The sun begins to rise, the children lie sound asleep in bed, but you won’t find her in the home.

No – she’s tiptoed into the wonderful shades of colourful blooms, pouring a labour of love into the flower farm.

Rebecca Thurston says she’s been a gardener for a long time but it wasn’t until spring 2020 that she started her very own flower farm on her family’s rural lifestyle block in Te Puke called ‘Wild and Green’.

“I’ve always loved flowers, always found beauty in nature, even in weeds,” says Rebecca.

“I just love being outdoors, growing and trying new things. The flower patch has just gradually grown.”

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us and as a small grower, Rebecca takes on what orders she can to share her delightful blooms with others.

Rebecca Thurston among the wonderful blooms of her flower farm.

“Flowers help to speak things that sometimes words can’t. They’re used in times of sadness and grief…and also to speak love, kindness and thankfulness.”

Rebecca has thousands of flowers with a mix of dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, achilleas, corn flowers and more.

“Dahlias are my favourite because there’s so many varieties and so many colours. The dinner plate variety is just breathtaking. They’re just amazing.”

Husband Brent

She doesn’t use any sprays on her delicate flowers, keeping her soil healthy with compost and worms, and by doing lots of wedding.

“I’ve got four children so I tend to get up quite early before they do, and I can fit in a few hours in the flower patch before they’re even awake.”

Married to her husband Brent Thurston for nearly 20 years, Rebecca says he’s a huge help to making sure the flower patch thrives.

“His support is amazing…he’ll weed eat and mow all around the area and just keep everything looking beautifully presented. I just appreciate him so much.”

Valentines Day every day!

Rebecca says that it should be Valentines Day every day.

“I just think that everyone deserves to be celebrated for who they are every single day, to appreciate and love people, and show kindness.

“Every day’s an opportunity to share that with other people, not just one day of the year.”

Wanting to share the flower patch love, Rebecca has begun offering ‘Pick Your Own’ events, where people can get amongst the flowers themselves and handpick which blooms take their fancy.

“I wanted to do it for a long time but I’m a bit of a perfectionist and it didn’t quite feel like I was good enough or my flowers weren’t enough, but lots of people were saying encouraging things so I thought I’d just give it a try.

“I have more than enough flowers for myself, and to supply to florists so I just thought I’d open it up to share the joy of flowers with other people.”