From Cotton to Christmas Bush: The Unlikely Flower Farm Story of The Cotton Bunch
What do you get when a third-generation Queensland cotton farmer and a Paris-born UX designer meet at Disney World in Florida, fall in love, and survive a global pandemic together? You get The Cotton Bunch — one of the most unexpected and inspiring flower farms in Australia.
Jamie Rother and Caroline Azria are the duo behind The Cotton Bunch, based across two properties near Toowoomba on the Darling Downs. In the latest episode of Dish the Dirt, they sat down to share the full story — and it's a good one.
A Side Hustle That Became Everything
The Cotton Bunch started in 2018 as a 3am experiment. Jamie and Caroline were living in Sydney, working corporate jobs — Jamie in international trade, Caroline in digital design — when they noticed that cotton stems were already popular in the floristry world in Europe. So they headed to the Sydney Flower Markets before sunrise to see if anyone was interested.
Nearly every stall said yes.
For a couple of years they ran it alongside their careers. Then COVID hit, the NSW-Queensland border closed, and they packed up and headed to Jamie's family farm in Toowoomba. They never went back. Two things happened at once: a nationwide shortage of flowers and a booming demand for dried stems like wheat and cotton. Their wholesale clients were begging for more. They had the land. They went all in.
Yield vs Beautiful
Moving from broadacre cotton farming to floriculture meant throwing out everything they knew. As Jamie explains, broadacre is big machinery and high yield per hectare. Floriculture is a customer making a buying decision in one to two seconds at a farmers market stall — and every stem has to be A or B grade or it doesn't leave the farm.
Caroline's background in UX design translated in ways she didn't expect. Looking at a bouquet the way she used to look at an app — does it make sense from every angle? Are the colours working together? Is it easy to hold? That instinct turned out to be exactly the right one.
A Burnt-Down Farm and a Fresh Start
Sunflowers became the cash crop that kept the wheels turning — tens of thousands of stems a week, handpicked and sent out across Southeast Queensland. But growing client demand for eucalyptus foliage led them toward the wildflower world, and eventually to a 40-acre property in Hampton that had been devastated by an arsonist's fire in 2019.
They bought it, cleaned it up, cut 15-metre Christmas bush trees back to a metre, replanted the proteas and banksias, installed new irrigation, and started again. There are now more than 5,000 Christmas bush trees on that property — and it was already cash flow positive when they took it on.
The Harvest That Tested Everything
Their biggest challenge? A Christmas bush harvest that grew far beyond what anyone expected. Twelve to sixteen hour days for nearly two weeks, the whole team on their knees, clients waiting, pressure on the business, the relationship, and the family. They got through it. But Jamie and Caroline are honest that it tested everyone.
Their proudest moment came the following Mother's Day — king proteas, leucodendrons, blushing brides, sunflowers and eucalyptus all coming from both properties at once, hitting the Brisbane farmers markets, and watching it sell out. That was the moment it all clicked.
Come and See It in Person
Jamie and Caroline are hosting a pre-conference farm tour at their Hampton property on 12 August 2026 — the day before the 11th Wildflowers Australia National Conference & Expo kicks off on the Sunshine Coast (14–15 August). You can hear the story now and go and see it with your own eyes.
Tickets via wildflowersaustralia.com.au
🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts — or find it at dishthedirt.com.au
This episode is proudly sponsored by Madge Goods. Use code DIRT15 for 15% off the Stella Jumpsuit at madgegoods.com
