Flower power drives Whanganui grower to excellence

Wayne Hughes with the white daffodil Crystal Gem he bred in 2010. Photo/Stuart Munro

They may have been carelessly tossed about by Australian Dame Edna Everage at the end of her shows but gladioli blooms are things of great beauty.

It would be hard to find someone who knows that better than Whanganui grower and breeder Wayne Hughes.

He won almost all the gladioli categories at the recent Wanganui Horticultural Society Summer Show.

"I first discovered them when I was at primary school and I got some bulbs for my school agriculture project."

As a teenager, he saw a chance to earn some cash by growing the flowers to supply a Whanganui florist.

When the florist offered him a measly price for the blooms he had worked so hard to grow, young Wayne told them what they could do with their offer.

"My father was there and I thought he'd be angry with me but he laughed and I think he was quite proud of me for sticking up for myself.

Flower growing was forgotten during Mr Hughes' travels overseas and for the 10 years he lived in London.

Returning to Whanganui with his English wife Susan in 1993, Mr Hughes said he rediscovered the old sign he used for selling his flowers and it re-kindled his interest.

Besides gladioli, Mr Hughes breeds prize-winning daffodils and chickens at his Tayforth Rd property.

"We also bred some children but our youngest is heading off to university now," he says.

The Wanganui Horticultural Society turned 150 this year and Mr Hughes along with his father Gordon and Uncle Bruce have been society stalwarts.

"Dad grew roses, Uncle Bruce grew daffodils and glads like me and I think we would have racked up 100 years of growing between us."

Mr Hughes said he has donated bulbs to school and gardening projects but people don't seem to be very keen on showing the flowers.

"Those school agriculture projects were great for teaching children to love growing things but it's hard to see how they could work now," he says.

"Most households have both parents working and quarter acre sections are rare so it would be hard to find the time and space."

Mr Hughes says there is not much money to be made from breeding flowers and daffodils are hard to establish.

"Once you have bred a new variety, it can take around 10 years to produce enough bulbs to market it," he says.

His white Crystal Gem daffodil bred in 2010, is being cultivated with help from a Nelson grower.

"Gladioli are easier - they take around two years."

Mr Hughes said men are well represented among the New Zealand gladioli and daffodil producers in New Zealand.

"We make up about 99 per cent of growers," he says.

He is now preparing for the Hawera Horticultural Society Summer Show which is on at the Memorial Hall this weekend.