We have been doing a lot of data collection re the frosts in various parts of the flower plot as we have always felt that frost got trapped in a few spots - it turns out that gut instinct was correct and there are two beds in particular that trap frost. Our plot does slope, very gently, west to east and a tree line ‘shelter belt” runs at right angles to that. Together the two things combine to hold the cold air in place.

The outcome of it all is that we planted the ranunculus (2 beds of 3) in about the coldest spots. Doooh….

Good thing we have lots of frost cloth & can use it in multiple layers.

I find it fascinating that people from warmer climates struggle to understand that we can get this cold without having snow.

The fact is, we seldom have snow because there are a series of ‘must haves’ for snow to form and fall.

a) atmospheric temperatures - those temperatures inside the clouds - must be at or below freezing but ground temperatures can be as high as +5 C.

b) there must be a lot moisture in the air. As we are in a very dry climate, there is seldom enough moisture available in the atmosphere to turn to snow.

c) warm, moist air must be forced upward into the atmosphere by other weather patterns. As this air rises, it cools and the moisture condenses and freezes into tiny ice crystals.

Despite the threats to our crops, I don’t mind the cold as it normally brings glorious doses of sunshine. Most days it has been warm enough straight after lunch to get a couple of hours of flower farming work done outside. If we’re stuck inside, we also have an absolutely brilliant log burner that we use to heat the whole house. Honestly don’t know where we would be without it and I really feel for those people who live in areas where log fires are banned or restricted.

And yes, even after those temperatures, the anemones, ranunculus, daffodils and tulips all seem to be fine.

At this stage of winter the tulips aren’t even poking through the ground and the anemones and ranunculus are focusing on putting good roots down. Good roots in healthy soil mean their stems will be long and strong come spring.

Before spring arrives though, we still need to get through August. For us our field crops don’t start blooming until September although we do have some anemone in the tunnel house that are just starting to flower.

August for us is all about the berry garden, seed starting, dried flowers and weeding…there’s always weeding!

We have started a few veg and flower seeds in our home built germination chamber. There is still plenty of time for you to sow seeds if you want to grow your own veg and/or flowers. Don’t be in too much of a hurry as if the cold temps continue well into September, your seedlings will either need to go outside (weather risk) or be potted up to bigger punnets (time consuming).

If you don’t have a tunnel house or a warm, well lit space, you can always put your seedling punnets in one of the Systema clear containers. Taking the lid on & off might be annoying but it allows for airflow and stops your seedlings from cooking on a warmer day. It also makes for easy watering and means you could move the whole container inside by the fire at night…gotta look after those seed babies!

If you are interested in us running seed starting courses again in September, please let us know. They have been very popular the last couple of years so I’ll do them again if there is the demand.

And talking of demand…the first two of the dried flower workshops have sold out! Thank you to those who have booked.

Here’s the list of the dried flower workshops:

“Create a Dried Flower Wreath”

Saturday 8th August at 2 pm (SOLD OUT) or

Sunday 23^rd August at 2 pm (2 spaces only remaining)

Create a Dried Flower Artwork”

Wednesday August 12^th at 2pm (SOLD OUT) or

Monday 24^th August at 2pm

“Create a Dried Flower Table Centrepiece”

Sunday 16^th August at 2pm or

Saturday 22nd August at 2 pm (2 spaces only available)

Newsnatter Subscribers $65 per person per workshop

General public $70 per person per workshop

OR

Newsnatter subscribers only special: Book all 3 workshops for $180

If you consider yourself challenged when it comes to floristry, all the images are of artworks created by previous students - none had any experience and all produced beautiful work.

Workshop classes are kept to a maximum of 8 so each student has plenty of time to ask questions and work on their creations.

All materials for the workshops are provided - you just turn up here at the farm ready to get creative!

If the times and dates don’t suit you, you can get together a group of friends and book a workshop just for you - you can even bring along a few ‘refreshments”…

Can you tell that I’m prevaricating here now? It is still so cold outside - 9.30am and -5.5C. I’m a touch worried that we’ll have some damage as it actually got as cold as -12.6 C in the flower plot. As long as water pipes didn’t freeze and begin spurting water as they thaw, I can cope…we do live in Central Otago after all!

If you got this far, thanks for reading to the end.

Stay safe and warm and don’t forget to book that workshop you want to go on or let me know whether you want seed starting workshops in September.

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower Farming in NZ Podcast Host

https://www.youtube.com/@FlowerFarmingInNZ

“Create a Dried Flower Wreath”

Saturday 8th August at 2 pm or

Sunday 23^rd August at 2 pm

“Create a Dried Flower Artwork”

Wednesday August 12^th at 2pm or

Monday 24^th August at 2pm

“Create a Dried Flower Table Centrepiece”

Sunday 16^th August at 2pm or

Saturday 22nd August at 2 pm

Newsnatter Subscribers $65 per person per workshop

General public $70 per person per workshop

OR

Newsnatter subscribers only special: Book all 3 workshops for $180

If you consider yourself challenged when it comes to floristry, all the images are of artworks created by previous students - none had any experience and all produced beautiful work.

Workshop classes are kept to a maximum of 8 so each student has plenty of time to ask questions and work on their creations.

All materials for the workshops are provided - you just turn up here at the farm ready to get creative!

If the times and dates don’t suit you, get together a group of friends and book a workshop just for you - you can even bring along a few ‘refreshments”…

Smiles

Jo

I have huge sympathy for anyone affected by flooding. I honestly don’t think that I would cope well with wet, smelly mud invading my house and/or garden. I’m not being a diva about it - I just understand my personality and know that I would really struggle. Hats off to anyone who has coped with floodwaters and their aftermath.

I have a friend, Penelope, who farms in Martinborough with her husband Bill. They have all sorts of animals plus flowers and have a microclimate that has protected them on many occasions. This past 12 months, they have had so many extreme weather events caused by either wind or rain. So hard to keep farming when you are constantly battling ‘extreme’ events.

Today Penelope posted these images on social media of her silly chook in the mud and the slightly less silly chook trying to avoid the water by going from mound to mound! I was a bit like clever chook this morning as I dodged puddles that had frozen as I headed to the hothouse to take off the frost cloth.

Yes, we do put frost cloth over our sensitive seedlings in the hothouse as the name is a bit misleading - from choice we haven’t set up the heating in there and probably won’t this winter.

We are very lucky here in Central Otago that while we’ve had some very cold nights already, these have been interspersed with some mild days plus only a few windy days. I managed to pick this bouquet from the very last of our blooms in late June and it is still sitting on my dining room table despite us having the wood burner going 24 hours a day! The scent of the stock flowers is gorgeous - slightly like cloves…

We have managed to get some weeding and mulching done and even got quite a few trees/shrubs and grasses planted or moved over the last month. We keep going with trimming and mulching the poplars as we use that mulch in the walkways of the flower plot to help control weeds. As always there is still a huge amount to do but already it is noticeable that the days are staying light for longer which does make it easier to stay outside a bit later.

My roses from Matthews Nursery arrived and have been planted. I kept to a smaller number this year as I try to become more selective with the types of roses that I think do better in our conditions. Much as I love the David Austin English Roses, I do believe that the hybrid teas and floribunda types actually produce better blooms for us. I have an inkling that it is our very dry summer climate.

This year I increased my number of plants of “My Mum”, “Cappuccino” and “Legend” and added “Samantha Jean” “The Sarjeant Rose” “Better Times” “Hamilton Gardens” and “Legend”.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Samantha from Matthews Nurseries on the Flower Farming In NZ podcast. We had a great time chatting about roses and crab apples. Here’s the link to the You Tube episode if you want to watch.

The podcast is also available on Spotify and Apple if you prefer to listen while out and about. Normally I’d say ‘while out in the garden’ but I think it is only us ‘mad dogs & Englishmen” who go out in this kind of weather!

We continue to work on the clean out of the big shed to make a better space for workshops and our Bloom Bars. Doing the clean out is as much about making it safe as it is about making the flower workshop space larger. Mr Scrubby Gully does need some of the workspace to fix the things I break so I need to be mindful of that when I keep trying to creep more and more space for me!

I won’t commit to dried flower workshop dates yet even though I had promised to have some in July. It is just too cold to have them in the shed until we find a sustainable and safe heating solution. We really do need to get everything squared away on the heating front first.

However, if you are wanting some dried flowers for some winter crafty projects, we do have plenty available so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

As we start planning tasks for spring, we are on the lookout for one or two people who are looking for seasonal part-time work. The work is quite physical and can be tedious - weeding I’m looking at you! The job would be between 10-15hrs/week preferably in the mornings. It can be within school hours and with school holidays off if needed. This could suit a stay at home mum or dad or an active retired person or couple. If you think you’d be interested, I’d love to hear from you - please email jo@scrubbygully.co.nz

Keep as warm and dry as possible folks - I’ll be in touch when I can offer the dates for the workshops and the winter flower farm tour.

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower Farming in NZ Podcast Host.

Once the leaves have fallen and the perennial borders begin to fade or get cut back, the structure of the garden comes into focus. Trees reveal their shape, evergreen shrubs become statements, and gardeners finally have the chance to stand back and see what is working – and what might need a little tweak.

Winter is often described as the season of rest, but for gardeners it is also the season of preparation. The jobs completed now will make a huge difference when spring arrives.

June Jobs Around the Garden

Ornamental Garden

✓ Plant bare-root roses – I ordered mine from Matthews Nurseries but if you’re only getting a few, it can be most cost effective to buy from your local garden centre as freight can be expensive!

✓ Plant deciduous trees and shrubs – remember to have a good mix of foliage colour over all seasons as well as plenty of variety in shape

✓ Lift and divide overcrowded perennials – miss this step and your garden will start to lose its zing as the perennials will die out.

✓ Remove diseased foliage and spent annuals – I try really hard not to add diseased material to compost.

✓ Apply compost and mulch to empty beds – linseed straw is my preference for gardens (the birds can’t pull it apart) and wood chip for pathways or around shrubs.

Vegetable Garden

✓ Plant garlic and shallots

✓ Add compost to vacant beds

✓ Check supports and structures before winter storms arrive

Around the Property

✓ Clean and sharpen tools

✓ Service irrigation equipment and make sure hoses that sit outside don’t have water in them that could freeze

✓ Check frost cloths and plant protection supplies

✓ Review shelter planting and windbreaks

Understanding Frost: Friend and Foe

Frost shapes gardening in Central Otago more than almost any other weather event.

Many gardeners are surprised to discover that not all frosts are created equal. On clear, still nights, cold air sinks and settles into low areas, creating what are known as frost pockets. This is why one part of your garden can be covered in frost while another remains untouched.

Understanding where frost settles can help you make smarter planting decisions. Tender plants are best positioned on slopes, near walls or rocks that absorb daytime heat, or in areas with good air movement.

The good news is that frost also has benefits. Many fruit trees require winter chilling, some perennial plants flower better after exposure to cold, and frosts help reduce certain pests and diseases. The spring garden without winter cold would mean a lesser performance from some glorious flowers including tulips, ranunculus and peonies.

Rather than fighting frost, successful Central Otago gardeners have to learn to work with it.

Plant of the Month: Hellebores

If there is one plant that earns its place in the winter garden it is the hellebore, sometimes called the Winter Rose. Hellebores produce elegant flowers just when the garden seems at its quietest. Their blooms range from pure white and soft pink through to deep burgundy and almost black tones.

Some beautiful hellebores have been bred in New Zealand- if you’re looking for a source Clifton Homestead Nursery in South Otago. They have an open weekend in August….field trip coming on???

Hellebores thrive in sheltered positions with good drainage and reward gardeners with years of reliable flowering. They are frost hardy, low maintenance, and provide valuable colour during the coldest months of the year. In Central Otago we find they need summer shade so under deciduous trees (think that weeping cherry or silver pear tree) creates a lovely transition over the season.

If your winter garden feels a little empty, hellebores may be the answer.

Cut Flower Corner

Late Autumn and Winter are planning seasons for flower growers.

It is the perfect time to review last season’s successes and disappointments.

As flower farmers we ask ourselves:

• Which flowers sold consistently?

• Which varieties lasted well in the vase?

• Which crops earned their space in the plot?

• What would I grow more of next season?

• Did my planting plan provide a good range of flower colours and shapes over the whole season?

Many seed suppliers release their new catalogues during winter, making June an ideal month to dream, plan, and perhaps trial one or two new varieties.

Successful flower growing starts long before the first seed is sown.

Gardening Myth: Should Roses Be Pruned Before the Shortest Day?

This is one of the most common gardening questions and the short answer is “no”.

While many gardeners traditionally wait until around the shortest day to begin winter rose pruning, the exact date is less important than the condition of the plant and the local weather.

In colder districts such as ours in Central Otago, I think it is better to leave major pruning until late winter when the risk of severe frost begins to ease.

For now, focus on removing dead, diseased, or damaged growth from the plant and diseased leaves from the ground then enjoy planning where you are going to plant those bare root roses that you just ordered!

And a little bit extra for you…

May is birthday time for Mr Scrubby Gully and as part of his day we decided to do a tour of Earnscleugh Castle. You may have seen it on Grand Designs NZ. If you get the chance, do go on a tour.

Looking Ahead to Spring

It may feel a long way off, but spring is only a few months away. I count down to the shortest day so that once we get there I can immediately start looking forward to spring!

Don’t forget that winter is the season of possibilities. It is the time for seed catalogues at the kitchen table, reading gardening and landscaping books, sketching new garden layouts, and imagining what the coming season could become. Some of the best gardens are created during winter—not with a spade, but with a notebook and a little imagination.

Until next month, stay warm, enjoy those crystal-clear Central Otago mornings, and take time to appreciate the quiet beauty that winter brings to the garden.

Smiles & happy gardening,

Jo

Despite a week of this horrible wet fog, I’ve today managed to plant the last of the tulip bulbs. Well done me!!

It’s quite a big job as we plant 2000 but so satisfying to have them in the ground.

Because we are limited on space in the flower plot that is our rabbit exclusion zone, I do have some excess bulbs for sale. The ones I am offering for sale are bulbs that we harvested from last year. This does mean that you may not get a strong flower from the bulb this year BUT if you are wanting to plant a lot of bulbs in a wildflower field, a flower meadow, in your garden or along a driveway this is a very economic way to do it.

All tulips will be $5 for 20 bulbs. Minimum of 20 bulbs per variety as that is how they will be bagged. Want less than 20? How about buddy up to a fellow gardener and share the order.

Some varieties are double flowered (more than one layer of petals) and some are single. All have been field grown by us so are definitely hardy for Central Otago weather but a rabbit proof area would be recommended.

Here’s the full list of what is available:

Bulbs are available to order from tonight (Wednesday 20th May) until 5pm on Saturday 23rd May.

You can order by emailing tulips@scrubbygully.co.nz.

The bulbs must be paid for when you receive confirmation from me that I have enough bulbs to honour your order and they must be collected from the farm on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday next week (25th- 27th May 2026).

All of these bulbs will benefit from a good feed at the time of planting and again in very early spring. A general all purpose fertiliser will do the job.

Tulips prefer a sunny spot and thrive in our cold winters and very free draining soil.

Here’s a bit more info on what conditions they prefer:

• Sun: Full morning sun is ideal. Partial shade is recommended in our Central Otago climate to prevent the flowers from blowing open too quickly.

• Soil: Loose, fertile soil rich in organic matter is preferred. We don’t generally have that in Central Otago which is why I mentioned the fertiliser earlier. I put compost both beneath the bulbs and on top of them before burying to the correct depth with soil. Tulips loathe “wet feet”.

• Climate: Cold winters and mild springs help get a longer stem on the flowers as they grow more slowly if the temps are cooler.

• Moisture: Consistent moisture from autumn planting through spring flowering is preferable. With our exceptionally low winter rainfall it pays to water once a week over winter if you can. They don’t need to be soaked especially in winter - just dampened. Increase the watering in spring when they do a massive growth spurt. The watering is the most difficult bit for us on the farm as we don’t have access to irrigation over winter and typically very little winter rain.

• Wind: Shelter from strong winds is a real bonus as it helps to keep the heavy stems from breaking.

An old landscaping trick is to plant your spring bulbs behind your dormant perennials. There are a couple of reasons for this and they are purely practical.

Firstly, you’ll know where your bulbs will be when you are weeding over summer and the bulbs are dormant. Saves you from putting a trowel through your bulbs and you know where the bulbs are to fertilise.

Secondly, as the tulips die back in late spring, they’re not exactly beautiful (please read that quietly - I don’t want them to be upset by being called “not exactly beautiful”!!). The new growth of the perennial plant that the bulbs are planted behind will hide the mess as the bulbs die down.

Admit it, you’re more likely to leave the bulbs to die down naturally if you can’t see the “not exactly beautiful” stems. Leaving the bulb foliage to die down slowly means that the foliage can keep feeding the bulb for a few weeks longer.

If you must plant your tulips in pots, do either move the pot to full shade over summer or lift the bulbs from the pot once the foliage has completely died down. Store the bulbs somewhere dark, dry and away from rodents for the summer. Despite all our best endeavours, garden pots in a Central Otago summer just get too hot and the bulbs dry out and die.

If you’ve got any questions about spring bulbs, just ask away and I’ll answer if I can.

A reminder that the email address for a bulb order is tulips@scrubbygully.co.nz

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower Farming in NZ Podcast Host

All pre-sprouted ranunculus $2

All bare rooted plants $3

Eucalyptus - Baby Blue (floristry gum)

Achillea The Pearl flowers in Jan/Feb then if cut back a 2nd flush in April. Mid height at 60cm +. Easy to divide & bulks up well.

Shasta Daisy - large clumps! Great garden plant but not valuable enough to give space to in the flower plot.

Verbena officinalis “Bampton” - seen in the 1st photo at the back of the bouquet. A gorgeous perennial with airy fronds that is fantastic in the garden and in floristry.

Phlox (Pink) - tall perennial phlox.

All potted plants $5

Veronica Blue - tall Veronica (70cm +). Great towards the back of the border or for floristry. Bulks up well and easily divided.

Campanula - a tall campanula with a rosette of foliage at ground level so very easy to cut back. Bulks up well & easy to divide and I think much bluer than the photo shows.

Also grape vine cuttings (well rooted in a pot) of our seedless eating grapes - white (Himrod) red (Ruby) and pink (Suffolk Red).

Small list but all plants grown here on the farm and totally hardy for Central Otago conditions.

No fresh flowers available but plenty of dried!

Eftpos available.

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Those bright, sun filled days with hardly a breath of wind… and then the nights doing their thing — we hit -4.5°C twice in April. Proper cold.

After the stop-start summer we had, it feels like everything has finally settled a bit. The light, the colour, even the pace of things. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of autumn here — the leaves alone are enough to stop you in your tracks.

I was thinking the other day how much gardening (and flower farming) really mirrors the seasons we move through ourselves.

Spring always feels like hope, doesn’t it?
Those first shoots coming up, trays of seedlings on the go — it’s hard not to feel optimistic.

Summer is more about satisfaction… and if we’re honest, a bit of chaos too. Harvesting is hugely rewarding (there’s actual science behind why it feels so good), but it’s also when the workload really ramps up.

And now we’re in autumn — which I always think of as awe.
Everything slowing down, colours changing, and that quiet reminder that even as things wind back, something else is being set up underneath it all.

Winter… well, that’s when the thinking happens. Or at least the planning.

On the farm right now

It might look calm, but there’s plenty going on here.

At the moment we’re:

• collecting leaves (very kindly donated by locals)

• turning those into compost and mulch

• pre-sprouting anemone and ranunculus

• and getting tulips and everything else into the ground

So yes — still plenty of dirt under the fingernails.

Bulbs, crates, and “what works”

One question that is commonly asked is how should people plant their bulbs and corms.

A lot of flower farmers use crates — it saves space and lets you keep your beds free for other crops. It’s basically container growing, just on a bigger scale.

We’ve landed on our own system over time:

• ranunculus and tulips go in the ground

• anemones go in bins

It’s not particularly fancy, but it works for us.

If you’re gardening at home, bulb baskets are actually a great option. They keep everything where you put it (very helpful come weeding time) and make lifting much easier later on. If you have specific questions about bulb planting, feel free to ask them in a comment on this post or pop out to our plant and ranunculus sale (details below) and have a chat.

A small tip that makes a big difference

If you’re growing ranunculus or anemones, the whole soaking and pre-sprouting routine really is worth doing.

It helps to:

• weed out dud corms

• get them going earlier

• reduce how much watering you need to do straight after planting

• and makes it much easier to remember where you planted them

If you’d like the full how-to, just email me at sales@scrubbygully.co.nz and I’ll send it through.

We’ll have some pre-sprouted ranunculus corms for sale on:

Friday 15 May — 2pm to 5pm
Saturday 16 May — 10am to 12pm

They’re $2 each pre-sprouted corm, and we’ve got:

• white

• Chamallow (a soft creamy pink)

• salmon

• yellow

The corms are not potted up, so you’ll want to get them planted fairly quickly after picking them up.

You’re very welcome to pre-order — just flick us an email.

We’ll also have some bare-rooted perennials for sale, and I’ll send the full list out next week. No dahlia corms this year sorry - the season just wasn’t good enough.

Leaf compost

We’ve been making the most of all those fallen leaves.

One thing we always do is run over them with the mower first — it stops them clumping together and helps them break down much faster.

If you collect them with the mower, you also get a bit of grass mixed in, which adds nitrogen and helps balances things.

No compost bin? No problem.

You can just use a black plastic bag:

• fill it with leaves

• dampen them slightly

• tie it up and poke a few holes for air flow

Then either lie it flat or prop it up somewhere out of the way. Give it a shake or turn it over every now and then if you remember — if not, it’ll still get there.

If you’re in Central Otago, I’d definitely add a sprinkle of water — our low winter rainfall means that things dry out pretty quickly here rather than composting.

A small reward at the end of the day

Some of the jobs at the moment are… let’s call them character-building.

Pulling out old plants, weeding (more weeding), cutting things back — it’s physical work.

So I’ve been making a few treats to be a reward for a hard days work.

Here’s one that doesn’t last long in our house:

Spiced Nuts

4 cups raw nuts
1 tbsp smoky chilli powder
1 tsp cayenne
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil

Mix it all together, spread on a tray, and bake at 150°C for about 30 minutes. Give them a shake halfway through.

Let them cool… then try not to eat them all at once. You can adjust the level of seasoning if you’re not a chilli fan, they’ll still be very moreish.

That’s probably enough from me for this week.

I know I usually send The Newsnatter once a month, but I’ll pop back into your inbox next week with that perennial list.

And just a reminder — we’ll be open:

• Friday 15 May (2–5pm)

• Saturday 16 May (10–12pm)

Remember that if you’ve got bulb planting questions just hit reply and I’ll see if I can help.

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower Farming in NZ Podcast Host

I’m feeling quite proud of my efforts to help beat the financial constraints and massive price hikes that are hugely impacting some folk. I started winter veg seedlings about a month ago and have been able to donate two large trays of plants to people I know needed them. We have plenty of silver beet, spinach, kale, broccoli and cauliflower in the ground for us to enjoy over winter as well as frozen veg from our ‘summer’ harvests and preserved fruit. I can’t imagine how a low income family living in a city with no garden can make ends meet. Like most of us, I check my blood pressure before and after a trip to the petrol station and the supermarket is honestly no better - the supermarket increases have just been slow and consistent rather than a very well publicised massive jump.

Up onto my soap box…

Crisis like the current fuel one, and further back the Covid pandemic, make the importance of buying local and sustaining local food production so vital. I really struggle to see where the political balance is with support for food security for New Zealand and all New Zealanders. Why is good horticultural land allowed to be sold off for housing? Yes we need housing but we also need food and surely the most productive land should be kept for food.

I believe that local food production is essential and it certainly doesn’t have to be boring! In season, Peter Brass at Cherry Tree Farm grows quality veggie plants and some pretty amazing chillies. We have hydroponic veg and salad growers, we have microgreen producers and at the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market we have had a new stallholder over the last month - Jason and Sarah from Fairfolk Collective. They freeze dry local fruit in their commercial kitchen, package it beautifully and sell it at markets around the region. Yes, most of their customers are visitors to Central Otago (the product is lightweight so perfect for travellers) but think of all the magnificent things locals could create over those dull winter months with the tasty fruit. It can be powdered to sprinkle on ice-cream or yoghurt or crushed ice (think those BBQ drinks!) or chopped and added to muesli and baking or included in your scroggin mix for those walking or cycling trips. Initiatives like this one need to be supported by locals as well as visitors to Central Otago!

And we are desperately in need of more young growers prepared to grow food. Around Alexandra this year we had Tree Range Farm start selling from their farm gate and Robbie from The Paddock Fruitlands was at both the Alexandra summer markets and the Cromwell Farmers & Artisans Market but we need much, much more local production. So many of the growers and producers I know are aging out and this is understandable as growing any crop is a very physically demanding task that catches up with the body…just ask my poor legs!

I’d love to see a co-operative of growers working a block of land to grow different crops while sharing expensive resources and infrastructure amongst the group. But the reality is that it is unlikely to happen because a grower would struggle to support themselves, let alone a family, on the income from a small block of land. One of the reasons for this is that when growing for food production in Central Otago, you are limited to about a six month growing/harvesting season because of our climate. The growers could, of course, run greenhouses or cold weather protection ‘low tunnels’ but those items reflect more cost and more cost is reflected in higher prices. If you then had to heat that tunnel house or green house to extend the growing season, that is another cost and a terrifying thought at this time of huge price hikes for fuel.

Enough of my soap box…if you can’t tell, supporting local growers is something I am super passionate about and I do wish we had more of them!

If you know any local growers, makers and/or creators the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market is always looking for more stallholders - particularly food producers that showcase Central Otago. There are three markets to go for this season so they may be able to try dipping their feet into the process of selling at Farmers Markets right now!

Back to the farm….

Here at Scrubby Gully we have just had our last Bloom Bar of the season. What a lovely season it was too, meeting new customers and sharing stories with loyal regular customers who call in to say hi and pick up some flowers for themselves or as gifts. One of the very reasons I do the Bloom Bars and the Farmers Market is because it is such a joy to see the smiles on peoples faces when they admire the blooms. It is so rewarding.

The Cromwell Farmers & Artisan Market in Old Cromwell continues until ANZAC weekend so three of those markets still to go. If you are looking for other markets to support in the area, a new market has started in the Teviot Valley. I think it is monthly but if you want to know more details, do flick me an email and I’ll find out for you. Alternatively, you could message Fiona at Rata and Smudge and she’ll be able to give you all the details as she is organising the market.

We are still picking the eating grapes here on the farm. We started turning the white muscat grapes into muscatels this week and will continue next week with dehydrating the Himrod seedless grapes into sultanas. It takes nearly 48 hours to dehydrate the grapes to make the muscatels, sultanas and the raisins. The Ruby grapes (these are red and seedless) are still to ripen but I will hopefully have some at the market next week. Those that don’t get sold at the market are turned into raisins - they have an amazing flavour and the size of the bunches is mind blowing. If you didn’t know, the seedless green grapes make sultanas, the seedless red grapes make raisins. Pretty cool eh?

Customers often ask me why the bunches of grapes they buy at the supermarket aren’t nearly as big as the ones they see in our photos or on our stall and I’m sure it is just about practicalities for the big producers - imagine trying to fit a bunch that size into a punnet!!

We also have some of the Kyoho and Suffolk Red grapes still to ripen. Kyoho is a Japanese grape the size of a plum. I’m not very good at selling them as I’m not a fan at all. The skins are thick and they have seeds (very inconvenient of them!!) but they do dehydrate well for a unique addition to a platter. The Suffolk Red is a smaller very sweet eating grape. It is seedless but it is pink, not red. Why do growers give plants totally misleading names like that? There is no way I would ever call it red. It’s a good thing it tastes amazing or it would stay in the unpopular category!

At this time of the year, we are all about preparing for spring with the flower crops. Tulip bulbs have arrived, ranunculus corms are in the pre-sprouting stage before going in the ground, anemones are just waiting patiently for there to be room on the grow tables for their pre-sprouting to begin.

We aim to get the ranunculus in the ground before we start cutting back the peonies so we have a couple of weeks to get those jobs ticked off.

I will have some pre-sprouted ranunculus for sale and will have a plant sale (probably the first week of May) but will let you know a confirmed date for that.

Some of the hardy annual plants are already in the ground and more seed has been sown. I’ve also sown a couple of batches of lisianthus seed to see whether I am patient enough to get them to plant out stage. Lisianthus are an annual flower that takes 9 months from seed sowing to harvesting the flower. That is a long time to care for a crop but they are such a beautiful flower they are well worth growing.

Dried flowers are still available and I will put together some ‘craft afternoons’ when an adult can bring along a child and they can create some simple flower craft together. I’ll let you know when this is happening. We just need to get the shed space sorted to make it safer for smaller people before we advertise these events.

Our Front Gate Flower Stall is now closed for the season. It has had a lot less flowers in it than normal over the last month or two as too much product has disappeared at the hands of “Help Yourself” customers to the detriment of our honest supporters. Last week alone we lost nearly $100 worth and I am pretty sure it all went to the same light fingered visitor as 75% of the loss was over one night. How very sad that someone is that desperate. I’m sorry if you missed out on flowers from the Front Gate Flower Stall because we weren’t prepared to put much out there. Another good reason for running Bloom Bars!

I’m having a little giggle to myself as I edit this Newsnatter - I wrote this before stopping for dinner and to watch Country Calendar. The food box co-operative that was the subject of Country Calendar tonight (April 5th) isn’t the same as the model of collaborative market gardens sharing growing resources but the idea behind it is very sound. Like minds and all those sayings…

If you need flowers over the next month, we do still have blooms, just not enough for a Bloom Bar.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch and I’ll let you know if we can help.

Smiles

Jo

BUT - We do still have fresh flowers that we are harvesting for our regular flower friends such as our Newsnatter subscribers and our Farmers Market customers.

So if you need fresh flowers, until Easter we will be open on a

Saturday from 10am until 12 noon.

I am advertising the Saturday Bloom Bars on social media as being for dried flowers but those fresh beauties will still be available for you!

We really appreciate the support from our loyal and regular customers over the fresh flower season.

Now is the time for us to get really busy planting seeds and bulbs for our Spring offerings!

For those of you who don’t live in Central Otago - or even in New Zealand - we have had the summer to forget. The unofficial statistic I was told was that up until the end of February, Central Otago had 85% less sunshine hours than normal. I do not know whether that is correct but it really does feel as though it is! We are continually grateful that we have not had the tropical downpours and the mud slides that have hit parts of the country but we have certainly missed summer.

Every grower of vegetables/fruit/flowers that I have spoken to has said that this year has been their most difficult in memory. Cherry harvest was late with some exporters completely missing the lucrative Christmas market, apricots were late, tomatoes were late, chillies are just about non-existent…the list goes on. What has done really well for us are the zucchini, silverbeet, peaches, grapes and the apples. Those crops have been the standout best performers.

It seems especially bizarre that we have had our most settled summer weather since we officially hit meteorological autumn. But because we have moved in towards autumn we have also had cooler nights and in the first week of March we had two frosts. Those frosts tickled a lot of the flower crops, especially the dahlia and the zinnia. It is not surprising that they were the most affected as they are heat loving plants. Luckily we did have plenty of warning of those frosts so we harvested what we could and put frost covers on some crops but the plants certainly showed a reaction.

The trouble with dahlia and zinnia in March is that they are too tall to cover easily - we just don’t have the infrastructure for it. We had a row of dahlia we couldn’t cover at all, a row under high covers 2 layers thick and a row with one layer of frost cloth. The pictures below tell the story.

The zinnias looked even worse than the fried dahlia. One surprise was that the annual asters stood up to the frost. I would nearly go as far as saying they didn’t blink an eyelid but that would be an exaggeration as the whites showed a bit more damage.

Which leads to another annoying thing about having our best heat in autumn - it means that the cooler nights don’t just result in frosts but on those non-frosty nights we get very heavy dew forming. Not only forming on the grass in that soaking wet feet type of way, it also forms on flower heads. Then the sun comes out…low and behold, the flower heads ‘cook’ and take on the look that, in the kindest possible way, only a mother could love. It is so frustrating to get this far into the season and then lose most of our hydrangea crop, especially as they are a favourite - especially the Limelight ones.

While we are talking Hydrangea, I interviewed a grower on the Flower Farming in NZ podcast in February who grows hydrangea solely for cutting the foliage. It is sold to wholesalers who ship it to florists all around the country. A great example of a business pivoting to fill a gap that it has seen in the market. Very clever.

While many of our commercial flower crops are winding down, we do still have a few that are loving this weather. Our Lisianthus, planted to be flowering for Valentines Day, are just now coming into flower and our perennial asters and sedum are looking lovely. The weather isn’t bothering them one little bit.

What is lovely to see and hear when we walk in the flower field is all the honey bees and other pollinators using the flowers as a landing zone as they buzz around enjoying the afternoon/evening warmth.

Below are a few images of some of the flowers that are still looking beautiful…some a few weather damaged but still beautiful.

And even though the dahlia have lived up to their title of ‘diva’ flowers this season, they are a thing of beauty.

This weekend will see our last Bloom Bar with fresh flowers for the season. Bloom Bar hours are Friday 4pm until 6 pm and Saturday 10am until noon. Flowers available by the bunch, posy or bouquet. Fresh seedless grapes also available.

We will have dried flowers available up until May so if you have kids, nieces and nephews, grandkids, neighbours or partners that need entertainment over the school holidays, think about dried flowers for arts and crafts.

As promised, I will be running workshops again for adults & children to work together to create some artwork from dried flowers. Previously we have created flower crowns, head bands, wrist bands, terracotta pot posies, and drawings/artworks using dried flowers.

If you’re interested in knowing more about these workshops send me an email workshops@scrubbygully.co.nz and I’ll send all the details but just so that you know, workshop tickets are from $40 (the ticket covers the adult and the child) and there are age restrictions depending on the activity. The restrictions are because we may be working with sharp pointy things and hot glue so safety comes first. These workshops are only being advertised through the Newsnatter for the next 10 days and after that they will be offered to the general public.

Over winter we will definitely be holding both adults & young adults workshops that will focus on more intricate designs and techniques. This will include wall hangings, ceiling hangings, table centrepieces and wreaths. Again, all made with dried flowers.

Whew…still lots going on, even this far into the season.

I’ll send out another Newsnatter in late March as I’ll be selling some bare root perennial plant divisions, tulip bulbs and ranunculus (dry claws and pre-soaked claws) but that sale is worthy of it’s own Newsnatter.

Take care all - keep an eye on our social media to take part in our ‘Guess the Grape Weight' competitions!! Two weeks of guessing done but more to come.

Find us on Facebook and Instagram as Scrubby Gully Co

Keep smiling.

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd www.scrubbygully.co.nz

Flower Farming in NZ Podcast

While each week I have someone ask me ‘why isn’t my garden flourishing this summer’ I think we all know the answer - this summer has been so inconsistent and unpredictable. If we’re confused, so are our plants!

Our watering schedules might be designed for a hot dry summer, our flowers may need warm night temperatures, our white blooms (looking at you hydrangeas!!) might be sensitive to sunlight when damp - all of these issues have been compounded by our unusual summer. What we need to try and learn is whether this is what we will have going into the future. Is our climate going to be changing and evolving with each year? I believe it is and not just because of the political hot bed of global warming but because we as humans are changing our environment.

Let me explain what I mean…when we first moved to the farm, we had a truly dark sky as we had no neighbours. Looking out at night, there were only one or two lights to be seen over towards Galloway. The same as we drove along Springvale Road. Now at night the lights twinkle beautifully, resembling a strand of Christmas tree lights. And all around Central Otago there are subdivisions being created and lived in. Why does this change our environment? Because the physical houses fill land space with solid structures, driveways and roads are sealed, lifestyle blocks and gardens are planted and irrigated and hopefully some trees are planted. All of these things absorb and disperse heat and water in ways that are different to bare land or land previously covered in pine trees. So yes, our climate is changing on a very local level. I’m not saying this is bad, just different. So our thoughts on growing and gardening need to progress as well. Not just thinking about climate change on a global scale but thinking about all things that affect the weather locally.

For us here on the farm, we are continually looking for perennials and shrubs that can cope with the unpredictable and changing weather while still being able to be harvested as crops. Earlier this week the Otago Polytechnic had an Open Day when Bruce Thurlow, one of the lecturers there, guided people through the ‘dry garden’ that has been created over the last couple of years. The dry garden shows off plants that can adapt to our climate without watering or with minimal watering. How awesome is this as a resource for Central Otago growers? I’ll be talking to Bruce on the Flower Farming in NZ podcast on an episode that will be published in March, but you can also ask to receive the Polytechs nursery email newsletter by emailing Bruce and asking to be added to the list. The email is brucet@op.ac.nz

Here’s a few pictures Bruce took at the Open Day. They show the fantastic turn out of interested gardeners/growers plus a few shots of the dry garden site.

We haven’t been doing many workshops ourselves lately as there just hasn’t been time but we’ll get back into it in March.

I have run a couple of small sessions for brides who wanted to create their own florals. This is my favourite way of doing wedding flowers - teaching a group how to create what they want with their flowers.

Here’s some pictures from a November wedding where the bride created her own florals. Well done to Annaliese and her crew for their efforts. Looks gorgeous!

While we are still talking flowers, I fell across this You Tube clip with an American florist teaching an interior designer how to put together a modern arrangement. Like us, T J McGrath designs using sustainable processes - no floral foam that creates harmful micro plastics. TJ uses fresh local flowers, field grown without chemicals. An interesting watch if you enjoy floral design. I actually have vase envy because the vessel they use is such a great shape for this creation.

We have been picking some glorious flowers - I can’t get over how wonderfully lush the Atriplex has been for us this season. More of a foliage than a flower, it can sometimes look a bit like the weed dock, but it is much more elegant and better behaved. It comes in numerous colours and provides a great ‘spike’ accent for a floral creation.

Back to the farm and the struggle with fruit and vegetables this year…the only crop that has done really well for us are our zucchini. I’ll put the recipe to the Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake at the end of this Newsnatter as it is a great use of excess zucs. The recipe is gluten free and freezes really well too.

Some of the potatoes got frosted in the late December frost but the “new” potatoes were almost at eating stage so they have produced a reasonable crop.

The gherkins and cucumbers are laughing at us as they sit back and just wait for the weather to become consistently hot. The tomatoes have lots of green fruit but we are only now, in mid-February, getting fruit ripe enough to harvest. The peach and apple trees are laden but the other fruit trees, not so much. That is actually OK with me this year as I have enough fruit in the freezer or preserved to last us until next season.

The seedless eating grapes in the hothouse will hopefully be ready to start harvesting on Saturday. I hope to have some at the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market on Sunday and at our Bloom Bars from next week. We should have the grapes available for the next 6 weeks, so you’re not going to miss out!

Looking into the future, we hope to have some dried flower workshops in March and a preserving workshop or two if there is the interest. If the weather is kind, we should have fresh flowers until the end of April although Bloom Bars will finish by the end of March. Looking at the phases of the moon, I suspect we could have a frost around the 19th March and that could be a sign to get everything covered or to stop harvesting for the season.

I must away now and prepare some posies and bouquets for Valentines Day orders, for the Bloom Bars (Friday 4pm until 6 pm and Saturday 10am until noon) and for the Cromwell Farmers and Artisans Market (Sunday 9am until 1 pm in Old Cromwell town).

I’ll leave you with the Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe and some images of recent creations and the flower coolstore, just because I can!

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium-large zucchini, do not squeeze excess liquid out)

1/2 cup plain Greek yoghurt or buttermilk

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour ( for gluten free use ½ cup buckwheat flour and ½ cup brown rice flour)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips, divided (milk or semi-sweet, I prefer the dark)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 175C and grease a 25cm x 19 cm baking or casserole dish. The dish can be a different size – this will just affect the depth of the cake and the cooking time.

In a medium-large bowl combine zucchini, yoghurt/buttermilk, sugars, eggs, and vanilla and mix well.

Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Transfer batter to prepared bread pan and bake for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the bread comes out “dry” (it can have chocolate on it but shouldn’t be covered in wet batter).

Allow to cool completely, then gently run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the bread and remove it from the pan. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and drizzle or spread on top of bread.

Slice and serve with fresh raspberries. If there’s any left over, this freezes really well.

Smiles

Jo
Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower Farming in NZ Podcast.

I will readily admit that Valentines Day has never been a huge deal in our household…no-one could ever describe Mr Scrubby Gully as romantic, extremely practical, yes, but romantic not so much. So if you don’t celebrate Valentines Day, I’m definitely not judging you BUT if you do want to celebrate it with flowers we will have bouquets available at our Bloom Bar (flower shop) which will be open our normal hours of Friday 4pm until 6pm and Saturday 10am until 12 noon.

You can take your pick of posies, bunches or bouquets available at our Bloom Bars OR you can pre-order a bouquet for collection by emailing flowers@scrubbygully.co.nz and letting us know the following:

• what day you want to pick up the bouquet

• your preferred colour scheme

• the value you want to spend (as a guide $30 is lovely, $50 is luscious and $70 is luxurious!!)

Have a great week and I promise that I will get the February Newsnatter out this week. I know I’m running very late with it but this is a delightfully busy time of year for wedding flowers!

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower farming in NZ Podcast Host

I hope that over the festive season you have had the opportunity to share some time with people you care about doing things you want to be doing even if you have been working.

At times of the year like this, I always think of emergency services - they don’t all go on holiday and leave us to fend for ourselves!! Thank you to the permanent staff and volunteers who stay ready to be there when we need them.

On that note our little Coastguard Clyde unit (who we wholeheartedly support) had 3 call outs in the last week of December/first week of January. Good thing they’ve been doing lots of training.

Here on the farm, Christmas is a busy time of year. Pre-Christmas it is a bit of a rush with lots of people wanting blooms to brighten their Christmas display. Straight after Christmas there were quite a few weddings booked in as people took the opportunity of family being on holiday to include their special day in that holiday. It is also very busy for event and wedding organisers but the flower auctions aren’t operating so we pick up some extra sales - yay for extra sales!

Despite all the activity, we managed to have some very valuable and delightful hours of fun with our 13 month old grandson. He is perfect, of course, but the giggles and cuddles were just the bees knees. Family have left now but the house does still look as though a toddler has been in residence!

Outside we are still battling barley grass as it took over in the bat of an eyelid in mid December. From ‘Oh, there’s some barley grass coming on” to “oh bother - are there any plants surviving in amongst that barley grass?” It is such a pain of a weed both literally and figuratively. The barbs get places they shouldn’t and you can spend hours getting them out. Each evening I have a wee pile of barley grass barbs sitting by my computer keyboard as I pull them out of socks, t-shirt, overalls and other unmentionables as I sit here answering emails. The good thing about that little pile is I see it every morning and it reminds me to do an hour of barley grass removal. I reckon that if I do an hour a day it is psychologically achievable and I’ll be finished by June 2029. Not a problem…

We have been harvesting our zucchini and thoroughly enjoying those. Saw a great clip from NZ chef Al Brown on Facebook who shared a different way of cooking zucs. Could be great for doing on the BBQ hotplate https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DTPyanuLB/

It really does look a delicious way to eat zucchini.

Our chillies and tomatoes are also doing as well as can be expected considering this diabolical ‘summer’. Yesterday was our first hot day but then today we’ve gone from rain to sun and back again so many times that the term pivot goes from talking about business reactions during Covid to describing us as we react to this Central Otago ‘summer’.

Thank goodness the potatoes don’t seem to be too bothered. The Jersey Benny we’ve had so far have tasted delicious. Mr Scrubby Gully is a fan of having them steamed and then served with melted butter and a good grind of salt and pepper - he’s also very happy to eat them cold but I prefer them hot.

We lost our first crop of strawberries to the birds but not too worried about that as we were too busy to harvest them anyway. We seem to always get a better 2nd flush of them from about mid January. The berries are larger and sweeter and now that the plants are fully covered by netting again we should get plenty. On the very bright side, we’ve also been harvesting our raspberries. Oh, soooo good….

Not the best crop we’ve ever had because of the damage the winds did to the canes but we will thoroughly enjoy them fresh and have plenty to put in the freezer.

The flowers are bouncing back from the frosts we had 22nd and 23rd December. Prior to 2025, the latest we had ever had a frost was 28th November. That is a big time difference, especially when you are planning planting times for crops.

We have had to cut the dahlia back to the ground in the hope they recover and have trimmed some of the asters and zinnia. Hopefully they are pumping out the blooms soon.

Robbie from The Paddock in Fruitlands and I have stalls near each other at the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market. Each week we’ve been commiserating over this unpredictable weather and how we have struggled with our veg. The team from The Paddock are at the Saturday markets in Alex and the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market on a Sunday if you are looking for fabulous fresh and spray free veg. Support local if you can!

What doesn’t seem to have been affected by the December frosts are the lilies. The Asiatic lilies were superb for Christmas week, especially because they last so long in the vase. This week we start picking the Lily longifolium. These have a glorious scent and will be available from our Bloom Bars over the next couple of weeks. We’ll also start picking the Oriental lilies - those are the ones with the giant flowers and heady scent.

Because the weather has been all over the place, we haven’t been putting many flowers in the Front Gate Flower Stall. Sitting out in the heat, even though the stall is shaded, is not great for the vase life of the blooms. If you come out to get flowers and there is nothing left in the stall, don’t hesitate to give me a ring. There will be flowers in the cooler and if I’m available I’m happy to get some out for you. My phone number is on the noticeboard in the stall.

The Bloom Bars (flower shop) are now back to their normal hours of Friday 4pm until 6pm and Saturday 10am until noon.

Here’s some of the flowers that will be available this week:

Flowers are available by the bunch, posy and bouquet so plenty of choices.

If you think there would be a more suitable time for us to have the Bloom Bar open, please do let us know. We’re here to help you get your hands on local, fresh flowers so if we need to change the Bloom Bar times, we will. We do have Eftpos available on site.

If you get fed up with this stupid weather or just want something to listen to while in the garden, here’s the link to the latest episode of the Flower Farming in NZ podcast where I interview Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers in the UK.

I think that’s all for now - I’m sure I’ve forgotten something important but because I’ve forgotten it I have no idea what it was!!

Have a great week everybody - I’m sorry if you’re back at work and don’t want to be. Perhaps you should pop out to the Bloom Bar and get some flowers to cheer yourself up for what is forecast to be a wet weekend.

Smiles

Jo

Scrubby Gully Co Ltd

Flower Farming in NZ podcast host

If so, we can help with that!

Flowers grown here on the farm, without sprays and available by the bunch, posy or bouquet.

We are not taking pre-orders for flowers from the general public, but we will for Newsnatter subscribers. If you want to pre-order, flick us an email at flowers@scrubbygully.co.nz and I’ll send you the list of what is available to choose from. Pre-orders only taken up until Saturday 20th at 5pm.

Bunches and posies start at $10 and include some stunning red, pink, orange or yellow lilies as well as the last of the peonies.

Many of the peonies are shorter and more suited to shorter vases or posy bowls, but they are still stunning.

Bouquets at $30 and $50.

If you can’t get to the Bloom Bar, we will have flowers in the Front Gate Flower Stall from Sunday to Thursday next week.

If you haven’t visited the farm before, you can find us at 532 Manuherikia Rd - that’s only 7km from the centre of Alexandra on the main highway (SH 85) to Omakau.

Come on down the drive to the closed gate and park on the grass there before walking through to the flower shop in the big shed (the Bloom Bar).

Eftpos available.

Have a look at some of the Smoke bushes in flower around town now and you’ll know why I’m a fan!

Central Ornamental Trees will only be there for the Saturday Bloom Bar (10am until 12 noon) but we’ll also have our normal Bloom Bar on Friday from 4pm until 6pm.

All November we are head down/ bottoms up disbudding then picking and selling peonies as well as harvesting ranunculus flowers and trying to get both vegetable and flower seedlings planted.

Disbudding peonies is something that commercial growers do. It involves taking off the smaller side flower buds that form on the stems of some varieties. The side buds aren’t necessary for commercial crops as they make it harder to bunch and to pack the blooms for sale or freighting. The side buds get tangled and add weight - in some cases so much weight that they can tip the whole stem downwards and make it unsaleable. In the home garden, you could remove some of the side buds to help your stems stay upright or you can leave them on the plant to enjoy after the main flower has faded.

With so much going on, it is no wonder the weeds have really got away on us this year - mainly the dreaded barley grass. At the end of October I was really happy with how things were progressing but with a bit of rain and some heat the barley grass just took over so quickly. To be honest, it is a bit soul destroying so I need to choose my battles and weed the areas that I need clear for planting or harvesting.

I’ve managed to do that enough so that my zucchinis are planted out but the tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins are still in their pots waiting to go in the ground. I have flower seedlings that should have been in the ground a month ago that have been waiting for the ranunculus to finish flowering so that I could lift the corms and re-use that space.

In the flower farming world, we call that flipping the bed - take one crop out and the next goes in. It’s all about the timing! I could leave the ranunculus there another couple of weeks as they are still flowering but I really, really need those summer seedlings in the ground.

Protecting seedlings from excess heat as they wait to be planted out. Those tables under the shade cloth are loaded with my very patient plant babies!!

The ranunculus have been absolutely stunning this year and I have had lots of requests from customers for corms for next year. You’re hearing it first here -I will have the corms available in February. I will be planting some new varieties from seed in 2026 too, purely because the spring flowers really do enjoy our climate - tulips, anemone and ranunculus just do so well here. I will temper that by saying that I do grow mine in an area that is well fenced and protected from rabbits as I had one customer who planted her ranunculus only for the rabbits to treat her plantings as an ‘all you can eat’ buffet just as the flower buds were forming. Central Otago growing certainly has its’ challenges!

Another extreme challenge for us in November was the loss of irrigation for 8 days as the irrigation scheme water race sprung a leak somewhere up country. It may not seem like much of a big deal but having to use house water and a watering can to get water to seedlings was physically exhausting and very time consuming. Of course it happened during the hot and windy week when we needed irrigation more than ever. Water is back now though and I think we’ve only had minor losses of the seedlings that were planted just before the irrigation went off. To be honest the losses could have been caused by the wind as much as by the lack of water but the combination of heat, no water and wind was a cruel trifecta for growing plants.

Talking of wind, some of the wind in that last week of November was more damaging than the earlier winter storms. The opening section of the roof on the hot house (a 14m x 12m structure so not small or lightweight) was lifted and twisted in some of the violent gusts. Mr Scrubby Gully had to spend many hours hammering it back into shape - I’m not sure we appreciate how often our ‘handy person’ saves the day but this time the hard slog was definitely not something I could have done. Not only would I have been terrified of the wind gusts while up on a scaffold, I wouldn’t have the strength to beat the metal back into shape. Thanks goodness for Mr Scrubby Gully.

Perhaps even more upsetting to some - in reality, me - my precious, mature smoke bush tree was severely damaged when we had gales from the east (very unusual for us) that then suddenly switched to full-on from the west. Two of the trunks almost corkscrewed themselves around each other and were broken off at ground level. I loved that tree - spring, summer and autumn it gave me great joy. In a very fortuitous way, I had a discussion with a local tree grower the week before and had ordered more smoke bush trees to use for floristry. It made the loss less traumatic - I know I’m being a drama queen but I loved that smoke bush! Drama over…

Did you know that you too can get hold of locally grown smoke bush and other boutique trees from Central Ornamental Trees? This nursery is based just down the road from us and has recently featured in the NZ Gardener magazine. I’m trying to convince Tim from the nursery to bring some of the trees he has for sale to our Bloom Bar on the 13th December so you can see for yourself how well Central Otago grown trees can do. Think Sugar Maples, Carolina Allspice, Pine Nuts and Smokebush and more. I’ve included the Central Ornamental Trees flyer at the end of the Newsnatter for you and if I can convince Tim and his partner in crime, Cass, to come along to a Bloom Bar, I’ll let you know. A hint of a tasting of maple syrup is in the air…

Are we even going to talk about Christmas? I will honestly admit that I am put off Christmas by all the ridiculous hype around Black Friday. The total consumerism of it all goes against our ethos and way of life. I won’t get on my high horse about it but when many people are struggling to get by, I find it disconcerting that they are constantly bombarded with messages of ‘buy more/buy now’. Carefully considered buying should be fun and affordable - not create stress. I suppose this is why I like buying and giving garden gifts. Seeds, plants, shrubs and trees all look to the future with expectation of enjoyment from the end product. Not only are you giving now but the gift keeps on giving in the nicest possible way.

In the lead up to Christmas, I have been asked to run a couple of workshops. I’ll do two wreath workshops - one designed for dried flowers and one for fresh greenery. The fresh greenery wreaths are much harder to do in the Southern Hemisphere at this time of the year because most of our plants are in their full summer growth patterns, not senescence as they would be in the Northern Hemisphere. So the fresh wreaths will be right before Christmas and the dried wreaths slightly earlier. Timetable will be at the end of this Newsnatter.

Below are just a few of the wreaths and designs made with dried flowers earlier in the year or last Christmas.

Flowers will definitely be available for Christmas - the week before Christmas I’ll run the Bloom Bar (our little Flower Shop) on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd between 3pm and 6pm. There will be bunches and bouquets and Newsnatter subscribers can pre-order bouquets for collection on either day. Bouquets will be our normal $30 price or you can order a $50.00 one.

If you want to pre-order, please email christmasflowers@scrubbygully.co.nz and let me know:

• the value,

• preferred colour range and

• the day for collection.

I can’t guarantee what flowers will be included at this stage but just to be on the safe side do please comment on whether or not you are happy to get lilies as I know some people can’t cope with lilies in the house.

I will admit to looking forward to a slightly quieter December than November. Fewer weddings in December but more weedings!!

I hope to see many of you at our Bloom Bar or at the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market over December so I can personally say “Happy Christmas”. If I don’t get that opportunity, thank you for your support over 2025 and please do take time to enjoy the festive season however you spend it. May it be full of love and laughter with hope for a joyful 2026.

Smiles

Jo

WORKSHOPS:

Dried Flower Wreath or Display Piece -

• Saturday 13th December 2pm

• Cost $65 for the public $60 for Newsnatter subscribers

Fresh Floral Wreath or Display Piece -

• Saturday 20th December 2pm

• Cost $65 for the public $60 for Newsnatter subscribers.

To book a spot on either of these workshops, email workshops@scrubbygully.co.nz

Central Ornamental Trees

Apologies for clogging your In Box but I just wanted to give you a warning that this week we need to change the hours of our Bloom Bar.

We’ll be open:

• Thursday 4pm until 6 pm

and

• Saturday 10am until 12 noon.

NO Friday Bloom Bar.

We’ll have peonies by the bunch, ranunculus by the posy plus some mixed bouquets.

We would love to see you!

If you haven’t been to our Bloom Bar (Flower Shop) before, our physical address is 532 Manuherikia Rd, Alexandra.

That’s 7km from Alexandra on the main highway to Omakau.

Smiles

Jo

• Yes, there is still snow on the hills

• Yes, it reached 24C here yesterday and today

• Yes, we are struggling to keep the spring flowers cool

• Yes, we are still prepared for frosts

Put in a list like that, it makes me query our sanity for growing cut flowers in Central Otago - but we love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Was October a busy month?

It most definitely was - we started picking tulips on the 3rd October and had a PYO of the field tulips for Newsnatter subscribers on the 9th. We finished picking tulips on the 3rd November. That’s quite a long season for tulips and it was helped this year by cool night temps for all of October.

We had an open Day/Tour for Newsnatter folk on the 12th with some folk taking home some bluebell bulbs. I have it on good authority that although they were lifted and replanted when already if leaf, some Newsnatterers got flowers from them. I’m sure that has more to do with the rain that we had in the 2 weeks following the big dig than it does with the quality of the bulbs.

Bloom Bars continued through October with some daffodils, tulips, anemone, lilac and then ranunculus. The Labour Weekend show of ranunculus was stunning, not just for our Bloom Bars, but also for the start of the farmers market season. Our stall at the Cromwell Farmers and Artisan Market looked colourful and brought lots of smiles to the faces of locals and visitors alike.

What else has been going on?

Annoyingly I had to re-start all of my pumpkins and cucumbers and most of my tomatoes as I had a zero germination rate of the pumpkin & cucumber and the tomatoes all died when I potted them up to larger pots. I was really puzzled until I realised that all the veg that we were having issues with were in the same growing mix. Whatever I did to that mix, my veg did not like it! I think I didn’t have enough perlite to help drainage plus I used a different fertiliser. I should have done a small trial first rather than going for broke on a new soil mix recipe! All seeds have been started again but the cucumber and tomatoes are a month behind where I wanted them to be.

Talking growing mixes, I watched an enlightening You Tube clip from Common Farm Flowers (UK Based) recently where Georgie from Common Farm interviewed one of the owners of the company that makes the peat free compost she uses. It was fascinating to learn about how they harvest the bracken from the fells and then mulch it up to make the base of the compost mix. They then add other plant material depending on whether the mix is to be used on wet, clay soil or on free draining soil. Very interesting to see how they have made a niche product by taking waste plant material and making it useful for growers who really care about the environment and their soil.

Apart from Labour Weekend being the start of the Farmers Market season, it is also the start of the wedding season. We have had lots of bookings for wedding flowers but I am limiting my bookings to two weddings per weekend. Preparing wedding flowers can be quite stressful and time consuming so when I add in Bloom Bars, the Front Gate Flower Stall, Farmers Market, bouquet orders from the website and weekly flowers to florists my time is very quickly swallowed up. I need time to sow, grow pick and weed and occasionally eat and sleep so while I love doing weddings (especially Create Your Own Florals ones) two weddings on a weekend is definitely enough.

One of our Labour Weekend weddings was in Bannockburn and the other in Lake Hayes but they were very different.

For the Bannockburn wedding, the wedding party came to the farm and I ran a workshop for them where they made their own bouquets and buttonholes. It was a lovely session with lots of laughs and teasing. The wedding party even included my first ‘bridesman’ - he was a hoot and coped with all the shenanigans with a grin.

The Lake Hayes wedding that was meant to be celebrated out of doors needed to be moved indoors because of the weather so we quickly added a couple of flowery urns to brighten things up. Stunning lilac and then lots of white tulips and pink ranunculus.

So that was really October gone by in a flash!

November is full of flowers as well with weddings, Bloom Bars and Markets.

We normally start picking peonies about the 5th November but I think it is more likely to be the 8th this year as everything is just a bit behind the “norm”.

I don’t have any workshops or tours planned for November so far but if the peony season goes well, I will try to fit in a peony tour. I’ll let you know via a Newsnatter email so that you don’t miss out.

Any questions about sowing, growing or flowering don’t hesitate to flick me an email. I may not be able to answer straight away, but I will answer. Best email is flowers@scrubbygully.co.nz

Thanks for reading this far petals - do enjoy the magnificent peony season.

Smiles

Jo

To make it up to Newsnatter subscribers, I’ll have tulips available at our Bloom Bar on Friday at a special Newsnatter price of 10 stems for $15.00.

For non-subscribers, the price will be $20.00.

For those that don’t know, the Bloom Bar (our flower shop) is open between 4pm and 6 pm on a Friday and between 10am and 12 noon on a Saturday.

This offer is for Friday collection only. Payment on collection - EFTPOS available.

The tulips are mainly doubles which means they have more than one layer of petals. They come in a glorious range of colours from lavender to dark purple to bright pink to creamy yellow plus orange, red and white and last beautifully in a vase.

They’ll also be ranunculus available - my absolutely favourite spring flower.

A clean vase and cool, bordering on cold, water will give your flowers their longest vase life.

If you want to reserve some flowers, please just reply to this email and let me know your colour preferences.

If you can’t make it on Friday, flick me an email to see if I can be here at a time to suit you but it is a busy week with two weddings, florists orders and the start of market season.

Smiles

Jo

There’s really no reason why we should forget that - it is the same every year. A cycle of gorgeous days, howling gales, freezing nights and more gorgeous days.

It helps me to get through spring by remembering the old tale that an unsettled spring means a glorious summer.

While that may not always be true, it is a lovely thought to have when you’re outside at 3am chasing the frost cloth around the flower field after it has worked itself free from the sandbags just as the temperature is plummeting!

Here’s a few farm updates - I group them under our business ethos Grow/Create/Share.

Grow

Oh boy oh boy are things growing…couch grass, fat hen, stinging nettle, shepherds purse (or shepherds curse as we call it), even the thistle is taking off. But on the positive side, so are the plants I do want to have.

The ever reliable perennials are putting out new shoots and are generally unbothered by a few cold nights.

The fruit blossom was beautiful but some of it was hammered by a harsh frost in late September so I fear they’ll be a few crops missing. I was really hoping for a great apricot season this year but I don’t think that is what we’ll get. Apricots have always been hard for us as we are more frost prone than those in more sheltered areas. We don’t have the infrastructure to frost fight on the fruit trees with water but maybe by next year we can get that up and running. Our previous water supply made it impossible but we have recently been able to buy into an irrigation scheme which should mean we can add the ability to frost fight in the orchard with water.

The potatoes haven’t made it into the ground yet as we moved the chooks into the veg garden space over winter. This garden space has a net cover and was needed to provide cover for the chooks while the orchard trees were standing there proudly naked of leaves. We didn’t realise how much protective cover the fruit trees were giving the chooks until the leaves started to fall and the hawks spotted the chooks while they were out foraging.

One chook less, one lesson learned.

We’ve now moved the chooks back to the orchard and potatoes will go in the ground this week.

In the hot house (unheated) we have lots of tomatoes and zucchini plants past seedling stage and potted up to the next size. Also potted up are the gherkins and the cucumbers. Chillies and peppers will be next to be potted up and pumpkins are seeded in their punnets but it is too cold for them to show signs of life yet. Pumpkins really like constant warmth to germinate so don’t be in too much of a hurry to sow them.

Other seeds we’ll sow this week will be more kale, silverbeet and spring onions.

On the flower side, the daffodils are so cheerful, the anemones have been glorious and the tulips and ranunculus are just starting.

Lots of the hardy annual seedlings are planted out in the field but we will be leaving the frost cloth out and ready to cover them if it looks as though it will get very cold.

The peonies are growing so fast. They always do at this time of the year - especially the coral varieties- but I’m sure if you stood there you could actually watch them grow. Definitely more exciting that watching paint dry!

Before the peonies flower though, we still have a lot of tulips to come and the glorious bluebells.

We’re very happy that we managed to get more mulch down in the bluebell block. It does just make it so much safer to work in there

We will be having a Spring Tour and Open Day for Newsnatter subscribers next Sunday 12th October at 2pm. Some of the bluebell bulbs will be available - read on to the “Share” section to find out more.

Create:

There have been lots of creative adventures happening in the last month. Some gorgeous dried floral wreaths and wall hangings and at another event a few of us had fun trying Ikebana.

Making the dried flower artworks is beautifully creative but, oh my goodness, what a mess we make. Pokey bits of stem and broken flowerheads, string, paper tape, straw, branches…all the bits and pieces. Worth every bit of the clean up at the end of day though to see participants going home so very happy with their creations.

The Ikebana workshop was a lovely collaborative afternoon where a very small group of us just tried out various techniques and then gently and positively critiqued our work. I tried a creation with forsythia - what a disaster! Too many flower heads and not enough of the quiet ‘space’ that is so important to ikebana.

It was also really difficult to find dishes suitable to do the ikebana in - the dishes really need quite low sides and a pronounced inward curving lip. The curved lip is to help hold mechanics in place. Very interesting and a true challenge for me as I normally strive to make my flower displays look abundant. To be deliberately very minimalist is a true skill that I need to work on.

Share

It has become a bit of a trend on social media lately for flower farmers to ask people to like a post, request a follow and then be able to nominate someone to receive a free bouquet. We’re planning to do things a bit differently here!

We don’t ask you to like and subscribe to our social media channels (but would love it if you did!!) as not everyone wants to do that. What we will do is that every second Thursday will be a ‘Thank You Thursday’ and we will donate 50% of the sales from one of the buckets in the Front Gate Flower Stall to the charity of our choice - Coastguard Clyde.

Every little bit helps organisations such as Coastguard Clyde and the team there is a small but mighty band of dedicated volunteers.

So on a ‘Thank You Thursday’ you can feel especially good about buying flowers for yourself or for somebody else.

More sharing:

It is that time of the year when we try to have a few Newsnatter events;

Event #1: Thursday 9th October 2025 at 10am. Pick your own tulips and daffodils.

These are field grown single tulips and not the fancy varieties but bring along a bucket and fill it with blooms for $10. If there are any daffodils left, you will be able to pick from these as well.

Event #2: Spring Open Day/Farm Tour Sunday 12th October 2025 at 2pm for Newsnatter subscribers.

This is a free tour for Newsnatter subscribers only. If you want to bring a friend who is not a subscriber, the cost to your guest is $10.00.

Please email events@scrubbygully.co.nz to book your spot and to register any guest you might be bringing.

The tour will go ahead even if it is raining or windy as at this time of the year it is difficult for us to reschedule.

At 2pm we will start with a tour of the growing areas and I’ll answer any questions that I can. There will only be the one tour at 2pm so please be on time if you are joining us.

Please don’t expect to see a pristine show garden! All of our energy and time goes into the business so weeding in my own garden is well down the list! The tour is of the flower farm - not a manicured garden.

At the end of the tour, you will have the option to buy some bluebell bulbs to take home. These bluebells have spread into the walk ways and need to be lifted so bring a bucket and take the opportunity to grow some of these beauties your self. A bucket load of the blue bells will cost you $10.00. Please let me know in advance if you think you want a bucket load of bluebells so that we can have some ready. They will be in full leaf and will probably collapse when you get them home but will flower beautifully next season. As a side note you will probably get 100 or so bulbs in the bucket and rabbits don’t seem to be even slightly interested in eating them!

Flowers and preserves will also be available to purchase as well as some flower and veg plants if they have put on enough growth.

And some other updates:

Bloom Bars are now operating every Friday from between 4pm and 6pm and every Saturday between 10am and 12 noon. The Bloom Bar is just our name for our little shop in the big shed! Fresh flowers available by the bunch or bouquet, some dried flowers and dried flower artworks available and our preserves. EFTPOS available, including PayWave.

The Front Gate Flower Stall is now stocked with flowers on a daily basis. If by some chance the stall is empty when you get here, my phone number is up on a notice by the money box - just give me a call and I can let you know if I have more flowers ready to go in the cooler.

At the Front Gate Flower Stall, you can pay cash at the stall or use the QR code that is up on the stall to go to our website and purchase from there or you can text me and I will send you the bank account number so you can pay by direct banking.

To use the QR code, just open your phone camera, point it at the code as though you were taking a photo and you’ll get to the website - sometimes technology is wonderful!

Farmers Markets start again in Cromwell at Labour Weekend. They are each Sunday from 9am until 1 pm down in Old Cromwell.

Wedding season also starts at Labour Weekend and although many weekends are booked, I do have some space to provide buckets of flowers for those that want to create their own wedding or event florals.

Other things we’ve been sharing are more episodes of the podcast Flower Farming in New Zealand and some great images on our social media. Here’s the links for our social media and the podcast in case you’re interested:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScrubbyGully/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scrubbygullyco/

Instagram for the podcast https://www.instagram.com/flower_farming_in_nz/

Spotify for the Podcast:

Apple Podcasts:

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@FlowerFarmingInNZ

We’re definitely getting into the busy season!

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. If you want to chat about your own garden and what you are growing, feel free to call in during Bloom Bar hours and we can have a natter.

Smiles

The Team at Scrubby Gully