Blooms with heart
Melissa Cox has opened her lush Pāpāmoa garden, to provide local brides with budget-friendly blooms that are all grown with love.
WORDS JO-MARIE BAKER | PHOTOS KATIE COX
Flowers add a glorious touch to weddings and other special occasions but can often set you back thousands of dollars.
That’s why avid gardener Melissa Cox is now offering an affordable alternative by launching a new business called Pāpāmoa Pick Your Own Flowers. Here you can help yourself to as many blooms and as much greenery as you can carry for just $100.
Dubbed ‘the little garden with a big heart’, Melissa wants to help those who cannot afford traditional florist services.
“I love florists but I remember how stressful it was to not only plan a wedding, but to pay for it. I’m filling a niche for people who don’t have the money in this economy but still want pretty flowers for their wedding, baby shower, birthday, tangi or corporate event.
“I firmly believe in community and helping each other out. I’m already growing flowers in my garden, so if you need them, take them.”
Melissa also goes the extra mile to make flower picking a special experience by playing relaxing music and serving cold drinks and biscuits. “People just need to bring their own buckets. I’ll provide scissors and garden gloves,” she smiles.
Only two bookings per week are available between October and April, to ensure there’s enough flowers to go around. Brides-to-be can bring up to three helpers with them, and have a maxiumum of one hour to pick whatever they like from Melissa’s home garden.
“My favourite are lilies because they’re just like starbursts of happiness. Calla lilies were my wedding flower, and royal lilies are incredibly fragrant. I really love ferns too, so I have several kinds growing here. I love everything that looks whimsical.”
The scent of lavender greets everyone who visits this standard residential-sized garden. But in spring and summer it’s bursting with dahlias, hydrangeas, carpet and long-stemmed roses, gerberas, gladioli, statice (sea lavender), African daisies, flowering herbs and every shade of green foliage imaginable. “I have lots of random wildflowers everywhere too. I never know where they’re going to pop up!”
People are welcome to visit in autumn and winter also, where for a discounted price of $75, they can pick any greenery they like along with long-stem lavender, African daisies, pink camellias and flowering jade.
While most people are happy to assemble their own bouquets, vases or table arrangements at home, Melissa can whip up a bridal bouquet for $50 or a bridesmaid bouquet for $25 if floral arranging isn’t your forte.
“My mum was an interior decorator and a dried flower arranger who ran her own gift shop. On the side she also did fresh flower bouquets to order, so she taught me how to do a good job of arranging a bouquet.”
Melissa can also source affordable supplementary blooms or specific colours that people might require from other local growers. “There is a wonderful dahlia grower in Tauriko who I partner with. For $25 I can have a bunch of high-end dahlias waiting here for you in whatever size or colour you want, depending on the season.”
Melissa developed her garden from scratch during Covid lockdowns after buying her Pāpāmoa home in 2020.
“I garden for therapy. It’s proven to be good for you. Serotonin, your happy hormone, increases when you’re in the sun, in the dirt, and connecting with nature.”
Melissa’s secret is to water regularly and feed the garden heavily with fertiliser. She never uses pesticides, instead spraying plants with neem oil and apple cider vinegar to keep bugs and diseases at bay.
“Unless it’s a drought, things will flower. Because when you cut them back, they want to flower more. I grow a lot from seed and from cuttings from friends. I’m installing new flower beds at the moment because of the interest in this business. I’m planning to put in more hydrangea -really cute little ones that are white. And more wildflowers because they reseed themselves.”
Melissa’s goal isn’t to make money from her new business. “The only reason I charge is to help pay for my fertiliser. I hope this garden can help a lot of people.”