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ABC News
ABC News
Environment
By Chloe MacKenzie and Tim Fookes

Wedding trends put pressure on sourcing cut wildflower industry

Australian natives fit the contemporary wedding style according to florists.

Demand for native flowers at weddings has breathed new life into the cut flower business.

But the demand is currently outstripping supply and more growers are needed for the sector which is known as the wildflower industry.

Craig Scott from East Coast Wildflowers, one of the biggest growers in New South Wales, is one of those struggling to meet demand.

"Florists tend to come to our stand first thing in the morning to grab anything that's new or interesting."

He said the growth was not just in New South Wales.

"We did some demonstrations recently in Queensland and they were really keen to get a hold of what we had. But we can't supply up there."

He said native flowers matched the look people wanted for contemporary weddings.

"The free flowing eucalyptus leaves and Grevillea really fit into that look."

And he said the range of native flowers had increased.

"There's so many imported traditional flowers coming into the country so native flowers offer the florists a much larger range and fresh look."

It has been a roller coaster ride for the native flower industry.

Production peaked during the Sydney Olympics and then declined due to drought while a fluctuating Australian dollar which forced some growers out of business.

The remaining growers have been left to pick up the slack.

Bettina Gollnow from Wildflowers Australia held a workshop in the Central West of New South Wales to get more people interested in the industry.

Ms Gollnow said while there appeared to be an opportunity for expansion, she warned newcomers that it took persistence to succeed at growing native flowers.

"It's a very labour intensive industry and there's lots of attention to detail." she said.

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