Business Visits
Production Tour | Retail Tour | Katherine Tour
Production Tour
In 2005 Simon Smith saw a gap in the market for a seedling nursery in the NT. At the time, most seedlings were being imported into the NT from either Brisbane or Perth and there were very few in the Top End. Listening to his intuition, Simon established the Plantsmith, a Darwin based nursery which produces punnet seedlings, potted colour and herbs.
Within 12 months it was clear to Simon that he had made a good decision, there was a strong demand for the Plantsmith's product and business was doing well so he invested in an automated production line.
Simon says having a nursery in the NT presents unique climatic challenges. “The Darwin region has a distinct wet and dry season and the ambient temperature is considerably higher than comparable areas such as far north Queensland. Plant growth rates are phenomenal which is both a blessing and a curse. Population and economic growth is also phenomenal and this is certainly no curse!
“To the best of my knowledge we are the first seedling grower in Australia to completely eliminate the use of growth regulants and pesticides/fungicides from our production systems and procedures,” Simon says. “We do not fertigate which minimises nutrient rich run-off within the nursery.”
The Plantsmith is NIASA and EcoHort Accredited and is also using the NT Sustainable Land Use Guidelines to achieve and demonstrate general environmental and sustainable practices and stewardship. The business is part of a small pilot group of horticultural businesses engaged with the NT Sustainable Land Use Practices project and provided a case study during the development of the guidelines.
| Shoal Bay Mulch (Macmahon Contractors) |
Recycling domestic organic green waste, this facility is the largest in the southern hemisphere per capita.
Approximately 180,000 cubic metres of green waste is processed annually and includes palm fronds, coconuts, lawn clippings, tree fellings/timber, and general garden waste products.
The processed green waste (to Australian Standards) is then sold back into the community in the form of mulches and composts.
The tour will also include an overview of the methane extraction process whereby a % of commercial green waste is buried with domestic waste for methane production which is then piped underground within the facility to supply fuel for on-site power generation which is in turn sold back into the Darwin electricity grid.
If you take the production tour option you will have the chance to visit
Ironstone Lagoon Nursery, but be careful of the saltwater crocs! Two thirds
of the property is a flora and fauna reserve, and the lagoon was identified
in a recent study as being the healthiest lagoon in the outer Darwin area.
The property also attracts thousands of birds during the dry season. The
nursery itself is a generalist supplier which acts as a one-stop-shop
for the landscape market, a place where trades people can get all their
plants in one go. However, it also sells to the retail market. As well
as standard pot sizes, the nursery has 5,000 in-ground palms.
| Horticulture Aquaculture, Charles Darwin University |
The Horticulture Aquaculture Team at Charles Darwin University is responsible for the delivery of training programs in these specific industry areas across the Top End of Australia and beyond.
Our client base is incredibly diverse ranging from School students through to retirees, industry professionals to home gardeners and everyone in between.
Delivering training over an area of approx 700,000 square kilometres means that much of our training is delivered in remote locations. We serve the needs of many remote indigenous communities assisting the community to use horticulture for economic development and sustainability.
Being the largest training provider in the Northern Territory, we work very closely with industry to help skill, support and promote its people and programs.
We also work to promote Horticulture and Aquaculture to the broader community through various activities and projects including landscape projects for community groups, providing support for local schools farms and community gardens, as well as opening our facility as part of the NT Open Garden Scheme for 2 days of workshops based on sustainable home gardening with a focus on food production.
We also have the opportunity to investigate new technologies and practices in the Horticulture and Aquaculture Industries, and at present this includes trialling Aquaponics systems, where we are growing food plants on top of barramundi tanks, looking into suitable vertical gardens systems for our harsh wet/dry climate, and installing a water catchment system to harvest and recycle our nursery water.
Although we are, on a national scale, a small training centre, we have the opportunity and ability to grow the local industry and ensure a sustainable future for horticulture and Aquaculture in the Northern Territory.
Darwin Plant Wholesalers was established in 1973 by Darryl South who is originally from Adelaide and has a nursery and landscape background.
Establishing a business in Darwin was a challenge, especially after Cyclone Tracey hit. However, the nursery grew and Darwin Plant Wholesalers made a name for itself in many areas of Australia, particularly the north-west of WA. The nursery had begun to establish itself as reliable supplier with a good variety and quality of product
Increased transport with new roads to the north and the availability of transport to every state meant the business was soon able to send product Australia-wide and further afield. “I remember my first trip to the Middle East with Ralph Groves, Pat Soars and Doug Wadewitz,” Darryl says. “These trips proved invaluable, as the insight to export.”
Today Darwin Plant wholesalers regularly sends stock to the middle East. The NIASA accredited nursery has 35 acres under production, and has introduced many plants to Darwin and interstate such as Dianella silve. Plumeria (frangipani) have also been popularised and many new varieties have been introduced.
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Retail Tour
In 1995 Estelle Cornell and her husband Peter purchased a property on the main highway to Darwin. The land was originally a nursery and all that was left was a shed and very basic infrastructure.
The couple originally had other plans for the property, but while cleaning it up they were constantly stopped by members of the public and asked when the nursery would be reopening. Pouncing on a business opportunity, Estelle began potting up plants day and night. Her vision was for a garden centre that provided a tranquil environment where customers could wander through at their leisure and choose from a wide range of plants, gardening and landscaping products, water features, garden ornaments, pots and gifts.
Estelle did not have a horticultural background but did have an amazing amount of motivation and an extraordinary work ethic and she fulfilled her vision and opened up Allora Gardens Nursery a year after she purchased the property.
Now employing the equivalent of five full-time and three part-time staff, most with horticultural qualifications, the nursery has become a destination for the discerning gardener who knows what they are looking for and is wanting good gardening information and advice and great ideas for their outdoor living space.
The nursery produces 70% of the plants it sells itself with some brought in from local businesses and interstate.
Allora Gardens Nursery has won multiple awards. The Garden Centre is currently in the Nursery & Garden Industry Hall of Fame for winning its Garden Centre category for three consecutive years and is a finalist in the 2010 Training category.
For more information go to www.alloragardensnursery.com.au
| Government House and Gardens |
The original residence was built in 1870-1871 on a natural plateau overlooking Port Darwin. Locally quarried porcellanite stone was used in its construction, the lime for the mortar coming from coral, and the original roof being made of coated canvas.
The first Government Resident, Captain William Bloomfield Douglas, supervised the addition of a verandah roofed with bark and other rooms made of timber. The second Government Resident, Mr George Byng Scott, added a second storey to the Residence, but this was rendered unsafe by termites and was removed by his successor, Mr Edward William Price.
Extensive renovations conducted 1878-1879 by Government Secretary and architect, John George Knight, later to become the Government Resident 1890-1892, gave the building the shape it has today. Dr John Anderson Gilruth, upon his appointment as the first Administrator of the Northern Territory on 25 March 1912, changed the name from the 'Residence' to 'Government House'.
Government House, was entered on the Register of the National Estate in 1980 and was declared a Place of Heritage under the Heritage Conservation Act (Northern Territory) on 15 March 1996.
The grounds cover an area of 1.4 hectares. John George Knight was responsible for establishing a fine tropical grove with terraced walks in the grounds of the Residence in 1878-79. Knight's garden was re-established during the 1930s by Mrs Hilda Abbott. Government House received a Civic Commendation from the Darwin City Council in June 1982 for the care and attention shown to the gardens and grounds. In 1996, Government House was awarded the Keep Australia Beautiful Garden of the Year and Best Government Department or Statutory Authority Project.
| Finlays Stonemasonry and Sticky Beak Shop |
Tom Finlay is a qualified Stonemason who started his apprenticeship in Western Victoria aged 14. Tom worked on a variety of construction sites and in 1988 registered Get Stoned with Tom as a business that became Finlay's Stonemasonry Pty Ltd in 1990. Since locating his business to Yarrawonga (Palmerston) in 1991 Tom has developed the business and site since.
The site now includes the popular Finlay's Joint Cafe and the amazing Stickybeak Shop.
Finlay's Stonemasonry offers a complete range of slates and stones from Australia and Overseas. Tom is the only supplier of Porcelinite (sometimes spelled porcelanite) through his Howard Springs Quarry. This stone is unique to the Darwin Peninsula and is suitable for all forms of construction and sculpture.
"Get Stoned with Tom"
In the Sticky Beak Shop you will find all sorts of Bric a Brac, Antiques, Furniture, Collectables, Local Arts & Crafts, Ornaments, Statues, Pots, Artwork and other useful items to add attraction to your home and garden.
http://www.finlaysstone.com.au/stickybeak.html
Theme Gardens and Landscape Walk
This Landscape Walk is a development by Tom Finlay that provides a living Territory landscape featuring plants and rocks from various Territory landmarks. Tom also hopes that you will be inspired to create ideas for your garden. Take the time to wander around and ask Tom for any other suggestions.
http://www.finlaysstone.com.au/featurepark.htm
Finlay's Joint is a 120 seat cafe situated in Finlay's Stonemasonry
Joint is an Irish term for meeting place, but the name also fits with Finlay's Stonemasonry motto.
The solid stone building has the elegant air of a bygone era and the stylish decor is geared to handle all celebrations from weddings to parties, conference delegations and more.
http://www.finlaysjoint.com.au/index.html
Enjoy the wonders of one of the most enchanting orchid gardens in Australia…
Jenny Bandias first started ‘Jenny’s Orchid Gardens’
as a self-taught, home-based hobby in the late 1980s. Motivated by sheer
passion for growing orchids, combined with the courage to live the life
she desired, Jenny set about developing what is now known as one of the
best commercial orchid nurseries open to the public in Australia.
The gardens are a private collection of many years work with well-planned
landscaping, combined with much foliage and an extensive range of tropical
orchid species. Jenny’s private garden is a collection of over 2,500
plants
http://www.jennysorchids.com.au/index.html
| The
George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens |
The Gardens were established 130 years ago to introduce and evaluate plants
for food and flavour to a small developing community and has since become
important in the recreational and scientific life of Darwin.
The Gardens have survived numerous cyclones and the direct effects of World
War Two. The site extends inland from the sea to a plateau providing a range
of planting environments and is one of a few botanic gardens in the world
which has marine and estuarine plants naturally in its grounds.
The location of the gardens is within the Fannie Bay cultural and recreational
precinct and places it amongst primary tourist venues. Being close to sea,
sand and sports facilities visitors can experience a continuum of activities
from highly active to quietly passive.
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Katherine Tour
Cycad International is a specialist cycad export nursery which was established in 1983 to provide rare and beautiful cycads to landscapers, developers, city councils, nurseries, collectors and home landscape gardeners around the world.
The business, owned and operated by Josef, Karen & son Arryn Perner, is now a million dollar nursery and botanic garden enterprise focusing on cycad living fossils, cacti, succulents, caudiciforms and featuring some of the rarest plant species on earth.
From the early 1990s Josef traveled to Africa, USA, Mexico, South East Asia, India, China and many other parts of the world early researching and collecting seeds from habitats (with permissions from relevant conservation authorities) and importing them into Australia before distributing them to collectors and commercial growers from around the world. This ensured the survival of the species collected.
In 1994, with more seeds than they could sell, the Perners moved to a bigger property, a 6.4 acre block of land which was an undeveloped bush block which has since been developed into a nursery and private botanic gardens.
Cycad International now has 8,000 m2 of shade structures full with Cycads. The gardens have been in the Australian Open Gardens Scheme for two years, there are over 1,400 meters of graveled pathways snaking through the sloping property with massive red sandstone boulders jutting out of the landscape towering over the trees in some places, the garden consists of native flora interplanted with many Cycads and other rare and endangered plants from around the world.
In 2007 the Perners opened their world class gardens to tourism and added a coffee shop which is currently being upgraded.
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