By Daniel Fuller
It would be fair to say, as people working in the ‘green’ industry, that everybody reading this article loves trees. However, some people love trees so much they’re willing to sacrifice working with all other types of plants so they can focus on planting, establishing, climbing, maintaining, and occasionally removing, trees of all shapes, size, and ages.… Continue reading
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By John Corban
Enquiries have been at a peak for the last few years, however, with the media reporting interest rate and cost of living hikes, some prospects and clients may be reducing their original spend or even delaying a project.… Continue reading
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By Clive Larkman
The Columbian Exchange is accepted as a generic term for the mass movement of food, culture and disease between the Old World (Europe) and the New World (Central and South America). A simple phrase that says so little but covers so much.… Continue reading
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By Patrick Regnault
Governments, NGOs (non-government organisations), media scientists, and politicians of all persuasions are thinking about climate change mitigation; good on them! Carbon offset using tree planting is like dressing a deep wound with a small plaster. It takes 10 to 20 years for a tree to become carbon neutral – are the offsets counted after that time?… Continue reading
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The discovery of a new species of orchid in Japan underscores the necessity of persistent exploration and conservation efforts for undisturbed native ecosystems.
The orchid, named Spiranthes hachijoensis, was discovered in Tokyo. This discovery will undoubtedly spark interest in the flower which was originally thought to be S.… Continue reading
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By Michael Casey
Our cities are full of built structures with buildings of all shapes and sizes dominating our skylines, and they all have one thing in common – in most cases, they have an underutilised roof space.
Over the course of decades, roof spaces of all shapes and forms have been used to store HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) installations, and until recently, photovoltaic panels (PV).… Continue reading
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By Dr Leonie J. Scriven
Water is a precious resource and vital to any successful horticultural venture. The Adelaide Botanic Garden had the vision and opportunity to diversify its potential water sources used to irrigate its living collection. Through the creation and development of a managed aquifer storage and recovery system, the botanic gardens can now use groundwater to irrigate the botanic gardens and has, in addition, created a wetland habitat used for teaching and horticultural training.… 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
Read MoreBy John Corban
When I work with a new landscaping client, in the first two sessions, I analyse their profit and loss (P&L) and highlight their four main expenses (as a percentage of their sales), and compare these to what the targeted percentages should be.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Visiting Singapore recently, I took in a good few of its more manicured horticultural highlights, including the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and its showy counterpart Gardens by the Bay. However, seeking design inspiration of a different type, I trekked out to The Grandstand, a rather ‘unfussy mall’, to visit a landscape architecture studio seeking to rewild not only the gardens, but the hearts and minds of Singaporeans.… Continue reading
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Well established in its class after five years, The Landscape Show has become the must-attend event for all commercial and residential landscape contractors, maintenance specialists, horticulturists, landscape designers and architects, landscape service and product suppliers, as well as Council Parks & Gardens teams, students and educators.… 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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BACKGROUND:
In 2019, a levy-funded project, ‘Review of nursery industry career pathways’ (NY17002), led by RMCG Consulting outlined a strategy for the industry
that detailed a clear roadmap for skilled career pathway development in the nursery industry.
The document articulated the key challenge, which is supported by industry surveys, that like many other agricultural industries, the nursery industry faces major challenges around high staff turnover and an ability to attract and retain qualified and experienced people.… Continue reading
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Many insects are instantly recognisable but what do you do when you find an insect you’ve never seen before?
If I described an insect as having a triangular head with large eyes, spindly hind legs and grasping raptorial forelegs, I reckon most of you would have an image of a praying mantis in mind.… Continue reading
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Stay up to date with the Greener Spaces Better Places program, and how you can benefit. This month, we’re full steam ahead with School of Thumb, a snappy video series where industry experts solve Australia’s gardening guesswork.
NEW EPISODES ENCOURAGE MORE AUSTRALIANS TO GET GREENING
Hosted by TV personality Claire Hooper, episodes 4, 5, and 6 were released in February, this time helping three Victorian plant parents to grow better from home.… Continue reading
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By Dan Austin
Whether it is through an ability to adapt to a wide range of environments, ingenious methods of seed dispersal or multiple methods for reproduction, in nature, plants are constantly vying to outcompete surrounding flora. When successful, these plants become champions for their species, but for humans, they achieve a different title – weeds.… 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
Read MoreBy Daniel Fuller
There’s an emerging frontier for Australian horticulturists, landscapers and people in related professions – the vertical plane.
With the recent attention on the vertical gardens in Singapore brought to us by the Australian Institute of Horticulture, green infrastructure careers should be on your radar.… Continue reading
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By Patrick Regnault
On social media, radio and television programs, the Miyawaki afforestation method is lauded as a solution to the environmental crisis and land degradation. Akira Miyawaki was a botanist and expert in plant ecology who developed a method of rapid reafforestation using native endemic species.… Continue reading
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By Clive Larkman
When it comes to food and drink, like many other items in daily life, we are dictated by fashion and trends. Currently, we are in the middle of a boom in gin distillation. This has replaced the mass development of boutique, artisan or small batch breweries.… Continue reading
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