Flower grower Christy Ralphs made the heartbreaking decision to destroy many of her crops this month after a government decision declared they could not be sold during the level-four lockdown. Nourish Gardens, a sustainable flower farm at Owhanake Bay Estate, has been in full bloom with flowers planted mostly for weddings and events on the island, but Christy said she was left with no option but to mow them down. The business has been left to absorb costs after customers called to say they simply didn’t need the flowers anymore, with most plans in limbo for the coming months. “From the very beginning of level four our flowers were no longer allowed to be sold at all,” Christy told Gulf News. “There were flowers in glass houses and fields all around the country which were basically cut down because there’s only a very short window that you can sell fresh flowers. And, of course, the growers need to keep maintaining and making sure they have enough flowers if they are allowed to sell again. *Liza Hamilton
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
