It’s difficult to imagine that a business based around nature’s beauty could have been established as a result of devastating circumstances, but as Big Sky Flower Farm demonstrated in our March 2024 newsletter, life’s toughest challenges really can be a blessing in disguise.

In 2019, around 80% of Jane Somers’ 10-acre Brukunga property was burnt by the Black Summer bushfires that tore through Cuddlee Creek in South Australia. Not long after this, the covid pandemic struck the world and brought Jane’s 14-year career in the travel industry to a halt.

In the aftermath of the bushfires, Jane would wonder around the property with her little one in a baby carrier, unable to attend mother’s groups or kindergym due to the pandemic.

“I started picking up all of the burnt debris, adding compost and soil conditioners (Seamungus) to try and get nutrients and microbes back into the soil, and planting plants that were donated from local gardening club ‘Hills Green Thumb Garden Club’. Around our house we also used Whoflungdung to help suppress the weeds whilst adding nutrients back into the soil,” says Jane.

The generous donation of plants and the gradual effort to rejuvenate the soil consequently sparked a new passion for Jane. “I fell in love with being outside, building up our soil and watching plants thrive in what was such a burnt and sad area.”

“I remember taking a little bunch of flowers to my GP who was a geat support during that time, and she said ‘you should sell these!’ I wondered if I could grow flowers on a commercial level, and thats what I did. Almost four years later and we are now cutting approximately 9000 stems a week from our paddocks.”

Although Jane is known for her vibrant collection of dahlias, the garden has plenty of variety including roses, cosmos, celosia, snapdragons, chrysanthemums, delphiniums, scabiosa, Queen Anne’s lace, gerberas, rice flower, gypsophila and many more. We asked Jane if she had a favourite, which she answered Matricaria, known as Feverfew as “they have the happiest little faces.”

Seamungus continues to form a part of the year-round feeding program at Big Sky Flower Farm, particularly when planting the dahlias. “We add some to the bottom of each hole, cover with a bit of soil then place the tuber. We also use GOGO Juice every now and again to boost our crops, as well as Sudden Impact for Roses on our dahlias.”

Locals can get their hands on these incredible blooms from their roadside stall in Brukunga or from retailers such as Rosalyn and Rae in Mount Barker, Greenvalley Strawberries in Hay Valley, and Barrow and Bench Mitre10 in Malvern. More details can be found on their website at www.bigskyflowerfarm.com.

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