Freedom Blossoms as Farmers Return to Base, Closing Door to Commercial Market

Each November, Andrea O'Halloran can see a field of fluffy pink and white peonies exploding from the red soil of her family farm.

C It's a sight she will never tire of.

"It's lovely, I really look forward to November every year," she admitted.

"I find it so incredible… this paddock, would you believe, was naked at the beginning of September."

This paddock put almost 20 years building after Mrs O' The Halloran family, the Craigies, decided to enter the cut flower market.

"We planted our first plants there about 17 years ago, and it took about three years to get all 8,000 plants," she said as she strolled through a flower paddock in Heathermoor, her family farm near Devonport, Tasmania. /p>

"We've been picking probably for about 14 years."

The farm now sells at local markets, at farm gates and at open houses" pick-your-own". (ABC News: Meg Powell)

She said the farm successfully entered the commercial cut flower market once the plants were established, shipping pallets filled with thousands of blooms to the continent every year.

But, partly because of the notoriety of the flower's "short and sweet" season, Ms O'Halloran said the family had found the market for more and more stressful.

"We ended up moving away from commercial sales - we found it just a little bit too intensive," she said.

"We had to send all the flowers we had.

"And the market is probably getting a little tight there. While we quite enjoy that side of being able to go to farmers markets with our bunch of flowers or sell them from our doorstep, and also welcoming people into the paddock."

Plants go from seed to full bush with flowers in less than 12 weeks. (ABC News: Meg Powell)

Ms O'Halloran said the move to a more "popular" operation has given them more freedom to enjoy their flowers.

Blooms among the darkness

It was also handy this year, when La Nina wreaked havoc with the already short season.

"We n 'we really only have a three week picking window…although we can extend our season by picking and storing in the cold storage,' she said.

< p class="_39n3n" >"Like everyone else, we have been affected by the weather."

Ms O'Halloran said the unusual weather meant the flowers bloomed later than usual and the constant humidity had created a greater risk of disease.

"I found the picking more condensed and intense…I think it was because the plants were just there waiting for a bit of s sun, and when it came, everything bloomed at the same time," she said.

Despite the miserable and windy conditions, Ms O'Halloran said that flocks of people had come through the farm gate again this year to pick their own flowers.

"I think...