Louise Frampton talks to Olivia McCord about her passion for flowers and her new book The Floral Dream. It is a guide to growing cut flowers in New Zealand and would especially suit anyone contemplating setting up a micro flower farm.
Not only does McCord guide readers on how to grow and pick 40 varieties, but she very importantly makes sure gardeners have thought through the whole process before starting on their dream hobby or career.
1. I haven’t seen many other flower-growing books that have a focus on micro flower farming in New Zealand. Is this the first one?
Yes, as far as I’m aware The Floral Dream is the first book in New Zealand that focuses solely on growing cut flowers. We’ve had some wonderful gardening books here, and a few that touch on flowers or arranging, but none dedicated solely to cut flowers and the whole process.
In many ways, this book is the one I wished I had when I was beginning. It’s written specifically for our conditions, with a New Zealand-focused growing calendar and only flowers you can actually grow here.
2. You’ve named the book The Floral Dream, what is your floral dream?
My floral dream has shifted over the years. At first, it was about growing fields of edible flowers to sell fresh or dried to restaurants and bakeries. But I realised that in the middle of doing this, I wasn’t enjoying the garden as much. I was constantly worrying about the weather and conditions, and the garden stopped feeling peaceful.
Now, my floral dream is much simpler - to grow flowers I love, to fill my home with them, and to share that magic with others. I get so much joy from discovering new varieties each year and refreshing my annual mix.
More than anything, I want to encourage people to experience the beauty of growing flowers for themselves, and to show that you don’t need to be an expert to do it.
3. As you state in your book, you didn’t start on your horticulture journey until in your 30s and then you set up an edible flower business. Tell us briefly about that.
I’ve always loved the land. My family had a farm on the Kaipara where we spent school holidays, and that connection to the country has always stayed with me. I was also drawn to the more floral, English-style gardens [especially] the herbaceous borders.
Through my 20s, I didn’t really have the chance to garden much. But after our first son was born, I wanted to raise him on the land. So my husband and I bought a bare block outside Tauranga and established an organic kiwifruit orchard. That was a crash course in horticulture. We learnt about soil, climate, and the differences between organic and conventional practices, and it gave me a real appreciation for growing.
Alongside the orchard, I started designing my own gardens and growing flowers, which led me to start an edible flower business. It was the same month I had my second son. It was a busy, chaotic time!
The business took off quickly, with huge demand from restaurants and bakeries, but the constant pressures of orders, combined with raising two young children and coping with weather events like Cyclone Gabrielle, eventually became overwhelming.
What never left me though, was the love of flowers and discovering new varieties, filling my home with them, and sharing that joy with others. That’s what inspired me to evolve Crawford Road into what it is now - a seed business for home gardeners.
Alongside The Floral Dream, which gives people the knowledge and confidence to grow their own cut flowers.
4. You have some very sage advice about not being swept up in the excitement of sowing seeds and then realising there is no room or time to plant them all out. What’s the best advice to keep new growers more "grounded"?
I’m probably the worst person to give that advice, as I’m terrible at following it. It is so tempting looking at seed catalogues or websites and getting swept up in the images and wanting to grow it all.
This year I have focused on restraint. My top tip if you are starting out is to first measure your growing space and then draw a scaled version of this on to paper. Then work out exactly how many plants you can fit into this space - taking into account how much space the particular plant needs. This will give you a guideline before you start buying seeds or plants on how many you can actually fit.
My second tip if you are starting out is to choose varieties that are repeat flowerers. It can be hard to time succession sowing when you are first starting out so pick varieties that will continue to bloom for a long period.
5. The book doesn’t mention much about pests or diseases. Was that a conscious decision, or don’t you have many issues in Tauranga?
The book was a broad overview to get people started without over complicating it. I spent a large amount of time talking about conditioning soil and seaweed feeds which is a fantastic starting point, as a healthy soil should provide a strong growing environment.
A good source of information for people on their local pests and diseases are their local gardening clubs or stores. Personally, I find my plants are relatively disease free as I spend a lot of time conditioning my soil. Slugs are my biggest pest as they can eat young seedlings. You can use slug bait or natural deterrent such as a beer trap to deter them.
6. If a gardener wanted to grow a few flowers in their garden for a simple wedding bouquet, what would be the most important planning aspects to consider?
The most important thing to consider is timing - when the wedding is, and what will be in season then. From talking with florists, the biggest challenge is when brides request flowers that simply aren’t flowering at that time of year.
Once you’ve worked out what’s in season, the next step is deciding on a colour scheme. Trends come and go. For years white-and-green palettes and even dried flowers were popular, but now we’re seeing a shift towards more colour and looser, garden-style arrangements.
From there, I suggest choosing one or two focal flowers, adding some supporting spikes, a handful of fillers, and plenty of greenery to tie it together.
For example, if I was designing my own bouquet for a November wedding, it would be big, wild and abundant - filled with anemones, ranunculus, Iceland poppies, roses, snapdragons, scabiosa, flowering mānuka, young ribbonwood, and Persian cress.
Your flower recipe
When you are thinking of an arrangement it is so tempting to just think of the focal flowers, the stars of the bouquet and neglect the other elements. When I started gardening, I only thought of my favourite flowers and planted lots of dahlias, zinnias, and scabiosa in my first summer.
While I do still love a bouquet of a single flower, when I combined different flowers they were instantly lacking cohesion and needed the foliage and fillers to round it out. It was a bit like trying to cook a meal with only a couple of ingredients.
So following from this I have explored different varieties of foliage and fillers to work out what I like the best.
Focal stars
These are the stars of the bouquet and often what you base the rest of your bouquet around. They are often the biggest and most extravagant blooms which have big heads and stick out. Think in terms of dahlias, ranunculus, tulips, hydrangeas.
Focal co-stars
I view this category as still a focal and essential part of the bouquet but not the lead act, rather the co-star. These flowers are essential to the bouquet and work in harmony with the leading star, complementing it. They often have a smaller head or are in a spire or spike shape. Think in terms of snapdragons, stock, scabiosa.
Fillers
These can provide bulk to a bouquet and add to a particular colour scheme. They are often prolific repeat flowers that add a gentleness to a bouquet and a more naturalistic feel of what you would imagine a flower garden to be. Think in terms of nigella, sweet William, orlaya.
Foliage
Foliage in my opinion rounds out a bouquet. It can highlight particular colours in a bouquet and provides it with structure. Foliage is a wonderful thing to forage and once you open your imagination, you start viewing it everywhere. Think in terms of eucalyptus, bells of Ireland, honeywort.
Fun
Sometimes what makes a bouquet the most memorable is that little bit of fun or quirk. It is an unusual piece that can add a unique touch. Think of it like the final seasoning. It can range from a trailing vine, to prickly echinops. Think in terms of craspedia, eryngium, amaranthus.
- Extracted with permission from The Floral Dream: A Guide to Growing Cut Flowers in New Zealand by Olivia McCord (Potton & Burton) $49.99 RRP.
Photo: Olivia McCord
Garden bed design
My 1.4m x 3.5 garden bed design:
Annual foliage 0.6m x 1.4m Dedicated to one annual foliage flower. My choice is honeywort.
Compact filler 0.5m x 1.4m Dedicated to a more compact filler. My choice is sweet William.
Branching filler 0.6m x 1.4m Dedicated to a more branching filler. My choice is ammi.
Focal flower 0.6m x 1.4m Dedicated to a focal flower. I would succession sow snapdragons.
Focal flower 0.6m × 1.4m Dedicated to a focal flower. I would grow Iceland poppies in spring to replace with zinnias when the temperature increases.
Focal flower 0.6m × 1.4m I would grow a mix of ranunculus and anemone in spring to replace with dahlia tubers for summer and autumn flowering.
- Extracted with permission from The Floral Dream: A Guide to Growing Cut Flowers in New Zealand by Olivia McCord (Potton & Burton) $49.99 RRP.
