I didn't even know that we had "Pick your Own" flower gardens here in Whangarei.

But when I moved to my new daytime job at Northland Inc, one of our team mentioned that you could do this out at Left Fields in Waipu. https://leftfields.co.nz

I promptly forgot all about it though until I saw a post on facebook last week. My Uni student daughter who is home for the holidays, very kindly agreed to come out with me to pick some flowers we could use later in the day in my photography studio for some floral portraits. I love learning new skills and am currently trying to master using my flash off my camera. 

Left Fields is a small market garden about 15 mins drive north east of Waipu. To get there yau take the turn off opposite the entrance to Uretiti campground. (You do need to book in a slot but Jen & Gus made that process super easy). I found out when we got there that they also have a gorgeous Air BnB cottage you can stay in.

When we arrived, Jen gave us a tour and supplied us with a bucket and super sharp garden snips (I definitely need to replace my old ones after using hers!) and off we wandered. 

I think we took as many photos as we did flowers, but I think that was half the fun!

It was super hot the day we went but we still spent just over an hour there. Jen said people often spend way more time. With a large bucket costing $50, it was a great value activity and would make a cool girls day out activity.

Make sure you take a bucket to take you flowers home in and I also packed a few jackets and towels to pad my bucket in the boot so it didn't tip over in the car.

When you leave, make sure you travel slowly home via Mountfield Rd as the views to your left back towards Whangarei Heads are spectacular.

We followed our morning up with a coffee at Land and Sea at One Tree Point, and then home to the studio for some dress-up fun.

Below are a few of our behind the scenes photos Caitlin & I took so you can see the fabulous garden and the beautiful flowers we took home.

I will show you the magic we created with them in my next blog.