They were cutting four varieties – coral sunset, coral charm, pink wine and supreme.
Throughout the day, the freshly cut flowers were swiftly passed to a runner who carted them into a chiller.
“You’ve got to keep them cool,” Sacha said.
“It’s a matter of getting them in the chiller, then boxed and into the airport.”
Her dad John, who is one of the pickers, said you have to be quite strategic when picking for export.
“It’s a very tactile thing,” he said.
Image 1 of 6: Because this peony has already flowered it will be sold in the shop. Photo / RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
“You aim for that constant standard and the exporters check them too, for size, shape, colour and how it sits.”
A shop on the farm sells the flowers that aren’t suitable for export which is good for cash flow, Sacha said.
Fill-a-bucket events are popular too.
“We expanded our markets with the shop which is good, but for export, we’re price-takers, so it does depend on the market and if you can get them in early, the price is better.
