|
|
Below the Node
A collection of news, views, information and links for those working inside the Queensland garden industry, with an emphasis on growing the industry (and your share of it) in this state.
News and Views
Most recent additions will appear towards the the top (more or less).
How's that website coming along?
Ipswich Girls' Grammar School is to be the first to participate in UQSchoolsNet. Developed by The University of Queensland, this service will allow schools to access educational resources over the internet at very high speeds. (More at the UQ website here: Qld school to get fastest broadband Internet connection in Southern Hemisphere.) Question: Where do you think these kids will look for information about plants, gardening and (eventually) landscapers, turf suppliers, nurseries etc?
Local council encourages growing your own
There's no doubt that the backyard veggie craze is hitting Australia. Check out the following from Brisbane City Council, which includes gardening tips from the Lord Mayor himself: Start growing your own food to make Brisbane more sustainable (April 2008).
Gardens and house prices
The widespread opinion that landscaping can enhance property value and/or saleability is given further credence by a recent survey of UK estate agents. Read more at the Horticultural Trades Association website here: First impressions count: Research from PlantforLife reveals the £5000 benefit of a front garden (March, 2008).
New website for garden-related news
queenslandgardening.com is a new website intended to enhance this one (but with a more marketable domain name). The home page will feature garden-related news for the Queensland public, but interstate or international visitors may also find some items of interest. It will also be a place to feature new plants, products and services, so please get in touch if you distribute something you feel would be appropriate.
Falling House Prices
Australia may be entering a period of declining home prices (plenty of information and lively debate on this issue here: Global House Price Crash Forum - Australian Property Discussion) Combined with other factors in the economy, there could be a variety of trends in gardening in landscaping emerging. For example: - vendors seek for cost-effective ways to improve properties
- homeowners improving instead of move
- renters become homeowners, rentals go owner-occupied
- gardening embraced as family-oriented, low-cost recreation
- home resort as alternative to overseas holidays
- edible gardens for money-saving or reaction to materialism
- reduced demand for maintenance services, luxury products
- increased demand for budget plants, DIY projects
- fewer dollars spent in the garden centre cafe and gift shop
Garden centre operators will need to be sensitive to the needs of their customers and ready with appropriate stock and helpful information for the many homeowners who may be taking an interest in gardening for the first time.
The American landscape
This news release from University of Illinois Extension (dated March 5, 2008), gives a concise overview of current trends in the USA: Spring Makeover for Your Landscape.
PR for plants
I recently came across this U.S. article from 2006 which will surely interest those involved in the nursery industry in Australia: Texas SuperStars Economic Impact on the "Green Industry"
"Home grown" the next big thing?
From what I'm reading on overseas websites, there's a trend toward home food gardening developing. That could well be the case for Australia, too. While the main driver at present would appear to be concern about climate change, "food miles" and organics, I suspect that the desire to save money on groceries will also become a motivating factor. The grim reality of negative equity might take the gloss off conspicuous consumption as a fashion trend, but the more "aspirational" vegetable gardeners might be interested in herbs, spices and vegetables for "gourmet" or regional cuisines, plus more decorative ways of growing vegies than grandpa's. Don't forget containers for the unit-dwellers. (Let's hope the water situation improves, though!)
Garden voucher for Victorian elderly and disabled
Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria are promoting the health and quality-of-life benefits of gardens. The Victorian government funds Home Safety Inspections that help the elderly and disabled live in their own homes as long as possible.
Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria, in collabaration with Archicentre (which conducts the inspections), will be providing participating homeowners with a $25 garden voucher. More information from Archicentre here: Active Gardening Boosts Home Safety for Older Victorians (February 2008)
2008 - looking ahead
Happy New year! What are some possible issues or trends that might affect the Queensland garden industry in 2008?
Water - End of current drought?
Environment - "Green" shopping strong overseas
Outdoor rooms - Still a strong trend in US
Recession - Greater interest in food gardening
Falling house prices - Using landscaping to enhance property values
Gardeners and the internet
Overall, the Australian garden industry's use of the internet for sales or marketing doesn't seem to be progressing much. They might argue it's not important, but check out these news reports from the USA:
Online sales catch up with the seed catalog (Salt Lake Tribune)
Average age of gardeners on the Web is increasing (Baltimore Sun)
Xmas gift ideas for gardeners
Since the Christmas season is fast approaching, this seems like a good time to point out that there are heaps of ideas for garden-related presents to suit gardeners (and would-be gardeners) over on the Garden Gift Ideas page on this website. It may give you some inspiration for Christmas-related displays or promotions.
Bits and Pieces
Two news stories from Texas A&M University which may be of interest:
Dallas Researchers to Explore Potential 'Green Roof' Technology A foam designed for the fuel tanks of aircraft has potential as a lightweight growing medium for roof-top gardens and other urban spaces.
Issues, Opportunities Outlined for 2007 Nursery Plant Industry Short article (dated Feb, 2007) reporting on a speech by the owner of Landmark Nurseries.
Nobody Cares
Characteristics like "family owned", "independant", "locally produced" 'Australian made" etc etc may be the cherry on top that helps sell the cake, but I still want the cake. Drought or no drought, who's going to buy sickly plants at top prices from your untidy, inconvenient garden centre with its unhelpful staff just to do you a favour? Brisbane's Trash Video was recently saved from extinction throught the efforts of its devoted customers/fans, but this is an exceptional case (some background here: 4ZZZ FM). It's hard to imagine the average suburban garden centre attracting that level of community support, or deserving to.
Fear of Change
From Dave Cheong: Embrace change, your life depends on it.
Ipswich's 2007 garden competition bites the dust
The Ipswich Beautification Council has called off the city's garden competition for 2007 in the face of looming level six water restrictions. The expected Ipswich Enviroplan funding will instead be directed into Education and Awareness Sessions to help residents garden with less water. Read more at the Ipswich City Council website here (PDF):
Drought Stalls 2007 Garden Competition
Congratulations Canegrowers
CANEGROWERS Mackay have tackled their labour shortage and reached out to potential workers worldwide through a video on the internet site YouTube. (If you want to see the video for yourself, you'll find a link on their training and recruitment website: Future Workforce.) What's more, the innovative approach has attracted coverage in Australia's mainstream media, giving them even more publicity. A great illustration of the principle that what worked in the past won't necessarily be what works in the future (or even right now).
A few blogs to get you started
Eventually I'll move these down to the links section, and add others to the collection. Meanwhile, check out:
Australian Newsagency Blog Although writen for newsagents, there's plenty in this excellent blog that could be applicable to other small businesses in Australia (plus the occassion post about garden magazines)
You'll be able to follow the links on these blogs to discover a world of bolgs and other websites.
The bad thing about blogs
There are so many now online, you could easily spend all your time reading them. While the number of good blogs about the nursery and garden industry is relatively limited, there are countless blogs about marketing in general and other relevant topics. However, much of the English-language content you'll encounter will be of international origin, especially North America, so there may be problems relating the content to Australian circumstances.
The good thing about blogs
While blogging may be used to by private individuals to share news with friends or express their innermost emotions, it's also being used by many businesspeople to communicate their ideas and raise the profile of themselves and their companies. This makes blogs a great way to get up-to-date news about an industry plus free ideas and advice from (in some cases) very successful and respected names. Be sure to check the comments, which can provide more insights on an issue.
What are blogs?
Blogs (short for "web logs") are simply websites in the style of a journal or diary. For convenience, the news items on this page are presented somewhat like a blog. Most blog writers (bloggers) use blogging software to make page setup and diary entries easy and allow readers to leave comments, which can be more interesting than the original post.
Worried in Warrnambool
Chris & Marie's Plant Farms' attempt to overcome water restriction woes in Melbourne by setting up in Warrnambool (western Victoria) has upset local garden centre operators. The Warrnambool Standard has two articles about it here: Anger grows over blow-in plant sale and
A knack for cultivating criticism. Update: City steps up nursery fight.
Ergon Energy Tidy Towns
Judging of Queensland's Tidiest Towns is currently in progress. The competition is run by Keep Australia Beautiful and sponsored by Ergon Energy. A number of other awards are also made relating to community, cultural, heritage and environmental themes as part of the program. Getting involved could be an opportunity for regional nurseries and landscape businesses to build relationships with the local community and reinforce the general message that attractive landscapes are important. Learn more about the competition at www.keepaustraliabeautiful.org.au
Garden centres and the drought
If you operate a garden centre, you may like to check out 2 other pages on this site:
1. Diversification for Garden Centres- some ideas. Alternative product lines and ways to bring customers through the door.
2. Gardens and the drought - not all bad news! is written for the public. The intention is to highlight some of the opportunities the drought provides, and to encourage people not to give up on gardening. Providers of garden goods and services may obtain some ideas for promotions.
Water website to target gardeners
The pressure on gardeners to use less water continues. The Federal government has recently (14/05/07) announced $500,000 from its Raising National Water Standards programme to help Australians to use water more efficiently in the garden. The "Creating Water Smart Gardens and Gardeners Across Australia" project will involve a website providing locally-relevant advice on plants, garden design and irrigation, starting with Sydney within the next 6-8 months. National Water Commission
Water from air?
If you saw the ABC TV Australian Story episode on 21/05/07, you might be looking for more information about Max Whisson's "Water Windmill". I don't know of an official site for the windmill yet, but the following presents his large-scale desalination ideas: Water Unlimited. (Update: he has since appeared on The New Inventors, but a working model was not demonstrated.)(Update 2: Water UN Limited is the company which is working on a prototype. More information about the concept is available at that site. A windmill on every rooftop is some way off, it would seem.)
Chelsea Flower Show
If you check the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2007 website while the show is open (22-26 May 2007, UK time), you might be able to catch the live webcams. Presumably other material will remain on the site some time after that. The extensive coverage the Royal Horticultural Society provides online is impressive. It's clear that the promoters realise the importance of the web in encouraging interest in the event and maintaining it's status as the world's premier garden show. (They're getting a free plug right here!)
Rainwater tanks offer alternative to dams
A new study suggests that desalination plants and new dams could be postponed with a modest rate of water tank installation in SE QLD and Sydney. Read more at the Australian Conservation Foundation website: Rainwater tanks a viable urban water solution.
Traveston Controversy
Is a dam on the Mary River at Traveston an appropriate way to address SEQld's water supply problems? News and views on this issue at savethemaryriver.com
More Green for the Gold Coast
To promote beaty and comfort within the city, Gold Coast city Council has decided to limit its free plant scheme to shade trees only. More information at the Council's website here: Free Tree Scheme to Green the City
Cuphea research provides insights into tropical seed storage
While ornamental varieties of the Cuphea are familiar to gardeners, many species of this genus also produce seeds with useful oils. Unfortunately, such seeds can exhibit poor viability after cold storage. American research findings indicating a short period of heating improves germination has important implications for the preservation of genetic diversity within a variety of tropical crops including papaw (papaya) and citrus. Read more from the Agricultural Research Service here: Reheating Cuphea Seed Improves Germination
Below the Node launched
Welcome to this new (23/05/07) free online publication. More about this page
|
|
Also on this page:
|
Do you sell gardening goods or services to the Queensland public?
For a friendly, informal discussion about promoting your business on this website, simply email or phone:
Prices and more information here.
|
Other Advertisements
|
More Links
Here are some links to other websites or webpages that those of you who work in the nursery and garden industry may find useful.
Cultivars, Trademarks, Breeders Rights, Nomenclature, Taxonomy
Horticultural Industry Associations - Australia
Horticultural Industry Associations - Other Countries
Other Retail, Advertising, Marketing Associations - Australia
Retail, Advertising, Marketing Associations - Other Countries
Online Books, Articles and Other Resources
"The Nurseryperson and You" by Barry Hill (A 1995 presentation published in Australian Plants online - December 1998, The Society for Growing Australian Plants)
|
|
About this page
Those who work long hours in nurseries or installing landscaping don't have much time left for research. That means they're probably missing out on a lot of the useful and interesting information that's available on the web and elsewhere.
"Below the Node" will present a variety of news, marketing ideas, products and opinion, including links to other websites that you might find inspirational or informative.
While the page is targeted at the trade in Queensland, Australia, there'll be plenty to interest horticulture professionals all over the world.
There'll be plenty about marketing and the internet, including material from the wider world of business that could help the garden industry survive and thrive in the 21st Century.
However, this page may evolve over time. The need to change to exploit new opportunities, or even just to survive, is what this page is about, too.
Enjoy!
|
|
