Edimentals: Beauty with purpose
Edimentals, those plants that are both edible and ornamental, are reshaping planting design by delivering yield, resilience and visual appeal in a single planting choice. This issue explores fruit trees, shrubs and other edible plants used well beyond kitchen gardens — in streetscapes, campuses, public landscapes and private gardens.
Leading the charge on edimentals is Dr Chris Williams, a lecturer in Urban Horticulture at the University of Melbourne. Chris’ work on Novel Crops makes him well-placed to write on this topic. His article ‘Edible landscapes in the public realm’ will get you thinking very differently about the types of plants that can be grown to both beautify our open spaces and feed a city’s inhabitants. Pauline Haydock from Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery explains how ‘Food forestry in the urban landscape’ can provide retail nurseries and professional gardeners with economic opportunities for both increased plant sales and garden maintenance. Elsewhere in these pages, you will find plenty to feast upon including new citrus varieties, native edimentals and other edible plants including saltbushes from around the world.
Moving away from edimentals, we have a story that independent garden centres should be very interested in! Starting this issue, we will be sharing an exclusive series of articles written by three international industry experts: John Stanley, Sid Raisch and Dries Jansen. John has been a consultant to the industry since its origins 50 years ago. He is an author of numerous books on garden retailing, and operates in 35 countries. John is based in Western Australia, where, along with his wife, Linda, they also operate an award-winning sweet chestnut agritourism farm. Sid has worked with garden centres across the USA for many years and is based in California. Sid and John have joined many times to present workshops across the USA. Sid has the capability of challenging your thinking and will bring that insight to the articles. Dries, along with his business partner Fred, are the owners of Garden Center Advice, an international advisory company to garden centres based in the Netherlands. They have advised on garden centres from Iceland to Dubai. You will find their first article, ‘Reinventing the independent garden centre’, in this issue.
Looking ahead, March is shaping up to be a very busy month! So, I thought I would flag a couple of key industry events for you, to make sure you do not miss out.
The Garden Inspirations Group, facilitated by industry stalwart Leigh Siebler, will be holding its annual gathering for independent garden centres on Monday 2 March.
The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) is hosting its AIPH Meeting 2026 in Sydney with the support of AIPH’s member in Australia, Greenlife Industry Australia. A series of industry events is being planned from Sunday 8 to Thursday 12 March, including the International Horticultural Expo Conference (9 March) and the Horticultural Industry Conference (10 March). If you are a grower of flowers and/or other ornamental plants, then this is the place to be!
The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show will be held from Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 March at the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens. Recipients of the Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria’s (NGIV) Plant of the Year awards, announced during the Horticultural Trials Week in December, will be on display. You can read more about those winners and the trials in my ‘Industry Event’ wrap-up in this issue.
If you are unable to attend these events, never fear! Your Hort Journal team will bring you back the latest news.
Until next time,
Gabrielle Stannus and your Hort Journal team