A Christmas table in New Zealand should have flowers on it. December is the height of the growing season in Northland: roses, dahlias, sunflowers, sweet peas and hydrangeas are all out at once. You can buy a bunch, or you can make a morning of it and pick your own.
Pick your own flowers near Whangārei
A flower field at 223 Apotu Road in Kauri, just north of Whangārei, runs "pick your own" sessions through the warmer months. You book a one-hour slot, walk the rows of roses and seasonal blooms, and build your own bunch stem by stem.
- Sessions are sold through Bookme, where the listed prices have been about $30 for an adult bunch and $10 for a child's jar, with a small fee for people who come to watch. Discounted slots come up, so check the dates.
- Bring gloves and a bucket to carry your stems home in.
- It is child friendly, and a child with their own jar to fill is a happy child.
- Pick Your Own Flowers, Whangārei, on Bookme
Kauri is also where the Crane Road Christmas tree farm is, so flowers and a tree can be one trip. See our guide to real Christmas trees in Whangārei.
Dahlia season starts just before Christmas
Dahlias are the big summer flower in Northland and several growers open their gates for picking once the plants are in full bloom, usually from the week before Christmas until March. Pick-your-own dahlia fields tend to open on weekends without booking and supply snips and buckets. Growers announce opening weekends on their social pages in early December, and garden trail events such as the Mangakahia Garden Ramble include a farm park with pick-your-own flowers in season.
Buying from local growers
If you would rather buy than pick:
- The Whangārei Growers Market on Saturday mornings has growers selling bunches cut the day before, at prices well under a florist's.
- Roadside stalls with honesty boxes appear on the roads out to Maungatapere, Maunu and Whangārei Heads through December. Carry coins.
- Local florists will build a Christmas arrangement around what is growing nearby if you ask for "local and seasonal". Order by mid December for Christmas Eve pick-up.
Buying from a flower farm or from a florist who buys locally both support the same small growers.
What is in season for a Kiwi Christmas bouquet
- Reds: roses, dahlias, gerberas, leucadendron, and pōhutukawa in flower (from your own tree: do not cut from reserves).
- Whites: hydrangea, lilies, Queen Anne's lace, gypsophila.
- Greens: flax, fern, eucalyptus, magnolia leaves, rosemary.
- Christmas lilies are the classic: buy them in bud a week ahead and they open for the day. Keep lilies away from cats.
How to make flowers last in the heat
- Pick or buy in the morning, and get stems into water straight away.
- Strip every leaf that would sit below the water line.
- Cut stems on an angle with a sharp knife and change the water every second day.
- Keep the vase out of direct sun and away from the fruit bowl. Ripening fruit makes flowers age faster.
- Make the table arrangement on Christmas Eve and keep it somewhere cool overnight.
A day out with the family
Flower picking is one of the few Christmas jobs that is also a treat. Take morning tea, let each child choose three stems for a person they love, and deliver the bunches on the way home. A small jar of flowers from a grandchild beats any shop-bought gift.
If you are collecting greenery as well, our guide to making a Christmas wreath from your garden shows what to do with it. And for a present that needs no vase, Santa can ring and ask your child who the flowers were for.