A flourishing peony-powered dynasty

An export peony business in Naseby delivers floral cheer to the likes of Hollywood royalty and familial riches to its multi-generational ranks

WHEN MADDIE HAZLETT scrutinizes Instagram photos of Hollywood A-lister weddings, she’s only doing so for horticultural reasons. It’s peonies she’s looking for — specifically, those grown in the paddocks of the multi-generational family business, Altitude Peonies, that her grandparents run in the small Central Otago town of Naseby.

This floral sleuthing is purely to quench her curiosity. Once Altitude Peonies leave their Naseby birthplace in chilled boxes, an Auckland exporter sends them on to far-flung, highprofile places. Maddie occasionally gets wind of where the blooms end up (the White House, a Milan fashion show, a sheikh’s wedding, the home of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the glitzy milieu of a fair few Hollywood movie stars). But she hasn’t a clue who’s ogling their flowers the rest of the time. Maddie wishes they had a cunning tracking device. “When you see a bunch of peonies in the back corner of a magazine photo, you think, ‘they could be ours’. We should put a red dot on them, so we would know for sure.”

When Maddie’s grandparents, John and Jill Smith, started growing peonies in 2000, it was with this export market in mind. They realized that northern hemisphere peonies are all fast asleep during the lucrative Christmas/New Year period, so anyone on that side of the world wanting the prized blooms for festive functions must look further afield for supply. Even within the New Zealand growing scene, Naseby peonies get the lucky-last harvest. This is due to frigid winter temperatures and the area’s high altitude. While growers further north start picking in October, the first Altitude Peonies aren’t ready until late November. Says Jill: “Our timing is the only reason we grow peonies here. We have a real niche market. But it’s a risky one with late frosts and snowfalls.”

The cool Central Otago climate is perfect for this hardy bloom. Peonies need a pronounced period of single-digit temperatures on the ground above the tuber to flourish — and Naseby is always happy to oblige. Jayne Hazlett ( John and Jill’s daughter and Maddie’s mum) says: “Our peonies probably get colder than any others in New Zealand. They get so cold that we’re known for our clean and vibrant colours. Our whites are crisp white, and our reds are really red.”

When the Smiths put down their first tubers in 2000, it was the perfect project for a newly retired John and a horticulturekeen Jill. “Someone gave a talk at our garden club and encouraged people to grow peonies,” says Jill. “We thought, ‘Oh well, let’s plant a few.’” As it was early days for the local peony-growing scene, it was difficult to source enough tubers locally, so they imported some from Holland. It took a good four years for the plants to mature, and they didn’t start exporting until 2007 (this was in partnership with other Maniototo growers — two of whom, Naseby couple John and Jacquie Crawford, still grow blooms in association with them).

The Smiths didn’t mind that peony lag time. It was a welcome boon to John’s whitebait habit. When he retired from farming sheep with his brother in nearby Kyeburn, John was 50 and knew exactly what he wanted to do. “We had two daughters, my brother had sons, and none of them was interested in farming. We thought, ‘You only get one whack at life, so why not do what you want?’ And I wanted to go whitebaiting.”

Jayne and Maddie, who’ll soon be taking over the peony business, feel a creeping dread when the whitebait season looms. For them, it means a high-stakes flower-minding gig during the mercurial transition from winter to spring when the two most peony-savvy family members are a good 700 kilometres away absorbed in matters aquatic.

“Mum and Dad disappear whitebaiting in Karamea from August through to October. There’s been many a panicked phone call to the West Coast or photos of snow sent through. Mum usually replies: ‘Oh, you’ll be all right.’ Maddie adds. “Or she doesn’t answer our calls.” Jill grins at this and says something about regrettably minimal phone coverage.

‘We wouldn’t have the absolute joys of being together as a family without the peonies. I don’t think there’s a monetary value you can put on family time and memories’

‘When you see a bunch of peonies in the back corner of a magazine photo, you think, ‘they could be ours’. We should put a red dot on them, so we’d know for sure’