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Annemieke de Haan, organic summer flower grower:

"NL: "For trade and florist, it does not have to be uniform at all"

Annemieke de Haan (47) is an organic summer flowers grower in Hillegom, The Netherlands. She has a pick-your-own garden covering 3.000 m2 that shares personnel and mechanisation with the summer flowers nursery of her husband, Pieter Damen (51). They cultivate an extensive assortment, from dahlia to scabiosa.

"They told me I was crazy when I started a pick-your-own garden here. I didn't think it was such a bad idea. There was no pick-your-own garden for miles, but lots of tourists. What can be more fun than looking and picking? That's not allowed at Keukenhof. I wanted a change in 2009. I had been working in psychiatric care, but it was time for something else. At first, I thought of my husband Pieter's nursery, but it ended up being my own patch of ground next to the nursery. I didn't entirely leave my old career behind, both I and my husband employ people with a disadvantage on the job market as it's called now..”

The entire story of Annemiek is available on the Royal FloraHolland website.

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