From small seeds, big things grow
When an eight-year-old Heidi Holbrook scattered wildflower seeds in her family's Napier garden, she had no thought it would lead to a major growing project decades later in her adopted Wairarapa home. By Simon Burt. Photo by Lucia Zanmonti.
Heidi has had a series of careers in the arts and business worlds, including founding Kokomai Creative Festival and building a global maternity lingerie business. Now, with husband Rupert and their young family, she has embarked on an ambitious development at their six-acre Carterton property. “I was looking for a change. We had this beautiful piece of land and weren't doing anything with it,” she says.
The grand vision is to follow the global food forest movement, mimicking nature by building an ecosystem in which layers of productive and supporting plants create a self-sustaining food source.
In line with the philosophy, 'from small seeds, big things grow', Heidi started with a cut-flower business – “flowers bring me joy.” After an online course by Floret Flower Farm in the US, she started with a small plot of dahlias and sweet peas. “I'm learning as I go. I'm allowing myself time to make mistakes, not putting pressure on myself to sell too much too early. I love how the seasons allow for different activities during the year.”
The flowers are heirloom cutting flowers, “the varieties your grandmother grew.”
Her first season finished last March. A collaboration on some weddings with Martinborough's He Putiputi florist made Heidi realise that she had to learn to 'style' as well. “I love learning, and I also get to use the skills from my business background, like testing sales channels.” With another flower farmer, Heidi has set up a collective around Kapiti, Manawatu and Wairarapa, aiming to have their own 'direct-to-florist' market in Wellington in the spring. She also offers DIY wedding buckets, bespoke Holbrook Forest Garden-designed wedding packages and daily seasonal flower bouquet deliveries. “I like colour and scent. I find most wedding palettes are quite muted so I like to grow bright things for people like me.”
Rupert and a group of friends put up a tunnel house which was used for sowing seeds in the first year; this year it's half for growing vegetables and half for propagation. Rupert enjoys a corporate day job in the city but has still found time to build a second tunnel for early flower planting – getting a head start for the spring – as well as fitting out a large shipping container with a chiller and a packhouse/preparation area. They are now in their second year of the organic accreditation process with NZ Organic Farms.
Medium term, the plan is for a cutting flower and food forest plant nursery, and growing organic vegetables for naturopaths. As if she's not busy enough, Heidi has recently started training as a naturopath and nutritionist herself.
In the longer view the couple wants to open the property up for workshops, teaching people how to grow nutrient-dense foods, and to create a big, natural swimming pool. An on-site eatery is on the wish-list too, using the food they'll produce in the forest. “I'm following a couple in Holland who are building a glasshouse restaurant,” Heidi says. “I'm already collecting building materials for our project.”
Meanwhile the thick native boundary border they've planted around what was not long ago just a paddock is growing nicely. “One day we'll be a wonderful oasis in the bush out here, but with just a short bike ride to town.”
For more information, see www.holbrookforestgarden.co.nz
