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Rammell; Mark and Fiona
Biography
BiographyThe couple featured in the Dominion Post's September 44, 2021 weekend magazine.
Mark was an airline pilot when he met Fiona in 1989; she was of Dutch descent and working as a maths lecturer in the College of Education.
They started Plant Express at 4 King Charles Drive in 1990; customers could telephone and describe their wants, and Plant Express would bring a ute-load of plants to choose from.
They married in 1991
With Peter and Nicola van Gosliga they started Wellington Plant Wholesalers on an old dairy farm in Katherine Mansfield Drive around 1992; a closing sale was advertised in 1996.
From 1993, Mark had a 5-year contract with the Wellington Regional Council, eliminating the noxious weed, 'Old Man's Beard'
In July 1994, the 'Leader' printed plans for Kaitoke Country Gardens. They had bought the site and hoped to have the first stage ready by Labour Day, 1995.
Features would include a licensed café and tearooms, reception area with seating for 120, garden centre, craft shop and general store. An October 1995 article described it as a weddings and functions centre; it opened in November, and was run by Fiona, while Mark continued flying; he only worked full-time at the centre from 2020. There had been around 500 weddings in a ten-year period.
Mark was an unsuccessful candidate for the EnergyDirect Community Trust in 1995.
Mark was an airline pilot when he met Fiona in 1989; she was of Dutch descent and working as a maths lecturer in the College of Education.
They started Plant Express at 4 King Charles Drive in 1990; customers could telephone and describe their wants, and Plant Express would bring a ute-load of plants to choose from.
They married in 1991
With Peter and Nicola van Gosliga they started Wellington Plant Wholesalers on an old dairy farm in Katherine Mansfield Drive around 1992; a closing sale was advertised in 1996.
From 1993, Mark had a 5-year contract with the Wellington Regional Council, eliminating the noxious weed, 'Old Man's Beard'
In July 1994, the 'Leader' printed plans for Kaitoke Country Gardens. They had bought the site and hoped to have the first stage ready by Labour Day, 1995.
Features would include a licensed café and tearooms, reception area with seating for 120, garden centre, craft shop and general store. An October 1995 article described it as a weddings and functions centre; it opened in November, and was run by Fiona, while Mark continued flying; he only worked full-time at the centre from 2020. There had been around 500 weddings in a ten-year period.
Mark was an unsuccessful candidate for the EnergyDirect Community Trust in 1995.
Photos
Details
Marriage
HusbandMark RammellWifeFiona ScholtenDate1991
WifeFiona ScholtenDate1991Rammell; Mark and Fiona (1991). Upper Hutt City Library, accessed 19/03/2026, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/33121