About Driveway Dahlias
Welcome to our corner of the garden. We are a mother-and-daughter flower venture based in Palmerston North, sharing vibrant blooms, healthy tubers, and practical growing advice straight from our backyard to yours.
Two gardens blooming together
We are Susan and Marika, a mother-and-daughter duo based in the Manawatū. Driveway Dahlias brings together my mum’s garden, Ogier Jardan, and my own, Petite Fleur Gardens. What started with planting a modest handful of tubers has quickly flourished into plots filled with more colours, forms, and varieties than we ever imagined.
We believe in honest, locally grown blooms without any fuss. Through seasonal driveway stalls and pre-orders, we make fresh cut flowers and tubers accessible to everyone in our community.
Growing with care and patience
For us, dahlias are about so much more than just the end blossom. We love the rhythm of the entire lifecycle: waking up dormant tubers in the spring, taking early cuttings, raising new seedlings, and watching unique blooms open for the very first time.
When autumn draws to an end, we lift, wash, and divide our stock by hand, ensuring that every tuber we supply is healthy, true to name, and ready to thrive in your own patch next season.
Sharing knowledge with gardeners
Starting out with dahlias can feel daunting. From finding eyes and pinching stems to staking, lifting, and overwintering, advice can often seem contradictory and overly complicated. We love taking the guesswork out of the process.
We openly share our tried-and-true growing tips tailored to New Zealand conditions, helping beginners and seasoned growers alike cultivate an abundance of magnificent flowers.
"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul."
—Alfred Austin