They like things to fly under the radar in the Teviot Valley.
Even hefty vegetables.
The district's first Pumpkin Festival is looming on the horizon and 136 entrants have registered but the progress of their prized exhibits is hush-hush.
"Nobody's telling. It's all smokescreens and mirrors,'' festival organiser Raewyn Baguley explains.
How the pumpkins are shaping up, what the plants are being fed, whether they are covered in a blanket each night, or have disastrously broken off the vine - all is classified information.
"It's great fun and there's lots of teasing going on. Everyone's supporting it but that's what happens here, everyone gets in behind a project like this, '' Ms Baguley said.
She is quick to point out the festival is a Roxburgh and Districts Lions Club event and she is just one of an organising team of Lions members.
However, she came up with the idea of the festival.
When she lived in Christchurch, before shifting to Roxburgh about two years ago, she noted how successful pumpkin festivals were as school fundraisers.
"I put my hand up and said what about a pumpkin festival here, they grow well in this area, so surely we could do something like that. And everyone 's been hugely supportive.''
The event will be staged at the Roxburgh racecourse on April 24 and proceeds are going to the emergency services covering the Teviot Valley - fire, ambulance, rescue helicopter and the Roxburgh emergency doctor service.
Those seeking fame as an ace pumpkin grower had been encouraged to buy seeds or plants through the Lions club with the seeds donated by local pumpkin grower Darryl Peirce.
"On the day, there's sections for all kinds of pumpkins, not just for the biggest, but for the ugliest and the best-dressed, too,'' Ms Baguley said.
There will be pumpkin-carving contests, scarecrow-making competitions and a pumpkin bake-off, with big entries expected in the dessert section.
"We're encouraging people to wear orange clothing and there will be all sorts of stalls at the racecourse and of course pumpkin soup, pumpkin scones and all those kind of things for sale.''
Ms Baguley (60) says she is a "Roxburgh import'' but "absolutely loves'' her new home.
She was working several jobs in Christchurch and decided to change direction after being made redundant from one of her jobs, sorting mail for NZ Post.
"I guess I was one of the early casualties of their cost-cutting. I worked a night shift and they disestablished the whole shift.''
Central Otago beckoned and the Teviot Valley struck a chord with her, especially Roxburgh.
The affordability of real estate in Roxburgh, as well as the welcome of the people, was a bonus.
She decided to launch a business, Gumnut Creations.
After several decades working part-time as a seamstress she decided to open her own fashion design business, which is flourishing.
"It's a good wee hub here and I have regular customers who travel from Queenstown to here for alterations and get orders from all over New Zealand for my design work.''
Her "bread and butter'' is alterations but her shop features stylish new garments for children and adults she has created from old and new fabrics.
Coats and jackets made from woollen blankets are popular, and she loves turning old clothes and vintage fabrics into new items.
Ms Baguley's home and shop are side-by-side on the town's main street and she finds being her own boss "hugely satisfying''.
"I love it here, I really do. I like to keep busy and being involved in the Lions and a book club and things like that are like a holiday for me - a nice distraction from work,'' she said.
And what about gardening?
Is she carefully cultivating a giant pumpkin or two under wraps, to vie for top honours at the festival?
"No, I haven't even got one in my garden - there's not enough room for pumpkins.''
