More than 40,000 people are expected to attend the state’s biggest garden festival on the Sunshine Coast.
A huge turnout is anticipated for the Queensland Garden Expo at the Nambour Showgrounds from July 8-10.
There will be more than 360 exhibitors and displays, at least 100 free lectures and demonstrations and over 60,000 plants for sale each day.
More than $10m is expected to be injected into the local economy.
Gardening guru Kate Wall will share her wealth of knowledge on how to repair gardens after severe weather events, how to make a positive impact to climate change and how to make pesto from unwanted plants.
Ms Wall said many people don’t realise it, but an unkept, uncultivated backyard is often full of food, especially edible greens.“Weeds tend to be much maligned by gardeners, and indeed too much of our precious gardening time and energy seems to be devoted to pulling them out, spraying them or otherwise trying to rid our gardens of them,” she said.“The key is to manage weeds in your garden in such a way that they are useful and don’t pose a threat to the wider environment.“For example, sow thistle, plantain and chickweed are all edible weeds and make a delicious addition to foods such as pesto.”
Also sharing his love of gourmet edible plants at this year’s Queensland Garden Expo is Dr Kevin Redd, who grows a wide range of plants at his boutique nursery and demonstration gardens on the Sunshine Coast.“I’m passionate about harvesting and using these amazing culinary ingredients, and will be sharing some of my favourite recipes and techniques for cooking and enjoying the seasonal abundance,” he said.“Over the duration of the weekend, I’ll be covering everything from delicious roots and rhizomes and how to turn your garden superfoods like turmeric into a healthy gourmet feast and how you can grow, harvest and cook this incredible plant.“With our subtropical climate, we can produce ingredients for cuisines as diverse as Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Pacific Island and Indian/Sri Lankan, so we encourage people with any sized garden to try these wonderful plants and to make the most of using them at home.
“It’s often easier than you might think and many of these gourmet plants absolutely thrive here.”
Expo-goers who have more of a sweet tooth will be buzzing when Dr Tim Heard takes to the stage to share his wealth of knowledge around native bees.“Australian native bees are diverse, abundant and keep the bush healthy,” Dr Head said.
“They also come to our farms and backyards to pollinate our food plants. We can help them do their mega important job by providing nest sites. We can even collect small amounts of exquisite native bee honey.“The journey of discovery into their world enriches our own lives and I can’t wait to share this with everyone at the expo.”
The expo program features lectures and demonstrations across eight stages and covers everything from the latest gardening trends right through to optimising conditions to help attendees’ gardens thrive.Event manager Marion Beazley said the event had become a family favourite, particularly because children under 15 are free and there is extensive kids’ program of activities on offer, including craft sessions, seed planting and the free playground with a giant slide, farm animal petting zoo, jumping pillow and merry-go-round.“We’re so excited to have crowd favourite Costa Georgiadis back this year,” she said.
“The kids are in a for a real treat with the nature walks and nature gallery art on Costa’s agenda, as well as his Rocking the Compost activity that is always a highlight with young green thumbs who turn out in their masses.”
Queensland Garden Expo
Where: Nambour Showgrounds, Coronation Avenue, Nambour.
When: Friday, July 8, to Sunday, July 10, 8am to 5pm (8am to 4pm Sunday).
Entry: Adult $20, children 15 years and under free, groups of 10 or more $18 each, two-day pass $35, three-day pass $50 via the Queensland Garden Expo.
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 welcome.
- Three-day event from July 10 to July 2.
- 40,000-plus attendees.
- 65 per cent visitation from outside the Sunshine Coast.
- More than 7ha of gardening inspiration.
- 360-plus exhibitors and displays, including 55 nurseries.
- 100-plus free lectures and demonstrations.
- Eight live speaker stages.
- 60,000 plants for sale each day.
- More than $10m injected into the local economy.
Expo extra
The Queensland Garden Expo will cover important topics to get you on the road to successful backyard chicken keeping.
Claire Bickle shares her Top Tips On Backyard Chooks.
- Grow greens for dietary supplements:Did you know that greens of various types play a major role in your chicken’s dietary heath, plus they make their yolks a more vibrant yellow? It’s not all about green grass to forage on but other high vitamin greens such as comfrey, sorrel, chickweed, dandelion, pigeon pea and more. Variety in your poultry’s diet is important for physical health, egg production and more. Growing greens to supplement their diet will also reduce your feed costs.
- Which breed suits your needs?Big chooks, little chooks, eggs, pet factor, rescue hens … there are a lot of factors that can steer you to choosing a particular breed of chicken. Doing your research first is key. Silkies make great pets but don’t lay many eggs. If you’re a mad egg-eater, then it’s probably best to go with a hybrid layer or a breed such as the Australian Langshan. It depends on what you are expecting or need you have from your chickens. Maybe you just want a backyard companion or maybe it’s all about help in the garden with scratching, weed removal and so forth.
- Ensure your housing is predator proofPrepare before you buy. Planning and ensuring that your poultry coop and run are secure and predator proof is vitally important. The things you are trying to prevent predating on your feathered friends are foxes, wild dogs, your dog, birds of prey, carpet snakes, goannas, feral cats and more. Understanding this right from the start will keep your feathered friends safe and sound. Sturdy structures, aviary wire to stop reptiles and solid night coop floors are just a few of the many tips to get you on to the road of safe chook keeping.
- The therapeutic benefits of backyard poultryOne of the great benefits to you when keeping a chook or three are, of course, the fresh organic eggs you get to consume. But there are also a few other fabulous reasons to keep chickens. They make great lively backyard companions, removing insect pests, eating weeds and fertilising as they go. Chickens are intelligent creatures and will form a bond with their owner/s. Some folks have them for the sole purpose of “therapy chickens”.
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