A qualified florist and horticulturist, needless to say, Averil has an amazing garden. Each week, Averil’s husband drives her around the Macarthur community and they drop off flower arrangements, made from their own garden blooms, to the foyer areas of Campbelltown Art Gallery, private hospitals and medical facilities, among others.
So how did it all start?
It so happened that Averil noticed that no one passing by the house could admire her beautiful blooms primarily because they grew in her backyard.
So she thought of something to showcase her wide variety of flowers and what better way than to hand them out as a token of happiness.
“I make different flower arrangements every week and take them to different places, this is just my way of spreading joy and display my beautiful flowers at the same time,” says Averil.
This lovely gesture has managed to bring a smile on people’s faces and Averil has gained a lot of appreciation over the years for her wide collection of flowers and lovely bouquets. She is even told that people that visit the facilities always comment about her beautiful flower arrangements.
Early years
Averil grew up on a sheep and cow farm in Southland, on the coast, at the bottom of New Zealand. She did not get to finish high school as her dad took her on as a helper at the farm.
Interestingly though, she inherited her mother’s and grandmother’s love for flowers and was sent off to learn floristry at her uncle’s floral business when she turned eighteen.
Seeing her interest, she was offered a position of displaying flowers in the foyers and reception areas at a few establishments.
She was supplied with a huge variety of Chrysanthemums to make the flower arrangements and she ensured that she made the best bunches.
When she moved to Campbelltown with her own family, Averil’s passion for plants had only increased. Being in a rented property, she started growing all her plants in pots initially. Interestingly enough, Averil’s husband had to hire a big trailer to move all her potted plants when they moved into their own home.
“We all had a laugh when a passer-by asked us where we were setting up our plant nursery business,” recalls Averil.
And that marked the beginning of Averil’s love affair with her garden, which saw many renovations on the existing property to accommodate all her pots. An ardent learner, she wanted to increase her knowledge of plants and decided to do a course in Horticulture.
Now, 20 years down the line, Averil’s garden has well established trees and shrubs. There is an Albizia tree, Viburnum opulus (Snowball) tree, Iceland poppies, Weigela and the traditional Apple blossom tree, along with several flowering seasonal plants.
She and her husband also grow vegetables in their garden – the likes of Bok Choy, cabbage, silverbeet, lettuce, snow peas, broccoli, radish, peas and tomatoes. Summers are all about showy sunflowers adding splashes of colour to their garden.
Iris, lilies and roses ensure that she has a steady supply of flowers to make arrangements till Christmas.
“Then my garden rests till the next spring, so do I."
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Story by SASWATI MUKHERJEE.