Business: marketing and expansion
Patrick Rose
The new owner of Green Magic, Patrick Rose, is committed to enhancing the life of his family and the power of communities to largely feed themselves from local produce.
“Five years ago Heather and I were in the South of France with new baby Lily and we weren’t liking the answers to many of the questions we asked,” he says. “Things like, What’s on our plates? Where has it come from? At what cost to the planet? Where do we want Lily to grow up in a fun, safe and supportive community?”
The opportunities to buy the former Copperlake Winery in Tangmere Road and then the edible plant nursery were too good to pass by. Relocating the nursery from Puramahoi meant some busy weeks moving tunnelhouses and equipment on top of caring for the plants.
Green Magic will continue to be at the Village Green every Friday morning and at the Saturday Junction and Village markets. A gentle expansion has already begun with a stall at Motupipi School each Wednesday afternoon. “This will give people in the eastern parts of the Bay more access to us and it’s a good way for us to meet people.”
Patrick will deliver orders and continue to supply standard vegetable seedlings, but also plans to extend their range of heritage fruit and nut trees, with an emphasis on what does well in this region.
Both the regular and more hard-to-source plants, especially herbs, will also be available nationwide through a website, www.greenmagic.co.nz, and on TradeMe.
Jane Bellerby
