garden gurus

Everything from plants to pots, solar energy to seeds, grey water to growing vegetables was on show as Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) hosted its first Waterwise Garden Expo from 22 to 23 May at the Longreach Civic Centre.

Building on the success of its Growing Great Gardens workshops held across the central west last year, DCQ brought together industry specialists and community to help people manage their gardens and home environment more sustainably.

DCQ's Mike Chuk wows local students with his knowledge of plants and gardening at the Waterwise Gardening Expo.

DCQ Chief Executive Officer Leanne Kohler said the two day expo included trade displays, talks from garden gurus and prizes. She said there was no admission fee and each day had a unique program with Friday’s program focussing on larger scale gardens and Saturday covering issues for every home gardener.

“There was something for everyone with a mixture of displays and presentations and a diverse range of information and products available for all levels of gardeners from the novice to the professional,” Ms Kohler said

“The program also featured a free bus tour of local gardens and presentations from local garden guru Mike Chuk, renowned landscape architect Lawrie Smith, and North Rockhampton-based horticulturist Neil Fisher.

Lawrie Smith has a string of accolades for his garden designs and his work includes regional botanic gardens in Gladstone, Bundaberg, Darwin, Mt Isa, the Gold Coast, Barcaldine, Townsville, Tweed Heads, Dubbo and Mackay. 

“Lawrie was also the instigator of our very own Linear Botanic Garden here in Longreach,” Ms Kohler said.

“It was great to have Lawrie back in Longreach to share his expertise and showcase his work in our area. It was also a chance to bring together the community to celebrate Lawrie’s work at the launch of the new botanic garden signage on 27 May.”

“Neil Fisher was another great addition to our program. Not only is he passionate about gardening in Central Queensland he also enjoyed sharing his knowledge with fellow gardeners,” Ms Kohler said.

“He has been advising on waterwise garden planning and construction to the mining and rural industries for more than twenty years and more recently working with home gardeners to help reduce garden water consumption.”