Today Saturday, August 24, Grower Direct in Te Puna celebrates its eighth birthday with the opening of new growing houses, specifically designed for tomato, chilli and pepper production.

'The new facility has enabled us to increase our range and produce superior plants at an earlier stage,” says Grower Direct's Paul Nielsen. 'We now have more than 30 varieties of tomatoes and 25-plus varieties of peppers and chillies on offer.

'Our flowering spring perennials look fantastic as well, as do the lavender, daisies, gazanias, nemesias, geraniums, lithodoras, fuchsias and more.”

Paul says there are also plenty of hedging lines like griselinia, camellia, and corokia available as well.

This weekend's event is a great introduction and kick-off for the spring season, says Paul, and while its early for certain crops, customers can get an overview of what's happening in the nursery.

Grower Direct's home-grown edibles are hugely popular, and Paul invites customers to check out their wide range of spring veg, herbs, edible flowers, strawberries, feijoas, rhubarb, citrus plus many others.

'We have recently unloaded more than 30 tonnes of new pottery into the nursery from Vietnam,” he says.

'And this weekend we will feature a pot deal, with a range of antique shell design pots reduced by 50 per cent, now starting at only $5.”

For more information, visit: www.growersdirect.co.nz