, freesias, stock, sweet peas, roses, tuberoses, honeysuckle and lilies, we hope to include something grown on our flower farm in our bouquets throughout the year.
Which fragrant flower is your favourite?
I find it far too hard to choose, but if I had to narrow it down, it would probably be David Austin roses and sweet peas. Just don’t let the other flowers know that!
