With blue skies, speakers, plants and lawn in sight, all the right ingredients were in place when the Queensland Garden Expo took over the Nambour Showgrounds in July for Australia’s largest sub-tropical gardening event.
History of the QLD Garden Expo
The Sunshine Coast Branch of the Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland Limited held the inaugural QLD Garden Expo 38 years ago, with the aim of providing the public with expert advice and information on a range of gardening subjects in an enjoyable and accessible format.
This first event, in 1985, was a one-day event with 30 exhibitors, 300 visitors, five workshops and a Plant Clinic. Guided by a dedicated group of volunteers the event quickly grew over the ensuing years to become the 3-day event it is today.
The Queensland Garden Expo provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about all aspects of gardening and for those without a backyard, keeping indoor plants is catered for too. The benefits of having live plants in your home have long been known and in the past couple of years, indoor plants have boomed in popularity.
This year’s Queensland Garden Expo was transformed into a gardener’s paradise giving anyone who came through the gates access to a wealth of knowledge and experience from some of Australia’s top gardening gurus.
From the diverse range of more than 40 speakers to experts from the 55 nurseries exhibiting practical tips and advice, the Expo provides a once-in-a-year experience for those looking to expand their knowledge as well as enhance their home garden. Visitors to the annual gardening event have access to the best gardening minds in the country — both through the extensive 3-day speaker program and by chatting directly to the people representing the many nurseries and growers exhibiting at the event.
Event Manager Marion Beazley said that listening to feedback from visitors as well as exhibitors every indication was that the event was a huge success.
“The queues at the gates on Friday morning indicated the appetite for this event and with more people turning to gardening than ever before over the course of the pandemic, the demand for plants, information and all things gardening is at an absolute premium,” Ms Beazley said.
“After the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel in 2020, and restrictions created road barriers for some of our key speakers to attend last year’s event, we are delighted to be back in full swing for the first time since 2019,” Ms Beazley said.
“We know plant sales skyrocketed throughout the pandemic, resulting in an increase in people gardening, so we’re excited to see the number of new faces at year’s event.”
Turf on Display
Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) together with LSA Ambassador Jason Hodges were delighted to be there. This year was a joint effort with LSA Members Rosemount Turf and Daleys Turf taking on the task of building a stand designed by Jason Hodges.
The stand highlighted the LSA premium turf varieties – Sir Walter DNA Certified which celebrated reaching 100 Million Square metres sold in Australia this year, TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda, the only grass in the world to have obtained the Smart Approved Water Mark and Sir Grange Zoysia the only certified and pure Zoysia Matrella turf variety in Australia.
The stand also promoted another grass under trial in Australia, soon to be made available for public release. This new grass is leading the way with independent trials showing strong results in winter colour, wear, shade and texture.
The weekend saw large crowd engagement and interest in the LSA grasses. Staff from Rosemount Turf and Daleys Turf assisted Jason Hodges with advice on what turf is best and in what situation. LSA was extremely happy to be involved at the QLD Garden Expo, with a constant flow of enquires for lawn sales and advice since.
Landscape Display Garden
Another must-see in 2022 was the stunning landscape display garden, a collaborative effort by three Sunshine Coast landscapers, focusing on rainwater harvesting with a down-to-earth natural feel throughout. With specialists in water features, landscape and structural design, as well as bespoke timber furniture and structures coming together to design and create this vast display, the result was an installation with charming natural features and plenty of take-home ideas for visitors as they wandered throughout the display.
Organic Kitchen Garden
The Giant Organic Kitchen Garden with a fully planted sustainable garden at its centre, was also a hive of activity over the three days with thousands exploring the area looking for ways to make their own garden more sustainable. Permaculture experts were on hand over the three days with tips and tricks to making gardens more productive and advice on the many great products this space had on offer.
Another well-frequented feature at the event was the Plant Clinic where visitors can ask any question — from bringing in leaves or photos for identification, to getting free advice related to garden or indoor plants.
The Expo has continued to be a massive drawcard for tourism on the Sunshine Coast for the last week of the school holidays, with 65 percent of attendees arriving from outside of the region. With thousands flocking to the Sunshine Coast over the three days of the event the benefit to the region not only extends to those exhibiting at the event but far beyond the Nambour Showgrounds, including the accommodation providers, restaurants, local tourist attractions, retail and all the suppliers who support these businesses.
With tens of thousands of plants sold over the course of the weekend, combined with the high volume of tourists from out of town, the Expo also provides a healthy injection into the local economy.
Gardening Speakers and Presenters
Those exhibiting at the Expo and presenting as part of Australia’s largest gardening speaker program could not have been happier with the turnout, as the event welcomed back crowd favourite Costa Georgiadis as well as ABC Gardening Australia’s Jerry Coleby-Williams, Claire Bickle, Sophie Thomson, Millie Ross and Phil Dudman.
“The Queensland Garden Expo is somewhat of a gardening reunion for our speakers and exhibitors as they all share a passion for gardening and love getting face-to-face with the public and the end-users of their products,” Ms Beazley said.
ABC Gardening Australia’s Sophie Thomson comes back year after year and enjoys delving into the positive impacts gardening poses for the mind and body and detailing why she considers gardening food for the soul.
“Various studies have associated horticultural activities and garden settings with reduced stress levels, feelings of calm and relaxation, heightened levels of attention and self-esteem, and enhanced memory function,” Ms Thomson said.
“You only have to wander out to your patch and take a few deep breaths to feel the sense of calm and tranquillity that gardening brings.”
Recent surveys show that gardening is always rated in the top three or four most favoured recreational activities and the growing number of attendees visiting the Expo year in and out indicates that gardening as a past time, as well as for sustainability, is still as relevant now as it was 38 years ago.
The QLD Garden Expo is an annual event held every July. To find out more, please visit www.qldgardenexpo.com.au.
