Flower growers blown away by support after wind damage

On Sunday, August 31, Khim Tuaimart and Owen Alexander of Thai Iwi Flowers lost three glasshouses and 12,000 plants when what they describe as a tornado struck their farm.

On that Sunday afternoon, both were working in one of their greenhouses in Glenbrook when Tuaimart noticed that the wind started picking up, and estimated they were getting up to near 150 kmh.

Alexander then describes a huge wind blowing, lifting everything out of the ground.

“It just hit, it came down and took down three greenhouses. It veered and took a big one out, lifted it out of the ground, dumped it on the next one, came down to the next one, tore off the plastic off, and then knocked down about 15 of the neighbours’ trees in their driveway.”

Fortunately, they still have flowers saved for the next few months, and the couple are confident that they can recover in time for next year’s season.

Despite the interruption, Alexander said they will get everything replanted and are now looking at ways to restructure the farm to minimise the costs the “tornado” caused.

“We’re preparing for next year now, we’ve got enough flowers to last for six weeks to two months, and that will give us a chance to give us a chance to get the summer spring crops in the ground, so we’re starting on that now.”

By the time they get their greenhouses rebuilt, it will be after Christmas before they get back to where they were before the tornado struck.

Alexander says that the community have rallied behind the couple and been unbelievably supportive.

“From neighbours to members of the public who we don’t even know have stopped in to wish us all the best and offered to help us. It’s been quite humbling, and it’s brought forward that sense of community.

“We sometimes forget about the community, and their power, but we’re so lucky that we’re a part of this community and the support that we’ve had,” Alexander said.

Thai Iwi Flowers is a farm that specialises in gypsophila, stock, antirrhinum, kale, celosia, and sunflowers, among many others. Both Tuaimart and Alexander are Franklin locals and have run Thai Iwi Flowers for 10 years.