05/06/26

Studio Visit — Hands In The Dirt

our afternoon at the flower farm

A gardener's studio is the land, working at the whim of the weather and the seasons, each day brings new challenges and new wonders.

Aila from Hands In The Dirt lives and works on an organic farm in Puhoi, about an hour north of Auckland. Here, she has built a flower farm, a nursery, a harvesting shed, and a small business creating sculptural bouquets sold exclusively through our Jervois Road store.

soft pink dahlias with two butterflies on their centre pollen

Aila starts to build a vase arrangement in her flower barn

A few weeks ago, we spent the day with Aila at her farm and in her barn. We photographed some of our favourite new objects in the low winter light pouring through the windows, which Aila had lined with wildflowers set in glass bottles - a whimsical sight! After a roam through the flower fields and surrounding garden, we asked Aila to create a floral installation in the Astier de Villatte Apothecary Vase. A combination of reddened leaves, rose hips, grasses, and more…

the flower barn clad in cedar wood and door flung open

hands hold cosmos petals that are sitting in the window of barn

whole room shot of table against the window set with glassware

Aila walking through barn doors holding a huge armful of blooms

Aila and her mum Astrid in there four wheel buggy on the farm

white dahlias growing in the flower fields

Aila's dog looking for cake set on the table in the sun

couch strewn with blooms and foliage in the flower barn

close up of Aila holding a bunch of orange maple leaves

two white geese wandering through the farm's nursery

tarnish steel vase lies dormant in the garden

butterfly sitting on a pink dahlia in the garden

Aila installing a flower arrangement in an Astier de Villatte Apothecary vase

barn window pressed full of wild flowers in glass bottles in the sun

little dog sitting under the citrus trees in the sunshine

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