Bronwyn turned to floristry to deal with her grief, not knowing it would become a booming business

Bronwyn Modra says she always had an interest in flowers, but the motivation to start her own farm came after her father died.

"When my father passed away, I took a short course in floristry to ease my grief," Ms. Modra said.

"During this course, I discovered that most of the flowers were imported, and I was beginning to become aware of the disconnect in the floral industry."

With her cousin Danila Driussi, Ms. Modra started growing flowers at Talgarno, on the shores of Lake Hume in North East Victoria, two years ago.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has helped bolster the local flower market. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

She said growing demand for local flowers has resulted in a surge of flower farms in the region.

"We have formed an informal network of local producers. There are 15 other local growers just in our little area," Ms. Modra said.

"There is a wonderful demand for fresh flowers in Albury Wodonga.

< p class="_39n3n">"And we help each other when we need to fill orders."

It's not just in North East Victoria where floriculture is flourishing.

The flourishing of floriculture has spread across Australia and the largest group of flower growers have declared the local industry to be the strongest in the world. 'never was.

Flower Industry Australia director Sal Rosso said the industry has improved thanks to the pandemic.

"The flower industry has had a fabulous time during COVID," Mr Rosso said.

"Australians locked in their homes have seized the opportunity to order flowers online and florists were particularly oc cut during this time."

The industry revitalized during the pandemic

Mr. leads to compete with cheaper imported flowers.

More farms Australian florals are springing up to meet the high demand.(ABC Rural: Annie Brown)

"The pandemic has led to the revitalization of the local floral industry after being totally devastated in early 2000s when it was cheap imports dominated the supermarkets," Rosso said.

"Local producers could not compete with local products. s from Kenya, Asia and South America.

"Due to COVID and also stricter biosecurity measures that have been implemented over the Last 18 months, the tide has turned."

Mr. Rosso said florists are also moving away from imported flowers as locally grown flowers become cheaper, and higher quality.

"What consumers don't realize is that the imported product must be dipped in a cob for a certain period of time and for at least 5 centimeters below the bud," Rosso said.

"You are really killing the plant - so we see that florists are more and more attracted by local products...