The Welcoming Language of Flowers

After a long and varied career in hospitality, Marlene Dirks found her true passion when she was given the opportunity to become a florist. Now she finds immense joy in transforming flowers and foliage into beautiful displays that bring colour, character and a sense of occasion to almost every space at La Residence.

Arrival in Bloom

Walking into La Residence on a warm spring day, a soft floral scent fills the air, coming from an extravagant display of freshly cut flowers in 20 or so glass vases of different sizes and shapes.

“That’s the arum lilies,” says Marlene Dirks, proudly pointing to the creamy-pink flowers standing tall next to the deep greens of the foliage from the estate’s gardens.

As the dedicated in-house florist at La Residence, Marlene finds that seeing guests pause to appreciate the flowers is always a special moment.
She says, “It’s part of the welcome, it’s the beginning… a warm greeting, a welcome drink, a little posy and then this amazing table filled with flowers and the view…”

From Hospitality to Hydrangeas

Marlene’s love affair with flowers goes way back, although she has been through different aspects of the tourism and leisure industry in the winelands, from working in restaurants and kitchens, to housekeeping, to running a curio shop, to child-minding and running the personal household of one of Franschhoek’s most beloved chefs, Margot Janse.

She grew up in Klapmuts but moved around a lot as a youngster. After school, she met a well-known landscaper – Sue Norman – when she was working at a Simondium restaurant. Sue asked her to look after the herb garden, and that’s where her fascination with gardening and plants took hold.

After many years in hospitality, she applied for a position as a housekeeper at one of the luxury estates on a farm in Franschhoek and somehow landed the position of florist.

She says, “At that time, the only flowers I knew were asters, dahlias, and carnations, because we grew up with those. I didn’t know ruscus from eucalyptus, I didn’t know anything. But then I met Oom Kobus Agrella and he taught me everything! That’s where my journey with flowers really began.”

“He and I clicked immediately; we had a special connection and everyone could see there was something special between the two of us. Whenever I had a chance, I’d go to him – he was the nursery manager – and ask, ‘Please, what is this flower? What is that?’ I learned about proteas, about pincushions, about the king protea, the sugarbush, whatever flower there was.”

A New Direction

A fast learner, Marlene soon got the hang of it and her work became part of her identity.

She says, “People started calling me ‘Blommetjies’. If someone came looking for Marlene, they’d say, ‘Oh, it’s the florist’ – everybody called me Auntie Blommetjies, or Flowers.” (Blommetjie means small flower in Afrikaans).

A typical “day at the office” for Marlene meant working with fresh flowers for display throughout the property. She relished the creativity it allowed and the chance to be close to nature.

“I didn’t know how to arrange flowers in the beginning, but I grew in confidence. At first it was just the little vases, but the more confident I grew, the bigger the arrangements got. Even to this day, I can’t walk past an arrangement without stopping to fix it.”

Unfortunately, she lost her job during Covid but then began to work with Together Franschhoek and their soup kitchens to help feed those in need, as well as assisting Margot Janse’s Isabelo charity.

After five years assisting with feeding programmes throughout the Franschhoek Valley, she felt it was time to get back into hospitality – and Marlene was thrilled to apply for and fill the position of florist at La Residence.

Chief in Charge of Flowers

She started in September last year and enjoys sharing details about the flowers with visitors. She is especially proud that some of the flowers come from the estate’s gardens.

“We have guests from all over the world, and I want to introduce them to our home. When I’m working, guests will sometimes come over and see a protea without knowing which kind it is, so I’ll tell them, ‘That’s a king protea,’ or ‘That’s a Madiba protea.’ It feels lovely to be able to tell someone that, and it always starts a conversation.”

While she doesn’t really want to choose favourites, she loves lilies and has a soft spot for the brightly coloured pink and yellow ones, and gerbera daisies.

What does she love most about her job?

“Everything,” laughs Marlene. “My work is very creative, though sometimes the inspiration isn’t there, like any artist. Then I’ll say (to the flowers), ‘Are you not talking to me today? Why aren’t you talking to me?’ I’ll try something, take it out, put it back, take it out again, and then I’ll walk away and go somewhere on the farm, maybe the Vineyard Suites or the rose gardens, to find that inspiration again.”

Marlene says that La Residence’s founder, Liz Biden, has a love of flowers that is everywhere, and that this also inspires her in her work.

“It’s all about beauty – that’s actually who Liz is. I think that’s how her heart is. And I think that’s why it was so easy for me to fit in here, because that’s how my heart is too.”