A mixed mass planting softens an otherwise hard commercial site

Think big with mass plantings

09/10/2025 John Fitzsimmons 11 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By John Fitzsimmons

When we are in landscape mode we often think of architectural plants, specimen trees, colour palettes, textures, borders and backdrops for impact and low maintenance. We should not however forget the visual impact and benefits of one of the most widely used landscape elements and approaches — mass plantings.

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Rhonda Sorensen, Coordinator of the Living Plant Collection Records, using Hortis (Image: Cheryl Cooper)

Living plant collections Plants

Living plant collections: A digital renaissance

09/10/2025 Richard Ackland and Rhonda Sorensen 10 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Richard Ackland and Rhonda Sorensen

Over the past 18 months, the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden (NCRBG) in Coffs Harbour, northern NSW, has revolutionised the way it manages records of its living plant collection. As a sanctuary of biodiversity, the botanic garden has long been a guardian of rare and significant plant species, yet its record-keeping systems had become outdated and fragmented.

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KWMI Turf Maxi Roll Installer (Image: Department of Crop & Soil Sciences, University of Georgia)

Plants Turf

Turf breeding for the future

09/10/2025 Dr. Brian Schwartz and Sameer Khanal 11 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

A turfgrass program’s expanding role in zoysia grass innovation

By Brian Schwartz and Sameer Khanal

The warm season turfgrass breeding program at the University of Georgia’s Tifton Campus continues to foster its long-standing and impactful public private partnerships to address key challenges in the turfgrass industry through cultivar development.

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Dense amla bunches amidst green feathery foliage (Image: Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery)

Plant Palette Plants

One fine Phyllanthus

09/10/2025 Caleb Roberts 11 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Caleb Roberts

Botanical name: Phyllanthus embilica

Common name(s): Amla, Indian gooseberry

Family: Phyllanthaceae

Origin or native range: There is a saying about some medicines, that a strong taste means they must be doing something right! That certainly rings true for amla, otherwise known as the Indian gooseberry.…

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Nick Abba: Director of Lux Landscapes (Image: Supplied by Nick Abba)

Business File Editorial

Interview with Nick Abba: Director of Lux Landscapes

09/10/2025 John Corban 12 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By John Corban

Lux Landscapes is a premium design, construction and maintenance business operating on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. I worked with Nick Abba in 2019 helping him improve his business. Nick has had great success and growth over the last six years.

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alvia apiana inflorescence (Image: Stan Shebs via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 )

Plant Palette Plants

Sage insights: The expanding world of salvias

09/10/2025 Clive Larkman 12 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Clive Larkman

The genus Salvia is one of the largest plant genera with over 1,000 species. It is a member of the Lamiaceae, the mint family, which includes most of our aromatic and many of our medicinal herbs. Salvia is the largest genus in the Lamiaceae and consists of annuals, perennials and evergreen shrubs that grow in full desert sun to moist woodland environments.

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Editorial Editors editorial

Beyond the screen: Connecting in person

15/09/2025 admin 267 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Being editor of Hort Journal allows me to travel across the country meeting other members of the horticultural industry. Attending Greenlife Industry Queensland’s 2025 Green Expo on the Gold Coast recently reminded me of the importance of these events in our increasingly busy calendars.

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The 2025 Green Expo was abuzz with people viewing the greenlife and horticultural products on display

Editorial Industry Event

2025 Green Expo: Bringing industry together

15/09/2025 Gabrielle Stannus 222 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

By Gabrielle Stannus

Promotional material to market Greenlife Industry Queensland’s Green Expo certainly did not lie when it said this event brings together the best of the nursery and garden industry, with a wide range of displays and products all in one place.

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Environment & Sustainability Pest and Diseases

The pests that got away: Part 1

15/09/2025 Denis Crawford 214 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Red imported fire ant

By Denis Crawford

In the Pest Files of May 2024, I detailed several invasive pests which have established in parts of Australia. My thesis was that those invasive pests have something in common, the ability to travel long distances in horticultural material.

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A rather unpleasant looking fungal contamination in a flask of lomandra; note the plants engulfed by the fungus are dying off (Image: Lisa Wightwick)

Propagation Tissue Culture

Challenging, persistent and a bit gross!

15/09/2025 Lisa Wightwick 198 Views 0 Comments #Tree, Botanic gardens, Garden Design, gardening, horticultural, horticultural industry, landscape, landscape design, Ornamental trees, Shade Trees

Contamination in plant tissue culture

By Lisa Wightwick

Wherever plant tissue culture goes, so follows contamination. But what is culture contamination, where does it come from and why is it so undesirable?

In the context of plant tissue culture, ‘contamination’ is a broad term that describes a range of unwanted microorganisms that can have significant impacts on the health and success of the plants.…

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