Flowers
Gardening with Xanthe White
Landscape designer and gardener Xanthe White talks about one of the most popular - planting flowers. Audio
From one bunch to four greenhouses
With no flora experience but the need for a new direction, Colin and Mary Birch have become the owners of a lily nursery in Cambridge. Audio
Young Wellington gardener devoted to dahlias
Once you've been bitten by the dahlia bug, you can't stop. That's what's happened to Wellington 13 year old Ed Malcolm-Tait. Audio
Growing dahlias 'a way to recalibrate your happiness meter'
People swoon when they visit what was once a bare block of land in Hawke's Bay, according to Natalie Tolchard, who launched full tilt into growing dahlias without any experience but plenty of passion… Audio
Floral Tribute
Every Thursday morning the five women from the Floral Collective Waikato set up their buckets in the Frankton Railway Institute Hall to sell field grown blooms to local florists. Varieties that don't… Audio
New florist in town is paying it forward before she's even opened up her shop
A new florist has announced their arrival in a small town in the Tararua District in a very generous way. Sarah Romanos has been dropping bouquets of flowers around the Pahiatua town centre for locals… Audio
Paddocks ablaze with colour as sales plummet for daffodils
The cancellation of Daffodil Day and the temporary closure of an Auckland flower market because of Covid-19 restrictions has seen Waikato's Clandon Daffodils leave 75 percent of their daffodils in the… Audio
Alexandra devastated blossom festival cancelled
Now to Central Otago, where the Alexandra community is devastated their annual blossom festival has been cancelled.
It was to be the 65th year of the historic event and is the longest, continuously… Audio
Months of work binned as lockdown hits flower growers
Spring has sprung at the same time as level 4, forcing Auckland's flower growers to bin months of their work.
Under alert level 4 they aren't able to sell or distribute their goods but can't simply… Video, Audio
A Side Hustle in Saffron
Haley Heathwaite was looking for something "a bit different and a challenge" when deciding on a crop of her own to grow alongside her job with a Gisborne seed company. She chose saffron, the precious… Audio
The intricate sugar art of Tracy Byatt
Sugar is treated as the enemy these days in terms of health, but in the hands of a skilled artist like Whanganui's Tracy Byatt, it can also be used to sculpt extraordinarily colourful and lifelike… Audio, Gallery
The high price of flowers
Reports of a flower shortage pushing up wholesale prices are being overstated, according to Tony Hayes CEO of United Flower Growers. Audio
The rise in popularity of floral art
Many people are turning to flower arranging as a meditative ritual in the wake of the pandemic, reports The ABC. Audio
Colourful plants help young researcher win award
Unravelling how genes control colour in petunias has won Nick Albert the 2020 Hamilton Award and could help breed more nutritious fruit. Audio
Time to Bloom
Orchid-grower Eva Yin came to New Zealand as an international student from Weihai in China 14 years ago. She arrived with just a suitcase and a desire to do something different. Now she cultivates… Audio
How gardening creates a time warp
Gardening is more than a relaxing hobby. It's good for your health, whatever age you are. Dr Harriet Gross is a psychology professor at Lincoln University in the United Kingdom. She explains why… Audio
How to help inner-city bees thrive and protect biodiversity
While beekeeping is experiencing a resurgence, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy from For The Love Of Bees is urging Aucklanders to plant flowers and foods that will support bees, rather than leaping headfirst into… Audio
Flowers, messages begin to be cleared from Botanic Gardens
Work has begun on carefully removing the oldest flowers, pictures, toys and messages of love which were laid in front of the Botanic Gardens following the Christchurch terror attacks. Video, Audio
A flower map to help NZ beekeepers
A Honey Landscape Map for New Zealand could help beekeepers find the best flower-rich sites for their beehives. Audio
Japanese brides like white orchids, so Pieter Rensen grows them
Every year, Pieter Rensen grows more than 300,000 stems of white miniature cymbidiums in his greenhouses near Pukekohe. Three-quarters of them are exported to Japan for weddings and funerals. Audio