NESTLED in a small backyard in Gawler South is Fitzy’s Natives & Horticulture Services, a passion-project turned blossoming business.

Father-and-son duo Brett and Brayden Fitzpatrick this year decided to go all-in on the project with goals to expand in the not-too-distant future.

Though the Covid-19 pandemic threw up a number of challenges to many, and the Fitzpatricks were not immune, it also presented an opportunity.

Having lost his job due to the pandemic, Brett had a lot more free time on his hands and decided to push in all his chips on Fitzy’s.

“I was doing everything from the laptop and the tablet and I basically wasn’t enjoying it anymore,” he said.

I like people and I like plants…Covid-19 hit and it all started getting my mind going ‘what am I doing?’.

“I quit that job and then started thinking ‘I am going to turn (Fitzy’s) into a job’, and that’s how all this has come around.”

Working in the horticulture sector for pretty much his whole life, plants are Brett’s passion – something that he has instilled in Brayden.

Earlier this year Brayden left Gawler to head north, taking up a role with the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens in Port Augusta West.

Specialising in dry natives, the pair collect cuttings from across South Australia, overseeing the transformation from seeds into fully fledged plants.

From emu bush to lemon myrtle, Sturt Desert rose to quandong, native celery and other bush foods, the Fitzpatricks propagate more than 150 different varieties of native plants between the original Gawler South nursery and Brayden’s home in Port Augusta.

While there are plenty of South Australian natives on offer, the Fitzpatricks also grow rare and interstate varieties including, but not limited to, barbarea australis (native wintercress), a critically endangered species from Tasmania, and eucalyptus olida (strawberry gum plant) found in a restricted area of New South Wales.

One of the most passionate and energetic horticulturalists you are likely to ever meet, Brett can name off the top of his head not only the exact location of where he collected his own clippings, but the native habitat of most of his stock.

There is a story behind every plant,” Brett says.

The Fitzpatricks sell upwards of 20,000 plants a year from people of all works of life, from backyard growers to farmers, local councils and experienced chefs.

Brett even recently sold a couple of native frangipanis that will be planted along the Gawler railway line as part of its electrification project.

The Gawler South nursery can hold about 10,000 plants in tube stocks and about another 15,000 at Port Augusta.

While currently restricted to their backyard operations, Brett and Brayden hope to purchase land, ideally around the Gawler Belt area, in order to expand their operations.

Fitzy’s Natives can be found at a host of markets around the state, from Saddleworth in the Mid North to Waikerie in the Riverland.

The Gawler South nursery is open for viewing on weekends.

For more information, head to Fitzy’s Natives and Horticultural Services on Facebook.