Dove River Peonies

Dot Kettle and Georgia Richards are utilising all the advantages of the peony plant in their Dove River Peonies business, which includes flower production, tea production, skincare creams and soaps.

The peony flower export business is well established in New Zealand.  Dot and Georgia moved to this property in 2008 from Wellington, establishing a three-hectare peony garden for flower production the following autumn.  Their Dovedale property is a great place to grow peonies.  They have planted up to three hectares of free draining riverside soils with peony tubers, growing 22 different varieties in all.

The plant is unusual – it likes extreme cold in winter and extreme heat in summer.  The winter frosts in this valley can be down to -9degC, and in summer the conditions are warm, helped by the river rocks in the soil that help retain heat.

Their property is 40ha in area, of which 16ha are river flats.  Next year they’ll be digging up a quarter of their existing plants, dividing them and expanding the garden for peony root production.  It will virtually double the size of their production area.

The peony root production will be in a separate paddock, and use fewer sprays.

People throughout the world harvest white peony roots, but Dove River Peonies are the only ones in New Zealand utilising the plant roots.   Peony root benefits include being anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant.

A few months ago they attended a function at the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce, where Dot is Chief Executive.  Local Nelson business Global Soap was featured, which gave Georgia the idea that they could produce handmade peony soap.

The couple started product testing with harvested peony root, bought a commercial drier and decided to go ahead with a facial soap and one for sensitive skin.

They have three boys aged nine, six and five, all of whom have sensitive skin, and eczema.  All the new soaps and creams worked well on the boys – as well as other kids in the neighbourhood.  “We’re having some really exciting results,” they said.

The soaps are manufactured by Global Soap and are available at the Nelson market and through their website.

The creams are still being developed in conjunction with a herbalist and should be on the market early in 2014. Dot and Georgia supply the extract, and the creams are manufactured on contract.

The Chinese originally used peony root as an infusion, but Dot and Georgia thought it would blend very well with green teas.

Because the root tastes a bit like a turnip, it’s best to blend it with other ingredients so they have combined it with organic green tea, with organic chamomile and with peppermint.

The teas were launched just before Christmas at the Christmas market in Nelson.  They also have a Christmas tea with oranges and cinnamon as well as peony root in the mix.

Neither Dot nor Georgia want to be soap makers or tea makers, instead they want to focus on being producers of peonies.  They prefer to use other people’s expertise, and add their peonies and enthusiasm to the mix.

This is the first horticultural business Dot has been involved in.  She says it helps her better understand her Chamber of Commerce members, and gives her an appreciation of the issues they face.

Business is about relationships Dot says, so they use people with expertise in branding, printing and marketing.

This year the couple will export 80% of their flower crop of some 40,000 blooms.  Last year they produced 20,000 blooms.  The remainder of the crop is sold both at the Nelson market and to a Wellington florist.

Different varieties do better on domestic or export markets, and the more mature the plant, the better the flower quality.

The plants prefer to have about a square metre to themselves in which to grow, so around every six years they are dug and split up.  It is this process that will enable production growth.

Georgia has been an IT consultant for the past 15 years  She says the Chamber of Commerce has influenced how they run their business.  The Chamber runs networking events and invites inspirational speakers to talk about their businesses.

“You could throw thousands of dollars at this but we have chosen not to do that. We are being cautious and identifying our customers first.  It’s been a massive learning curve for me,” Georgia says.

She would like to see their soaps and eczema creams sold globally.  “There is something really special about these products.  There’s not a lot on the market for sensitive skin.  When you live on a farm you are in a bit of a bubble.  People struggle to find products they can use on their skin.  A lot of people at the market have told us about how they search for products.”

“The plant is at the heart of what we do.  It’s important for us to stay producing flowers in Nelson, and knowing where the peony root is from, and being able to track back every single component of our products.”

“We live in paradise here, and I can’t think of anywhere else I want to be.”