By John Fitzsimmons
This year marked the 40th Anniversary of the IPM Essen horticultural expo in Germany. It hosted 1400 specialist exhibitors from 14 countries presenting over a massive 100,000m² and 10 exhibition halls. Technology that enhances efficient greenlife production, especially innovations that improve productivity and respond to environmental challenges, were again a feature.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
Growing food at home has been trending in recent times. Many who started out with easily grown herbs and vegetables have advanced to perennial crops including fruit trees. However, the full reward from this step could be limited if pollination is not considered.… Continue reading
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Time to adjust our thinking.
By John Fitzsimmons
Reviewing recent developments in horticulture, and in particular in greenhouse production, is a regular process for growers and specialist media. But with the rapid emergence and development of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), sensory capabilities and robotics, it is time to look beyond hardware and even services and consider more holistically what our growing business needs and wants are.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
2023 saw Landscaping Victoria Master Landscaper’s (LVML) Landscape Show move from Caulfield to Sandown Park. The event’s following continued to grow and moved with it. While many attendees use the show as an opportunity to touch base with existing suppliers, our focus this year was drawn to a number of new products introduced to the industry.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
After pandemic interruptions since 2020, Garden Inspirations Group’s GIG 2023 returned to its obviously popular face-to-face format recently with a big attendance of independent garden centre people and some newly recognised retail ‘champions’.
As it turned out, there were more than 165 acceptances for attendance at GIG 2023 – a record!… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
Advances in tools and processes don’t always have to be as radical as reinventing the wheel. Sometimes just building a better mousetrap serves us well. In our production nurseries the plastic pot is ubiquitous, but some simple smart thinking, especially in the detail, is also delivering benefits.… Continue reading
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Words and images supplied By John Fitzsimmons
Botanic gardens are museums of living plants where botanists and horticulturists work together. Understandably, many of the world’s oldest and most respected botanic gardens began in association with places of learning – universities, churches, and under the patronage of wealthy benefactors.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
One of the most perennially popular garden plant genus worldwide has a name that is just as widely mis-pronounced, mostly by English speakers. However, that doesn’t seem to affect its widespread and continuing appeal.
Fuchsias are among the most universally popular and instantly recognised garden plants.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
Fruit trees are a perennially popular category and now is the time to finalise orders for mid-year deliveries.
“Edibles” has been a highly active and growing category over recent years and shows little sign of slowing down. While the focus has been heavily on annuals, within that group is a sub-category that is perennially popular – fruit trees.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
Depending on location, energy usage can be the second largest operational expense in commercial greenhouse crop cultivation, and despite greenhouses providing the controlled environments needed for innovative research, they can be energy intensive and expensive to light, heat and cool.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
A recent visit to the greenlife centre of a German ‘big box’ retail chain yielded some innovative ideas and longstanding classics for Aussie greenlife retailers to consider.
A simple clip-on handle made fruit trees in pots so easy and inviting to simply ‘pick up and take away’ without manually wrangling heavy pots onto trolleys.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
Melbourne’s Caulfield Racecourse recently hosted the 5th Landscape Show, a unique trade-focussed event in Australia that has certainly hit a sweet spot with landscape suppliers, designers and tradies.
Despite the high demand calling people to work sites, and a challenging Melbourne winter, the landscape sector, exhibitors and visitors, really seem to have embraced this event and the Caulfield indoor-outdoor site works well.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
Recent times have brought the future forward, sharpened our focus and made knowing where to look, a lot more obvious.
Recent episodes of economic upheaval mostly associated with a pandemic and international conflict, plus extreme weather events evidencing the trends in climate change, have increased the urgency and relevance of many personal and business decisions.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
As someone originally trained as a ‘generalist’ it is easy to find the specificity of today’s training landscape somewhat challenging to navigate. I certainly don’t envy young people now trying to start their journey and find their way in the working world.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
In any pursuit, templates can be a valuable aid to consistency and uniformity. The landscape industry is no different. Yet success can become its own worst enemy, especially when formulae become cliches and stifle innovation and creativity, and when cookie-cutter ideas no longer meet current and future challenges.… Continue reading
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Report by John Fitzsimmons –
Given the challenges of the last two years, organisations like Landscaping Victoria Master Landscapers (LVML) must have been sweating on ultimately delivering The Landscape Show 2021 at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne recently. As it happened though, all organisers, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees fortuitously found a window ahead of the (yet another) COVID-19 lockdown and some extreme winter weather events.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons –
Last issue painted the big landscape picture from the 2021 Australian Landscape Conference, leaving several rich understoreys of ideas to be conveyed in this report.
Several topics could be grouped under the subject of ‘plant selection’ and issues like using the words ‘management’ or ‘care’ in design submissions, instead of ‘maintenance’ with its connotations of a cost to be minimised rather than an investment in the ultimate health, value, benefit, utility, longevity and success of the gardens designed and implemented.… Continue reading
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At the time of writing most of us are still living under the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, positive messages are getting through. Many are hoping and planning for an improving trend heading to year’s end. It’s therefore also understandable that such positivity is reflected in lightness, brightness and colour.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
All Images by John Fitzsimmons
There are more than 140 recognised botanic gardens in Australia ranging from large internationally recognised sites to smaller gardens, specialised or of historical note. In Melbourne, the Maranoa Botanic Gardens in leafy Balwyn is a hidden gem not widely known.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons –
Since 1989 The Australian Landscape Conference has sought to inspire, provoke thought and discussion, and take the art and practise of landscaping to amazing places, wherever or whatever they may be. Through a pandemic and a change of ownership, the biennial-ish event recently re-emerged in Melbourne, generating a positive response in-person and online from upwards of 700 participants around the world, and presentations from Japan, Sweden, the UK and USA and, of course, Australia.… Continue reading
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