Countdown to Garden Expo kicks off
July 4, 2014
Preparations are in full swing for the upcoming Queensland Garden Expo, with approximately 35,000 garden enthusiasts from across Queensland and beyond gearing up to visit the three-day event at the Nambour Showgrounds between 11 and 13 July.
Queensland Garden Expo Event Manager Marion Beazley said with the Expo now just days away, the event’s 300-plus exhibitors and presenters were busy perfecting their workshops and planning their displays ready for opening day.
“This year, we’re thrilled to be welcoming over 55 nurseries selling 40,000-plus plants per day, and look forward to launching a range of new plant varieties including mini grafted dwarf citrus trees, nectarine and peach varieties that thrive in the sub-tropics, and the Australian-bred ‘Blueberry Burst’ blueberry bush,” Ms Beazley said.
“We’re already starting to see the showgrounds transform, with the landscape garden displays under construction and the foundations being laid for the fully planted garden bed in the Giant Kitchen Garden area.”
“Both areas are always a hot favourite at the Expo, offering inspiration and ideas that can be taken home and incorporated into visitors’ backyards.”
Ms Beazley said a team of landscapers would be on hand each day throughout the event to offer expert advice on creating the perfect backyard paradise and to answer any curly questions.
“We’ll also have plenty of displays and demonstrations up and running in the Expo’s ‘Living backyard’ area where visitors can learn how to bring their backyard to life with native wildlife and plants.”
“The daily talks, interactive displays, information and advice will have attendees’ imaginations running wild with ideas like creating an animal habitat in the backyard and attracting frogs and native bees.”
Ms Beazley said 2014 marked the Expo’s thirtieth anniversary, and as such, the Expo team had gone to great lengths to secure a line-up of high calibre presenters to celebrate the special milestone.
“This year, we’re welcoming a range of nationally-renowned gardeners including Gardening Australia’s own Costa Georgiadis, Jerry Coleby-Williams and Angus Stewart, ABC Radio Talkback hosts Annette McFarlane and Noel Burdette, and horticultural experts Clair Levander and Claire Bickle just to name a few,” Ms Beazley said.
“We’re also excited to have a range of Sunshine Coast gardeners joining the Expo program, with avid gardener and author Barb Wickes, Edible School Gardens founder Leonie Shanahan, and landscaping and horticulture expert Sean Morrow just some of the talented locals featured on the Expo line-up.”
This year’s program will cover everything from getting the most from your worm farm, right through to the basics of using herbs in the garden, concocting herbal remedies from the garden, creating vertical gardens, rearing chickens and mastering floral design. The Expo will also incorporate a plant clinic delivering gardening advice and assisting attendees to identify any unfamiliar plants.
Ms Beazley said the event offered something for all ages, with plenty of talks, demonstrations and activities on offer to entertain the younger generation of green thumbs coming along for a family day out.
“Whether it’s visiting the Old McDonald’s Farm baby animal nursery, getting their hands dirty in one of the many child-focused workshops or heading over to the children’s rides and jumping castle, kids will enjoy the Expo as much as their parents and grandparents.”
The 2014 Queensland Garden Expo will take place between 11 and 13 July at the Nambour Showgrounds on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. For more information and to access the full program, please visit www.qldgardenexpo.com.au.
Expo extra — 10 tips for growing citrus successfully
Birdwood Nursery is one of the only exhibitors to have been present at all 30 Queensland Garden Expos held since 1985. Here, Birdwood Nursery owner and citrus expert Peter Young provides his top tips for growing citrus in the backyard.
1. Grow the fruit you want to eat. If you like to eat what you’re growing you’ll look after it better.
2. Choose a variety that will grow well in your local climate. Some citrus varieties that come from colder climates are susceptible to brown spot disease, so if you live in Queensland’s warmer areas, make sure you pick something that can survive a Queensland summer such as Imperial or Emperor Mandarins.
3. Want more than one type of fruit but don’t have space for more trees? Try planting four trees in the one planting hole and they’ll grow as one tree with four separate trunks. Choose types that mature at different times so you can pick fruit all year round!
4. Fruitscape… or at least don’t plant everything in the one spot. When you concentrate everything in the one spot, all the pests come to that area too.
5. Fertilise citrus in June, August and November. If you fertilise during the rainy months, the nutrients will promptly be washed away.
6. Fertilise the whole root area. So many people only fertilise the drip line but you need to spread fertiliser from the stem to the outside branches.
7. Plant when the weather becomes cooler. Anytime from May to September is the best time in Queensland.
8. Select the right root stock. There are seven different root stocks commonly used for citrus and the secret is to get the right one for your plant. Make sure you are buying from a reputable source so you can get good advice and your tree can live for 60-plus years!
9. Another great alternative for those with limited space is a dwarf citrus tree. Use either Trifoliata or Flying Dragon root stock for these varieties.
10. Build up, not down! If you plant too deeply, the tree will get collar rot. Don’t dig a big hole and fill it up with better soil and fertiliser, instead mound up on top of the ground and then plant.
// Ends.
Media contact: Kristen Roder – Fresh PR & Marketing P: 0406 546 461 E: kristen@freshprm.com.au
General event details
Where: Nambour Showgrounds, Coronation Avenue, Nambour on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast
When:
Friday, 11 July 2014
Saturday, 12 July 2014
Sunday, 13 July 2014
Opening times:
Gates open 8:00am daily
Gates close 5:00pm Friday and Saturday; 4:00pm Sunday
Disability access: The showground offers excellent facilities for wheelchair visitors with on-site disabled parking, easy access and ground level exhibits along with disabled toilet facilities. Guide dogs are welcome
Tickets:
Adults $18
Aged concession card holders $16
Groups (10 or more) $16
Children (15 and under with accompanying adult) Free
Two-day entry pass (Saturday and Sunday) – Adults $30
Three-day entry pass $40
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