Flora Joy Florist launches pick-your-own flowers

A family farm is drawing people off the Bruce Hwy and into greener pastures full of flower gardens, following the opening of a florist owner’s own backyard. Watch the video.

A family has transformed an eight hectare hobby farm into a thriving business with the latest venture a pick-your-own flower patch and it cannot grow fast enough for demand.

Belinda Jones moved to Gympie from the Sunshine Coast with her family three years ago and has been running a small florist shop, Flora Joy Florist and Gifts, where she arranges and sells flowers from her garden.

Belinda Jones has opened up her floristry garden in Gympie, offering a pick your own flowers experience. Picture: Christine Schindler

Passionate about fresh and organically grown flowers, she’s opened up the farm to groups of people who want to be part of the whole process, from picking the flowers, to arranging them, to taking them home – weather and garden permitting.

While the floristry business is her own, the admin, caretaking and property management are a shared responsibility with both her parents, her sister and brother, who also live and work on the property.

Belinda and Megan Jones run Flora Joy Florist and Gifts where they have started a new venture of picking your own flowers and arranging them. Picture: Christine Schindler

The property has two lily ponds, ducks, geese, a veggie patch, two flower gardens, seven cows and a variety of sheds where Ms Jones’ father runs a boat collar business.

The property runs directly alongside the busy Bruce Hwy at Chatsworth, and Ms Jones’ said she is looking forward to the Gympie Bypass opening in 2024 when the road will calm down and become more of a tourist track.

She said in the future she hopes to build an outdoor venue space and host events such as drinks and nibbles with flower picking and arrangement.

For now though, she is focusing on giving people the experience of picking their own flowers.