Willow Violet and Flora
Words by Lisa Addinsall | Photography by One Day Collective
THE sun rises over the small village of Tarrington as I pull on my work boots for an early morning inspection of my flower and produce farm.
I’m met with the wondrous chorus of morning bird song. A kookaburra sits nearby waiting for a juicy worm as I stroll between my garden beds, admiring the growth from overnight; it never ceases to amaze me. These quiet waking hours are my favourite part of the day, I breathe in the smell of soil, fresh from the night and notice a flush of produce ripe for picking. The excitement of my day lies ahead – planting, picking, prepping, packaging, cutting and arranging everything together. It sparks so much joy knowing that this is what I call my day job.
The idea of starting my business is a tale of many (metaphorical) seeds that have been sown over the journey of my life; a collection and curation of creative ideas, inspirations and the things I value most, formed into a viable way to earn a living.
The business was first borne out of the desire to be present and available to help my children and grandchildren, to see them grow up and provide my support to them wholeheartedly; and a 9-5 job was just not going to facilitate that.
So after a lot of research and planning, Willow Violet and Flora flower fields began. Sprawling across the 2 acre block I call home; the flowers and goods that I grow are sold directly from my farmgate shop and to local businesses and florists.
I use heritage and organic seeds to grow my produce in a chemical free environment. Using sustainable farming methods is really important to me, and the next step I’d like to take is to become a regenerative farmer. Instead of just maintaining the health of the soil, I want to make it better.
Digging and turning the soil causes soil carbon and nitrogen to oxidise and release, damaging and destroying the microbes, worms and the living part of the soil. I aim to reverse this by using zero till methods, green manure crops and mulching. If I can improve the soil this way, there will be less weeds, better water retention and I can be sure I am leaving the land in a better condition. The improvement is already tangible.
Many years ago my dad invented a farming implement that allowed farmers to sow their crops using no till methods. Little did I know then how far ahead of the times this method was, and how much it would influence me in later life.
My love for gardening has been a constant for as long as I can remember. And the inspiration for it definitely comes from my Mum; she is my gardening encyclopaedia. I am in awe of her knowledge and experience, and her ability to create the most beautiful rambling gardens. When I was younger, she had a subscription to the Grass Roots magazine – I would sit and read it cover to cover and I remember being so drawn to its down to earth approach and focus on natural wholistic methods. The influence from my Mum, her wealth of knowledge, many books and that fantastic magazine has stayed with me over the years and helped to shape the gardening and farming approaches I now implement.
A day in my garden involves deciding which is the most urgent task to tackle. At the moment it is seed germination and bed preparation. The irrigation needs laying out and there are a couple of big bales of straw glaring at me.
Never does any of this feel like a chore, it’s always a pleasure to be outside with my little blue whippet Jess at my side, who is sometimes digging up the things I have just planted!
From there I make sure my little farm gate shop is stocked up and ready for the day. The shop itself I constructed from recycled potato boxes. And the produce is sold in repurposed packaging from my wonderful community of recyclers who drop off egg cartons, jam jars, ribbons and seedling trays for me to reuse.
I love that they have embraced my ethos and have some involvement in what I do here. In turn I support my local community by buying straw, horse and sheep manure only a few kilometres from home.
I love that I am making a connection with my community through the fresh flowers and produce that I grow. The chats and feedback at the farm gate cement my intention to farm this way. When someone tells me they bought eggs and rainbow silverbeet and went straight home to cook it only a few hours since it was picked; or that the flowers they bought are still looking beautiful 10 days later, and that my garden is soulful motivation to keep them plodding along, it makes me so happy and in turn gives me the inspiration to don my boots for another day.
Everything I sell comes straight out of the garden, or things that I have made by hand; potpourri made from flowers that I grow, recycled jam jars full of seasonal fresh flowers, eggs, veggies, fruit from the garden, dried flower creations and my artwork. Working with my hands and being mindful and intentional about the way things are produced is not only how I run my business but how I like to live my life.
I make my own sourdough bread, kombucha, pickle and preserve produce from my garden, I use natural skin care and cleaning products and just generally try to be as self-sufficient as I can.
It’s been termed ‘slow living’: it’s really about knowing the things you passionately love doing and designing your life to spend the most time possible doing them. Slow living is an organic and natural way of life; about well-being and doing everything as best I can, not as fast as I can.
It’s fulfilling and nourishing, I am savouring the minutes instead of counting them. And hopefully not only benefiting myself but my family, friends and community as well.
When the sun goes down, you will find me in my studio painting, creating something with my dried flowers, experimenting with food dyes, or teaching art. I also teach art at a local school and run artist in residency programs. I have been planning some new workshops with dried flowers and have been working on getting my art studio ready for art classes and art retreats to start again soon.
I am so fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive family, who are also very creative and they inspire me every day; a great group of friends who clap from the sidelines; and a community who values what I do.
I feel grounded here, I am more connected to the seasons and the flowers and produce that I am growing, it’s incredibly satisfying. It’s a slow way of living that’s good for the soul. I am at a stage in my life when most people are winding down, I am just winding up!
