Blooming BEAUTIFUL

Craig and Mandy are originally from Scotland, and met in the UK. Craig was a forensic examiner with the police, and Mandy, who had earlier worked for a large bank, was a family liaison officer. Neither had any experience of horticulture, but Mandy was determined not to end up in the corporate world again.

When they arrived in New Zealand in 2007, they bought a house with five acres of undeveloped land in the Dome Valley near Warkworth. They didn’t have a clue what it would take to maintain, much less to generate an income from it.

Organic NZ was one of the coffee table publications Mandy subscribed to, and it inspired her to sign up for a permaculture course at Northtec. While visiting nurseries and orchards as part of the course, she decided it would be great to create an income with an organic nursery. She completed her Permaculture Design Certificate in 2008.

Budding business

In 2009 Mandy began the couple’s herb