Shortacre Farm, Seasonal, Locally Grown Flowers
Shortacre Farm is a small, family-run florist and flower farm in Healesville, Australia. We grow chemical-free, seasonal flowers and craft lush, hand-tied bouquets that reflect the rhythm of the season. Every arrangement is picked to order, capturing the beauty of the moment.
The “we” is Annie and Mike, with our two boys in the background, foreground and the literal ground - we have a muddy good time.
We’ve called Healesville home since 2016 and have been selling veggies, sourdough bread, eggs and preserves from our farm-gate since 2018.
Our focus shifted to flowers (always Annie’s first love) in the summer of 2022; we haven’t looked back.
So that’s us, welcome.
Our Healesville florist and small family farm offers farm-gate pick-up or delivery to Badger Creek, Chum Creek, and Healesville.
We also provide weekly and fortnightly flower subscriptions, ensuring you always have fresh, locally grown blooms in your home.
Each season brings something special. Look out for limited releases like our autumn sunflowers, bursting with warmth and colour, or other seasonal favourites that celebrate the best of what’s growing on the farm.
How we grow
We grow all our flowers, foliage, and produce in the field, in step with the seasons, using sustainable, regenerative methods that put soil health first. Growing out of season often calls for extra energy, water, and chemicals, so by keeping things seasonal, we reduce our footprint and let nature set the pace.
On our patch in Healesville, we keep tillage to a minimum, plant cover crops between seasons, rotate what we grow, and compost all of our organic waste. These small steps add up, helping us build healthier soil and reduce erosion over time.
Much of our recent approach has been shaped by the work of Dr Mary Cole and her research into soil biology. Her catch cry, “100% coverage, 100% of the time,” guides us to protect our soils with living plants or organic matter year-round — never bare earth. It’s a reminder that soil isn’t just dirt, but a living system, and the more we look after it, the more it gives back.
Find our favourite resources here
In April 2024, I (Annie) became a member of the Sustainable Floristry Network by participating in the Flowers 2030 education program and pledging to uphold the SFN Design and Business Principles.
We look forward to developing our business model in line with these principles and sharing our goals with the public prior to the 2024/25 season.
Before we commence an in-depth audit of our farming and retail practice, we anticipate our focus will be:
- reducing the carbon footprint of our farming inputs
- updating our packaging by working towards a zero-waste goal
What we grow
We grow various flowers throughout the year, depending on the season:
Summer: Sunflowers, dahlias, dahlias, dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, amaranth, roses, coreopsis and snapdragons
Autumn: Sunflowers, chrysanthemums, cosmos, sedum and ornamental grasses
Winter: Anemones, ranunculus, sweet peas, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, dogwood and magnolia
Spring: Roses, foxglove, fruit blossom, peonies, poppies, irises, lilies, ixia, hydrangea, delphiniums, snapdragons and larkspur