SUNNY DISPOSITION

A GARDEN BUILT ON A PASSION FOR EDIBLE PLANTS IS NOW A HAVEN FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED A LITTLE EXTRA SUNSHINE IN THEIR LIVES

- BRITTANY SMITH

STANDING TALL Simone (opposite) and her husband, Dave, supply fresh produce and edible flowers nationwide from their farm in Canungra, Queensland. Their property is filled with fields of colourful zinnias (below and opposite), just one of the surprisingly edible plants on offer. While they try to do all the work themselves, their border collie kelpie, Buster, is a helpful companion while Simone picks flowers.

LITTLE HELPERS Instead of deterring insects, Simone has a team of pollinators who help her garden grow. Monarch butterflies, native bees, beetles and moths all provide a natural helping hand. Predatory insects, such as spiders and wasps, even take care of the aphids and caterpillars which would otherwise feast on the precious crops. This helps Simone keep her garden totally free of chemicals.

An annoyingly resilient weed was the catalyst for Simone Jelley's business, Pretty Produce. After being made redundant from her job as a newspaper photographer, Simone began focusing on her vegetable garden at the home she shared with her husband, Dave, and son, Thomas, on Queensland's Macleay Island. "I'd been ripping out this weed and screaming in frustration with fists in the air," Simone laughs. What she didn't realise was that this common weed was actually a revered Ayurvedic herb from the pennywort family. "You could buy it online for $5.50, for one little plant," she reveals. "I realised then that everything at my feet had a possibility of edibility."