Posted on 5 October 2026
EventsOur Staff 80th AnniversaryAward-winning florist, Megan Parker, Academic Staff Member at Open Polytechnic arranged the flowers for this year’s 80th anniversary Wellington graduation ceremony.
For Megan, who has more than 40 years of floristry experience, it’s great to be able to be part of the occasion.
“It’s an incredible milestone,” Megan exclaims.
“We’re the beneficiaries of 80 years of strong leadership and dedicated people, and it’s exciting that Open Polytechnic continues to be a leader in learning and training.
What made Paraparaumu-based Megan’s arrangement more special was that some of the flowers were grown in her own garden.
“Sometimes, as a florist it’s really good to grow your own product as you can’t always get it from the market, so these birds-of-paradise are actually from my own garden,” Megan explains.
“Jasmine’s also from my own garden and it’s also a great filler. I popped it in water vials, because the stems aren’t very long. So at least when the flowers get popped in, they will still have water.”
According to Megan, jasmine is a useful flower to include in any arrangement, and quite befitting for an anniversary, with the memories its aroma evokes.
“The cool thing about jasmine, is using it as it grows, it does grow amongst things so it’s quite nice to be able to use your materials as they grow,” she explains.
“It looks like the jasmine is just sprawling through the design and the jasmine smells beautiful, so when people come into the auditorium or into the hall, they are going to get these beautiful smells, which is really lovely.”
“Smells bring back memories; I’m sure jasmine has happy memories for most people.”
The yellow gerberas were included in the arrangement “to pull the eye in with the yellow”.
“You can see there’s a row of gerberas, creating a rhythm at the top, but we also need to bring some of those yellow gerberas into the central area and also into that bottom area,” Megan says.
It was the sixth time Megan, who is a Master Florist at Wild About Flowers, has arranged the flowers.
This time she received assistance from Open Polytechnic floristry ākonga Wajirani Adhihetty (left), who has been on a practicum placement as part of her studies.
The Wellington ceremony in May 2026, saw more than 100 graduates receive their diplomas and degrees from Open Polytechnic, New Zealand’s specialist provider of online learning.
New Zealand’s specialist flexible online learning provider, Open Polytechnic is turning 80 years old in 2026, after starting as a resettlement training provider in 1946.
It has given hundreds of thousands of Kiwis access to career-focused, flexible distance learning wherever they live.
Open Polytechnic offers the NZ Certificate in Floristry (Level 2) zero fees and the NZ Certificate in Floristry (Level 3) (materials costs apply) floristry programmes. Conditions apply.
“I see Open Polytechnic’s role in providing these programmes as vital to the future of floristry in Aotearoa New Zealand,” Megan says.