Equipping ourselves for a changing industry
In this issue, we focus on the theme of technological advancement, be that greenhouses, equipment and/or artificial intelligence. In a fitting segue from our last issue which focussed on professional development, Patrick Regnault has taken the word equipment to mean: ‘to equip oneself with knowledge’. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, equip means ‘to furnish for service or action by appropriate provisioning’ or ‘to make ready’.
What do you as a grower or designer need to know to be ready to respond to climate change and the extreme weather events associated with it? Greenhouses can be a sound investment to help you navigate uncertain growing conditions. Industry expert and long-time Hort Journal contributor John Fitzsimmons shares the latest in greenhouse development with us. Michael Casey tells us how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing green infrastructure. Relax! Computers are not taking over design, rather, Michael says, they are helping us to see and manage the natural systems we rely on with far greater clarity.
On the topic of green infrastructure, it is a great pleasure indeed to introduce a new contributor to our pages, Erik van Zuleikom. I first met Erik when completing an internship with green infrastructure leader, Fytogreen as part of my Master of Urban Horticulture at the University of Melbourne in 2017. He was as generous with his time and knowledge then as he is now.
Erik brings 27 years of horticultural and design expertise to Hort Journal, spanning nursery ownership, botanical practice, horticultural maintenance and ecological design, including 17 years with Fytogreen where he pioneers living architecture planting design systems across diverse projects. As founder of UnitedNatures Design, he now advances syntropic design methodologies that integrate deep botanical and ecological knowledge with practical maintenance insights, offering the industry transformative frameworks for creating landscapes that mature into self-sustaining ecosystems.
Erik’s paradigm-shifting three-part series for Hort Journal transforms professional landscape practice by revealing how syntropic design principles, integrated ecological thinking and proprietary assessment methodologies create self-organising, resilient plant communities that challenge industry assumptions while delivering exceptional aesthetic and functional outcomes across all garden styles and scales. In his first article for us, Erik muses on how native and exotic species may merge pragmatically and ecologically for adaptability and reduced maintenance in landscape design. He says that we must shift from selecting ‘the right plant’ to designing ‘the right relationships’ if we are to design for long-term outcomes.
There is plenty of plant inspiration in our pages too! Clive Larkman writes about edimental hibiscus, while Caleb Roberts suggests that acerola might just be the perfect cherry for a tropical Christmas.
Who said Christmas?! How did it get to be December so quickly? The last six months have flown by as I have navigated my way through my first few issues of this magazine as its new editor. I and the rest of the Hort Journal team will be taking a well-earned break over summer, returning in February with our first issue for 2026.
In the meantime, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and an even happier New Year.
Until next time,
Gabrielle Stannus and your Hort Journal team