11-05-2025
What farmer Dimity May learnt from changing careers and an interstate move
Unwind with… is a regular column that explores the simple ways interesting people take care of themselves through periods of change or upheaval.
Dimity May is a seedling grower who lives on the edge of Glaziers Bay in south-east Lutruwita/Tasmania. with her partner, Mark Egan, and two sons.
After the birth of her second son, the 42-year-old left her marketing and communications job in Canberra, on the land of the Ngunnawal people, to pursue her small business.
"That little window of time where I was out of work and not earning my usual salary gave us the space to think about it, but also to take that leap."
Her passion for gardening began during the maternity leave she took with her first son. Her children are now aged 9 and 6.
Dimity says growing seedlings was possible in her small backyard and she didn't intend for it to become a business.
When it did, she ran it for three years, before the family relocated to southern Tasmania after 10 years in Canberra.
"It's funny because everyone we know here had this sort of vague idea that we've moved to the country for a quieter life … and all of a sudden you're busier than ever, but for me anyway it's really fulfilling and incredibly rewarding," she says.
We were sort of in limbo in Canberra. We were trying to find land [to buy] but were pretty much priced out.
We started looking further afield and Tassie was always really appealing for a whole number of reasons, but it's harder to get work down here for my partner. He was applying for all sorts of things and got offered a job in Hobart.
The place we ended up buying we just saw on the market and jumped at it. We'd barely been to the little town that's closest, barely looked at the house.
We've been really lucky, considering how little thought we put into it. It's just sort of the perfect place to land.
Knowing the level of fulfilment I get from the work, versus the work that I was doing before, was just such a strong drive.
It's so much more rewarding and not just for me, certainly not financially, but in terms of the lifestyle that it's brought to our family.
Gardening and being immersed in nature and having your hands in the soil also brings real mood-lifting benefits.
That's probably been the biggest challenge. Moving to a property there are so many jobs, and they all feel really pressing and really expensive.
We've struggled with that balance, and not just spending the weekend powering through and basically ignoring the kids.
We've had to be more intentional about how we spend our time.
We dedicate time away from the property. Whether it's a weekend away, going out for a bushwalk, or to the beach for the day. We've got a beautiful little swim spot near us.
Without the structure of a normal working day … It can get really blurry.
A big thing has been making time to eat well. I'm shocking for running around and shoving something in so at least you're not hungry anymore.
But, it's such a fundamental part of whether you feel good or not. I'm trying to really prioritise that and actually stop, cook meals and sit.
I love going out in the evening at that sort of sunset time and doing the easy jobs.
There's still a lot of stuff to do, but I'll always do the "cheat" things, like watering the garden, picking flowers or a bit of gentle weeding.
Just taking it all in and soaking up that time.
