It's a bittersweet Mother's Day for Maree Carter this year. It has been one of best harvests she's seen at her flower farm in central New South Wales, but it is also the last before she retires. "Sometimes there's a tear in the eye when I go out into the garden," Ms Carter said.Her farm, Rosedale Road Flowers, is among a shrinking number in the area.
Since the Tulip mania of the 17th century, the Netherlands has dominated the global flower trade, but there is a good chance that roses, tulips, or carnations bought in Australia this Mother's Day might have come from Kenya, Singapore, or Colombia.
Cut flowers are now the second-most exported good in Kenya, after tea, and Ecuador became the third largest producer of cut flowers in the world in 2022.
Import restrictions were eased more than two decades ago and today up to 90 per cent of flowers sold during peak periods may come from overseas.
Read more at abc.net.au