QLD Garden Expo this weekend

July 4, 2012

The 2012 Queensland Garden Expo will once again attract over 30,000 visitors this weekend with the event boasting the biggest collection of sub-tropical plants in Australia and offering a fun day out for the whole family.

The three-day Expo, from July 6-8 is a firm favourite with both gardening enthusiasts and those just finding their green fingers. The action-packed program features over 30 gardening experts presenting over 130 free lectures and demonstrations on a diverse range of topics and the 55 nurseries exhibiting will expect to sell over 40,000 plants per day.

Event organiser, Marion Beazley says the Expo attracts visitors from across Australia, many of whom return for all three days to see what the 360 exhibitors have on offer and to get inspiration and advice on the right plants, tools, products and accessories for their outdoor areas.

“Gardening is a popular hobby across all ages as there’s a certain satisfaction in growing things, either to eat or to create a more pleasant environment. Whether you have indoor pot plants, a balcony, an English rose garden or acreage, the Queensland Garden Expo is a one-stop-shop for all your gardening needs and offers families a fun day while they explore what’s on offer,” said Marion.

“We are also fortunate to have a very knowledgeable and high profile panel of experts who deliver our speaker program and offer visitors free advice, as well as great entertainers, food stalls and a free children’s playground.”

The Giant Kitchen Garden is once again expected to prove popular with more people wanting to grow their own food due to financial pressures and a greater demand for organic gardening. Similarly the return of the very successful Sunshine Coast Council’s Living Backyard display will demonstrate how to create a biodiverse environment in your back yard, including the creation of animal habitats, producing bush tucker and introducing native bees.

“I think people come back every year as they always learn something new and see things they haven’t seen before,” said Marion.

“Gardening gurus like to be ahead of the pack when it comes to new plants and varieties and the Expo has become a popular event for product launches. We are fortunate that the event has developed a great reputation over the past 27 years so we can be really selective about offering only the highest quality exhibitors to our visitors.”

This year the nursery industry is promoting its campaign ‘More Trees Please’ to encourage people to improve their ‘plant/life balance’ and the Expo will aim to promote the health and wellbeing benefits of trees to the wider community.

The speaker program across eight live stages includes many high profile gardening experts such as Costa Georgiadis of ABC Gardening Australia fame who proved very popular last year, gardening expert Colin Campbell; ABC Radio Host, Annette McFarlane; Garden Guru, Phil Dudman and Brisbane Botanical Gardens Curator, Ross McKinnon to name but a few.

For more information on what’s on at this year’s Queensland Garden Expo, please visit www.qldgardenexpo.com.au.

Ends.

More details

Where: Nambour Showgrounds, Coronation Avenue, Nambour on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
When: Friday, 6 July – Sunday, 8 July, 2012

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 – $16
Aged concession card holders – $14
Groups (10 or more) – $14
Children (15 and under with accompanying adult) – Free
2-day Pass (Saturday & Sunday) – $28
3-day Gold Entry Pass – $35

Other high resolution images available on request.

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