In this episode I speak with Daniel Fuller from the Plants Grow Here Podcast. Daniel is more than 200 episodes into his podcast and it is a wealth of knowledge for the horticulture world. He has some extremely interesting and knowledgeable guests on, and is also very knowledgeable himself, so it makes for some fascinating conversations, from which I've learnt a lot! Daniel talks about how great it can be when the different arms of the green industry can share their knowledge and experiences, and he also talks about the importance and benefits of getting out of your comfort zone and going to ..read more

In this episode I speak with Dougie Elliot from Rock Solid Stone and Landscaping and also Rock Solid Health. Rock Solid Stone and Landscaping is his stonemasonry and landscaping business, while Rock Solid Health is where he's a holistic health coach. Dougie started out in Castlemaine working for the local council in the botanic gardens, among other areas before working for his dad for 4 years learning stonemasonry, and then moving to Geelong with his wife to start working for himself during Covid. His holistic health views are quite eye opening for uneducated folks like myself, and while not ..read more

In this episode I've done another Q and A episode via questions asked on Instagram, purely because I wasn't organised to have a guest for this week! I answer questions such as: When is The Landscaping Course going to be released? Do you have a clause in your quotes for under ground rock, extra fill etc. Would you buy a mini excavator or mini loader first? What's your current take on the current state of the landscaping/construction industry? If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here. You can follow along with the projec ..read more

In this episode I speak with Tammy Huyhn from Leaf An Impression. Tammy is a Horticulturist, Writer and also a presenter on Gardening Australia. She started studying Horticultural Science at Sydney Uni before getting a role working on the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine team. She was awarded Horticulturist of the year in 2021 by the Australian Institute of Horticulture, and also appeared on an episode of Gardening Australia creating a terrarium and kokedama before eventually being offered a presenting role. You can follow Tammy on Instagram @leaf_an_impression You can follow along with t ..read more

In this episode I speak with Rob Waddell from Waddell Design, a landscape design and construction company based in Melbourne, Geelong and Byron Bay. This episode also sees the reintroduction of the old intro music for one episode only, as specially requested by Rob! Rob speaks about the reasons and challenges behind opening up separate arms of this business in different towns. He's also designed and built 4 show gardens at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and talks about those experiences and how it changes from when you start, doing it all by yourself, compared to doing o ..read more

In this episode I speak with Brent Phipps from Byron Bay Ranga, a landscape design, construction and maintenance business located in Byron Bay. It's an extremely enjoyable chat with Brent, with a great combination of education (Brent has been in business 11 years) and entertainment. Brent had a great starting point in the industry, work for Mike Cass Creative prior to moving to Byron Bay, and he speaks about how he built relationships within the community which then fed him work when he needed it. Brent also talks about the value he's found from employing a couple of business mentors/adviso ..read more

In this episode I speak with Andrew Fisher Tomlin from The London College Of Garden Design. Andrew was a co-founder of the College and is an extremely enjoyable person to talk to! He wasn't sure what he wanted to do when he started in the industry, so tried everything, from horticulture, to design, to construction. Andrew was the chair for selection of gardens to the Chelsea Fower Show and also was involved in judging for about 8 years. Andrews shares plenty of advice in this chat, including how two gardens he's done which won best in show at their shows, were also the two lowest budgets. S ..read more

In this special edition episode, I speak with 26 different people involved in the 2024 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. There's designers, builders, students and an organiser. The chats were held on the Saturday during construction before the show opens on Wednesday the 20th of March 0:00 Intro 0:52 Grahame Rowe - Challenger Garden with Charlie Albone 4:19 Suzannah Kennett Lister - Wurundjeri Biik Garden with Andrew Laidlaw 8:44 Annika Zetterman - New Nordic Notes with Kajsa Bjorne 13:51 Andrew Hopkins - Hopkins Constructions for Landart Landscapes 19:10 Dan Foreman - Jack of ..read more

In this episode I speak with Peter Donegan about the story behind his upcoming Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show design. It's supported by the Defence Force Welfare Association and I loved the story behind it so wanted as many people to hear it as possible. Doing this episode made me realise it'd be great to hear from as many people as possible from the garden show about their design inspiration, so the next episode of the podcast will be short 5 minute interviews with as many designers/builders as I can get to come on. You can follow Peter on Instagram @peterdonegan You can f ..read more

In this episode I speak with Chris England from Merrywood Plants. Merrywood plants is a nursery specialising in espaliered plants and after espaliering was a hobby for Chris for 5-10 years, he then started Merrywood 25 years ago. Chris mentions how, at two of his early nursery employers, he was taught the importance of knowing how to speak to people, and the importance of good people. We also talk about how underrated I think espalier plants are and their various uses in a garden setting. You can follow Chris on Instagram @merrywood_plants You can follow along with the projects we're curr ..read more