Lynley Wilson, owner of Cottage Flowers in Palmerston North, to retire

Cottage Flowers owner Lynley Wilson is looking forward to long days in the garden, painting for hours and making new family memories. Photo / Judith Lacy

For more than 50 years, Lynley Wilson’s artistry has been behind bouquets to mark happy and sad occasions, beginnings and endings.

She’s about to call time on her life’s work, but flowers will still be a big part of her life - those in her garden.

Wilson opened Cottage Flowers in Palmerston North’s Broadway Ave on December 15, 1980. It had been Erland Wright Floral Studio and was where Wilson did her training. Wright died 1980.

Wilson stopped selling fresh flowers at Christmas and is now busy clearing her stock - vases, gifts, permanent flowers, baskets, stands, and florist supplies. She has no set closing date.

Wilson says she has mixed emotions about her pending retirement. She is content she has done what she set out to do - have a long life in flowers.

Floristry has always been her passion and she has made it a “total career” in between having a family. Her three children were brought up in the shop.

From Bulls, Wilson moved to Feilding when she was 21. In 1971 she opened Lynley’s Floral Studio, which she had for 25 years. Her husband Jim Wilson started growing flowers for that Feilding shop and it become his career. Son Martin has since taken over Wilflora, which supplies big flower markets.

Cottage Flowers owner Lynley Wilson is saying goodbye with a floral message. Photo / Judith Lacy

Wilson also had a branch of Cottage Flowers in The Square near the old post office and Flowers Forever at Terrace End that sold permanent and dried flowers.

“It’s been a busy life but a nice life. I’ve really enjoyed all of it.”

However, she has not had much time for hobbies or holidays. “You just value your time at home when you are really busy.”

Wilson wants to pursue her interest in painting with acrylics and has a big garden at home. “I’ll lose myself in that for a bit.”

She has no regrets, saying she has enjoyed working with lovely gifts of nature. “When you do what you love you don’t have to go to work, you go to enjoy yourself.”

She has had lots of staff over the years. Seven months ago the florist who had worked for her for nearly a decade left, and her part-timer finished up at Christmas.

She’s sad to see her stock going but views it as a little bit of her going to customers’ homes and people are excited about their purchases. She is shutting her eyes and hoping they enjoy everything as much as she has.

Wilson says she has met a lot of lovely people over the journey and some customers have been coming for years. some ask her what will they do now. “It’s like a member of the family dying.”

She is finding it hard to say goodbye to long-time customers but knows she cannot keep working forever.

“It’s time to do something else, it’s time to smell the roses.”