CALL of the WILD

ONE FLOWER GROWER LOCATED ON THE CENTRAL COAST OF NSW WHOLEHEARTEDLY EMBRACES THE UNIQUE BEAUTY OF AUSTRALIAN NATIVES AND HIS RICH FAMILY HISTORY OF FLORA FARMING

JESSICA BELLEF

Craig Scott is on the other end of the phone line, and his calm, quiet voice is accompanied by the unmistakable and oh-so-beautiful soundscape of Australian birdsong. The flower grower is calling from his 20-hectare property located on the Central Coast of NSW, where he and a handful of staff propagate, nurture and harvest more than 200 varieties of plants. “And 98 per cent of the varieties are Australian natives,” Craig adds.

Operating as East Coast Wildflowers, the team supplies masses of cut florals and foliage to florists and stylists across Sydney and beyond, selling from the hustle and bustle of the Sydney Flower Market in Homebush three mornings a week. It’s a scene Craig has known all his life. “I come from a long line of flower growers and florists,” he says. “I’m a fourth-generation farmer and now one of my daughters is a florist with a store in Paddington, so she is fifth generation.”