A modest flower stall tucked off the main highway in Rakaia is playing a quiet but important role in saving lives—one lily stem at a time.

Bakker Bulbs, one of New Zealand's largest bulb exporters, has been selling freshly cut lilies at their farm gate for the past four years, with all proceeds supporting the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust.

Year by year, the stall's success has grown, with the farm raising an impressive $11,000 for the trust last year alone.

Shirley Geeson, who runs Bakker Bulbs with her husband and company director, Adin, is hopeful that as word spreads, sales will continue to rise.

"Word is definitely getting around," Geeson said.

"We've even had a bus stop by on their way back from garden tours."

The flowers, typically available at the stall until April, weather depending, are often too open or too short for commercial sale, which would otherwise result in them being discarded.

"We figured, why not offer them at the gate and raise money for a good cause?" Geeson explained.

The Geeson's are passionate about the helicopters that serve rural communities like their own.

"If something happens out here, we need a quick response, and those helicopters need funding to keep operating. Every little bit helps."

Having moved to Mid Canterbury from West Otago 25 years ago, the Geeson's began growing lily bulbs in Rakaia after recognizing that the area's soil and climate was better suited to their crops.

"The soil here has great drainage," Shirley said.

"We haven't had a wet winter for years, so harvest is easier than in the heavier soils down south as lily bulbs must be harvested from May until the end of July.

"The bulbs come out of the soil much more easily here."

Geeson, had been a chef, and Adin  had worked for a tulip grower in Tapanui, before being approached by a Holland-based company to grow lily bulbs.

Bakker Bulbs, which is owned together with a Dutch bulb nursery in the Netherlands, now exports over 100 shipments of bulbs annually to markets around the world.

Some of the highest-quality bulbs, along with those that don't meet export standards, are kept for their cut flower business.

Lily bulbs are planted in spring and harvested by machine in winter.

"We harvest them while they're dormant, process them in the shed, grade them by size, pack them in peat, and chill them down before they're shipped globally."

From January to April, cut flowers are hand-harvested and sold to a local wholesaler before reaching the shelves of stores like New World.

The 465-hectare of own and leased land is planted in 60 hectares of bulbs on a seven-year crop rotation to mitigate disease.

When the ground isn't being used for lilies, the Geeson's winter around 60-100 cattle and 2000 sheep.

"We fatten them up, and they help clean up the paddocks."

As well as the stock, the Geeson's grow arable crops of wheat, barley, clover, and seed peas.

Harvest time sees the staff increase from seven fulltime employees to around 60 people, with many backpackers from around the world joining the team.

"We have Dutch students from Holland and do their work experience here."

Bulb harvest starts in May and goes through to the end of July.

Geeson said the current season for flowers had been hard, with a lack of wind circulating through plants and dewy mornings making botrytis a challenge.

"There haven't been many mornings where we have gone out, and the flowers have been dry."

By Claire Inkson