Nestled within the lush green bushland of the NSW Mid North Coast, Paul Dalley's flower farm is the last place a crop of Sturt's desert pea would be expected to thrive.
The floral emblem of South Australia normally grows in the outback, in arid conditions and sandy soil, but Mr Dalley is growing the flower in a greenhouse in Kempsey, where dozens of the native desert flowers are in full bloom. Before Mr Dalley attempted to grow the flower last year, he had only seen it once, at Melbourne's botanic gardens.
"We just like growing things that are beautiful and different, and nobody else is growing," he said. "They're beautiful, they're unique, a lot of people have seen pictures but have never seen them for real."
Mr Dalley had about 40 plants in this year's crop, each sporting several flowers. "We're doing much better than last year when most of the plants died off, and we only got about half a dozen flowers from 10 plants," he said.
Read more at ABC News
