Valentine’s Day would not be the same without red roses and Tamar Valley Roses have been preparing for the special day for months, co-owner and retail manager Megan Lee said.
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“Preparations for Valentines Day started the week before Christmas,” she said.
“That’s when we started preparing the bushes.
“The lead up to Valentine’s Day is our busiest time of year by far, especially for the farm.”
The Tamar Valley Roses farm at Rosevears consists of one hectare of flowers which are kept undercover in a climate controlled greenhouse.
“We’re pretty small on a world scale,” she said.
“But, we have been doing it for about 40 years. Practice makes perfect … there’s actually a lot of science that goes into it.”
The greenhouse is home to 64,680 rose bushes alongside 2880 gerbera plants.
Ms Lee said the team will cut about 40,000 red rose stems and 10,000 coloured rose stems for Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, February 14.
The flowers from the farm are distributed all across Australia, with the bulk being air-freighted across to the mainland.
“We ship to Melbourne, Adelaide, Gold Coast, and Brisbane, and the flowers are then distributed throughout the states,” she said.
Ms Lee said they will also be distributed statewide throughout Tasmania.
Despite their name, roses are not the only flowers on offer.
The stores stock other Tasmanian grown flowers such as liliums from Cradoc, alstroemeria and iris from Forth, tulips from Table Cape, freesias and calla lilies from Wesleyvale, and chrysanthemum and carnations from the Tamar Valley.
Ms Lee said they would have enough stock in-store for everyone to grab flowers for loved ones.
“But, it’s always best to get in early,” she said.
The first Tamar Valley Rose shop was established in 1998 at 44 St John Street, which was followed soon after by a store at Mowbray, and then Legana.
To place your order for Valentine’s Day, head online to thetamarvalleyroseshop.com.au, contact 6331 5723, or head into one of the three stores in the region to pick out a bouquet yourself.
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