Growing cut flowers & urban farming
For almost two years, I have been operating Moons Lane Flowers on a very light simmer.
The first cut flowers I grew were seeded in June of 2018, and in that short time I have learnt quite a bit from trial and error. I've reached a point though, a slow simmer is far too slow, I'm eager to grow more, a lot more.
When I started Moons Lane Flowers, I approached my parents to see how they felt about me using some of their land to grow flowers. Of coarse they were very encouraging, but not long after this, they decided to move overseas for a few years.With that decision I assumed growing flowers would not be possible, and perhaps it just wasn't the right time. I believe in perseverance, so I asked the new rental tenant if they would allow me to visit and grow flowers. They said yes, and have been very supportive of my comings and goings over the years. It pays to ask the question!
My mother, Lois, has recently returned home and from day 1, I always liked the idea of her growing this business with me. She after all, is the true garden whizz and has comprehensive design and growing skills, having previously worked as a landscape designer.
Business plans....
So here we are, after many long distance FaceTime calls, dreaming up ideas for Moons Lane Flowers, we are back together, making changes and improvements on our small flower farm.
We have been working with a biodynamic market gardener, Peter Kearney, to model and plan the property to improve its functionality as a flower farm and perhaps some day become a creative space for people to come and learn about 'the flowers', growing and arranging.
Cut Flower Production
We have recently expanded from 2 flower beds (1.2 x 11m) to 5 beds in our 'chook paddock', and now in the process of marking out 8 new flower beds in our 'horse paddock'. This paddock has been used for horses over the years, and the soil profile is lovely and fertile from broken down manure. Prior to planting our existing beds, we applied a thick layer of organic mushroom compost and sugar cane mulch (weed suppression), which we are trialling this season. During May we were busy planting Ranunculus and Anemone seedlings directly into the mulch, and also Shirley Poppy and Lace Flower seeds.
We'll now keep on working towards developing new beds in time for summer flowers, and if you follow us on Instagram, I normally share what goes on behind the scenes on our flower farm - follow us to see what we get up to. So, now we wait a few months until flowers start filling our buckets again. We will be taking most of our flowers to the Brisbane markets and maybe we will offer some to the direct public. We would love to open up a Saturday morning farm shed sale for the public to come and buy bunches directly from us, the growers - something to work towards.
In the meantime, keep on gardening and picking flowers to enjoy in your every day life.
Nat x
(our chook paddock, currently growing with 5 flower beds, and our work shed in the background).
(Over winter we are growing Ranunculus, Anemones, Poppies & Lace)
(This is us, daggy and all, in our happy place - Lois, Theo and Nat)
(Wild cherry tomatoes grow like wild fire on our property - plenty of tomato relish made)
(The Bougainvillea colours are mesmerising right now - the dryness brings on such fabulous color)
(Mother's Day this year was a busy one - I enjoyed my first one as a new mother, (gosh I love being a mum), and I got to create lots of hand held beauty for other Brisbane mother's. Thank you to those who ordered flowers from me x)
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