But my friends call me Mel.

I live in the beautiful country side town of Te Horo on a 1.5 hectare property in the sunny Kāpiti Coast with my husband, two kids and fur child, Ranger.

I was born and raised in Wellington and I have always had a natural flair for creative arts and design. I have been in floristry for over 16 years and I’ve worked my floral magic on just about every imaginable occasion. After professional floristry training in my early 20’s, I spent five years working up to a management position at Wellington’s top boutique florist.

I then jetted off to the UK to live and work in London. Working in the idyllic inner London suburb of Convent Garden, my day to day working life presented a plethora of opportunities to thoroughly up skill; from creating stunning installations in iconic buildings and top London boutique hotels, while catering to all the British floral lovers (with David Attenborough being a highlight).

But as they say, there’s no place like home. So when my overseas adventure came to an end, I returned to my roots armed with a treasure trove of knowledge and diverse experience, ready to make my mark.

My entrepreneurial spirit led me launch my own floral boutique in Ngaio, Wellington. Warming hearts throughout the community for seven delightful years whilst making waves with head turning pop-up arrangements for New Zealand Flower Week, including transforming the capitals iconic land mark in to a Botanical Bucket Fountain and creating a Korowai made entirely from fresh Lily petals (see below photos). These projects made head lines and inspired other local creativity and floral enthusiasts.

However, life had its own plans and with a move north to the Kāpiti Coast with a growing family in tow, I made the bittersweet decision to close my brick- and - mortar establishment to prioritise precious moments with my loved ones.

After planting a couple of Dahlia tubers three years ago on our rural land, this sparked a new passion for growing flowers. Amongst the whirlwinds of parenthood, I have been learning a lot about what not to do, unintentionally killing a few plants here and there but also having some surprise successes trialing other plants. This has fuelled my excitement for expanding our garden next season.

Now settled into the country lifestyle, I am wholeheartedly embracing this exciting new chapter of my career. I am hopeful the flexibility of working from home will allow me to strike a harmonious balance between motherhood, my passion for floral design and a blossoming love for floriculture.