Instant impact!” says Debbie Lindsey, referring to her large indoor/outdoor plants. “We grow plants for people who don’t want to wait for their small plants to grow.” Ferns and More offers a mixture of subtropical, cactus, coastal plants. ”They don’t need a lot of care, so are good for the average person to grow. We also offer a lot of information about them.”

Whakatāne based, Debbie (pictured holding a Blechnum gibbum/silver lady) has both a hot house and shade house, built by her husband, to propagate her plants. “We have a good climate, with no frost, so plants grow pretty fast. We propagate as much as we can, other plants are bought in and we grow them to a larger grade.”

This woman of many talents used to be a truck driver and has previously had her own businesses in both landscaping and plant hireage. Right now, she also manages her Airbnb and works part-time painting and wallpapering. 

“We enjoy coming to the markets and it’s great we have repeat customers. I have family members putting their hands up to help, in fact one family member has started her own stand right beside me!”