Brenden Clark is such an intriguing sight hydrofoiling above the waves at the mouth of the Maroochy river, that his early morning routine could be described as a tourist attraction — and when people ask him what he does that allows him to surf so regularly, his answer is "I grow frangipanis".

"It does blow people away, they sort of can't fathom it, so I do count myself extremely lucky at what I do and I love what I do which is great," he laughed.

When people ask how Brenden Clark can spend so much time surfing he tells them he is a frangipani farmer. ( Supplied: Brenden Clark )

Mr Clark's green-thumbed father grew palms and frangipanis and his son's eyes were opened up to the beauty of tropical plants during trips to Fiji and other island nations.

By the time he entered into his early 30s he had decided on a new career and 14 years ago he left behind his Sydney homewares business to start the Sunshine Coast frangipani farm at Diddillibah, just 16 minutes drive from his favourite beach break.

More than half of the 5.6 hectare property he owns with his wife Emma is now covered with richly scented rows of more than 1,500 of the hardy flowering plants.

The kangaroos on the farm are an extra attraction for visitors. ( Supplied: Sunshine Coast frangipani farm )

He has collected more than 200 varieties from expeditions across the world — destinations including Hawaii, Thailand and South East Asia.

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Initially his major customers were nurseries but once the farm became more established, a tribe of frangipani fans stepped up to make the majority of purchases.

He said it was not uncommon for collectors to keep up to 200 potted frangipani plants.

"It becomes an obsession, starts with one, two, three, four and then they just want to keep on going."

Cuttings sell from anywhere between $20-$150. ( Supplied: Sunshine Coast frangipani farm )

Hardy trees grown from cuttings

Cuttings are propagated from older wood and left to dry out for several days before being sold for between $20 for common hybrids to $150 for rare collectables, while seeds are collected and sold or given away.

The farm is one of a handful in Australia that specialises in frangipanis with the flowers in demand for weddings and special occasions.

"We do sell larger trees and we tend to find developers and landscapers, people who don't want to wait a long time for their tree to grow," Mr Clark said.

One his favourite varieties is the Vera Cruz Rose, a Mexican cultivar, which he admires for its showy clusters of yellow and pink flowers and strong rose fragrance.

The Vera Cruz Rose is colourful and deeply scented. ( Supplied: Sunshine Coast frangipani farm )

Mr Clark says people are fascinated with the huge variety of frangipanis.

"The most popular variety for landscaping these days is the Singapore white, it's called plumeria obtusa — it's the one with the darker green leaves, very large white flowers with yellow centre," he said.

Slow growing frangipanis can take up to 10 years to develop from a 40-centimetre cutting to a two-metre tree.

The farm will open to curious visitors this weekend, December 1 and 2.

The farm holds several open days every year. ( Supplied: Sunshine Coast frangipani farm )

Frosts are now few and far between, but in 2004, when the first cuttings were planted, the Clarks lost a lot of sensitive young plants.

"Generally speaking frangipanis are quite hardy trees, they get a few problems with orange rust that makes them defoliate early, but other than that they're very hardy," Mr Clark said.

He suggested spraying smaller trees leaves with white oil and said some copper based fungicides work, applied fortnightly from spring to autumn and prior to the rust appearing.

To reduce the risk of rust he recommends removing older lower leaves on a regular basis and disposing of them, rather than adding them to compost or letting them fall to the ground.

The purple frangipani, Muang Anchan, is a sought after variety. ( Supplied: Brenden Clark )

Hidden amongst his rows is one very special tree, the purple frangipani, Muang Aachan.

"When it [the flower] first comes out it's a very dark purple and it is very sought after," Mr Clark said.

"This is probably the only tree on our farm, other growers do have it in Australia, but it is quite a rare one."

Frangipani growing not without challenges and expenses

Mr Clark described importing them as quite a task.

"You can bring in plants with roots but they must be totally clean — no leaves, no flowers and then you must have a permit to import the plants to Australia," he said.

The plants must be sprayed and are kept for a minimum of three months in quarantine.

Developers and landscapers favour more mature trees. ( Supplied: Sunshine Coast frangipani farm )

After the initial cost of collecting and importing the varieties, fertiliser and chemical costs account for the majority of Mr Clark's expenses.

"But once they're established, they're pretty low cost trees, so I don't have a lot of overheads."

It has taken almost 15 years to build up their business and open their farm house to guests.

But now Mr Clark is reaping the reward of time spare to surf the waves.