Monday, April 20, 2026
Business FileEditorial

Securing your livelihood through work versatility

By Patrick Regnault

We are working in a very volatile period, politically and economically. Global change is afoot and as business owners, managers and workers we need to adapt to uncertain conditions. Added to that unpredictability is the real threat of climate change.Continue reading

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Environment & SustainabilityPest Management

Why Integrated Pest Management matters in indoor green infrastructure

By Michael Casey

Indoor green walls introduce nature into hospitals, schools and workplaces, but maintaining these living systems requires careful and knowledgeable horticultural management. Integrated Pest Management helps protect plant health while safeguarding the people who share these spaces.

Cities are becoming greener in visible and exciting ways with green roofs appearing above offices, biodiversity gardens transforming rooftops and podiums, and inside many of our public buildings living green walls now provide striking visual connections to nature.… Continue reading

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PlantsTurf

Versatile turf reshapes streetscapes

By Nathan Edwards

In the pursuit of sustainable urban landscapes, local councils are increasingly turning to turf solutions that combine visual appeal with long-term efficiency. Shellharbour City Council’s roundabout redevelopments in Oak Flats and Shellharbour, NSW, provide a striking example of how the right turf selection can deliver lasting benefits for both communities and maintenance teams.Continue reading

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LandscapeScaled design

The fractal advantage: Multiplying niches through scaled design

By Erik van Zuilekom

Nature does not repeat itself randomly. Look closely at a river delta, a fern frond or the branching of your own arteries and you will see the same geometric logic recurring at every scale. When this principle is applied to landscape design, integrated ecologies do not simply persist, they multiply.Continue reading

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Plant PalettePlants

Coffee: A shrub with history!

By Clive Larkman

Living in Melbourne means permanent access to great coffee and a culture of having this staple drink with every meal. However, many people seem to have little knowledge of the plant itself. Plants in the Coffea genus provide the source of the world’s most popular morning drink, as well as some very attractive shrubs.Continue reading

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Business FileEditorial

How to write a successful grant funding application

By Tania Harman and Daniel Knox

This article is the first in a series designed to help horticulture businesses, grower groups and researchers better understand how to approach grant funding and improve their chances of success.

Grant funding can be transformational for horticulture organisations, but it is also extremely competitive.… Continue reading

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Garden CentresNursery Industry

AI: Your partner in business

By John Stanley, Sid Raisch and Dries Jansen

We were recently talking to a client about trading patterns in 2025 in the different categories. This client has a restaurant. He mentioned that he has operated it for many years as a profitable part of the whole business.Continue reading

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EditorialEditors editorial

Growing ornamentals, growing opportunities

In this issue of Hort Journal, we celebrate ornamentals and the people who grow, trial and champion them. We also turn the spotlight on women in horticulture, recognising their contribution across production, design and leadership.

My personal taste in ornamental plants leans heavily towards those that are also edible, so potted colour is usually not the first thing to attract my attention.… Continue reading

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Environment & SustainabilityGreen Space

Jac Semmler: Leading a ‘Flower Power’ revolution

By Gabrielle Stannus

Female-owned and operated practices are shaping some of the most thoughtful and plant-driven work emerging in Australia today. One such practice is Super Bloom, a horticultural and planting design studio founded by Jac Semmler. Through large-scale public projects, demonstration gardens and now a new book, Jac is challenging long-held assumptions about what ornamental planting can deliver, aesthetically, ecologically and socially.Continue reading

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LandscapingPlants

What makes a plant beautiful?

By John Fitzsimmons

If our theme this issue is ‘Ornamentals: Beauty that endures’ then surely, we must start by defining ‘beauty’ and that raises more questions than answers. On such a theme, just where do we start? Beauty is a subjective and multi-faceted quality that evokes pleasure, admiration or deep emotional responses.Continue reading

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