In this episode I speak with Meg Geary from MG Gardens, a landscape design company based in Melbourne. Meg is not only a landscape designer, but also a plant nerd, and they're a great guest to have on as they're always passionate about what they do. We talk about how Meg started in the industry and how she got her name out there so that people knew she existed, and we also discuss the strength of having a landscape designer design a garden and how what the client wants, sometimes isn't the best ...
Mar 06, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode I speak with Joel Kean from Aquadreamz, a boutique pool building company based in Melbourne. Joel is a well respected person within the pool building industry and is currently the President of the Master Pool Builders Association of Australia. There are many parallels in this chat with Joel between the pool building and landscaping industry, such as when Joel mentioned how he changed the structure of his business after he realised he was working way too hard just to keep employee...
Feb 27, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In this episode I speak with world renowned Landscape Designer Paul Bangay of PRB Design. Paul has been a landscape designer based in Melbourne for more than 25 years and is easily the most well known Landscape Designer in the country. Paul's home garden, Stonefields, features in this chat a few times and I had a guided tour of it in 2016 and it is the most amazing garden I've ever been through and I couldn't recommend visiting and higher! Paul also offers some advice throughout our chat about h...
Feb 20, 2022•31 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode I speak with George Jones of Matipo Landscaping. George is a landscape designer and builder currently based in Stafford in the UK, but spent the first 5 years of his landscape career in New Zealand. So we discuss the differences between the two as well as his perception of the Australian landscape industry. As well as having his own podcast, The Matipodcast, George also has a YouTube channel and has recently being diving deep into the analytics of getting viewers engaged in the c...
Feb 13, 2022•57 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In this episode I speak with Jason King from King's Pools and Gardens. Jason is based in Geelong and is one of the premier landscaping companies in the area, and recently added swimming pool construction to the business, and promptly won multiple awards for the pools he built. We discuss how he went about adding pools to his services, as well as the reason why he no longer has a commercial side to the business. Jason also talks about the benefits of some long term relationships he's had with sta...
Feb 06, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode I speak with Mitch Davies of Sand and Stone Landscaping. Mitch runs a landscaping business in Adelaide, South Australia and has been working for himself for around 6 years. Prior to that he worked for a couple of high end landscapers and also obtained his building licence in structural landscaping. In the episode Mitch shares a bad experience he had with a client, which will hopefully help others avoid the same fate as he had. He also mentions which jobs are the best for making g...
Jan 30, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode I speak with Caleb Auman of Auman Landscape, all the way from Ohio, USA. Caleb and his wife Brittany run Auman Landscape, along with a few other side businesses such as The Hardscape Academy (which is an online training course, soon to be in person), The Kid Contractor Podcast (for which they create three episodes per week), they do business coaching for landscaping businesses and they also organise a conference or two each year including Together In The Trades, which is a couple...
Jan 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this episode I speak with Bonnie Stacey of Bonnie Stacey Landscapes. Bonnie is a landscape designer based an hour north of Perth in Western Australia, and while she's only been running the business for around 18 months, she's quickly built a loyal following and provided plenty of value in that time. Not only is she Booked out months in advance, but Bonnie has released an e-Book called Gardens that Grow, which educates DIYers about what to do and not to do when it comes to gardens, soil prep, ...
Jan 16, 2022•55 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this episode of the podcast I speak with fellow Geelong landscaper Peter Shaw of Ocean Road Landscaping. ORL are a design, construction and maintenance company based in Anglesea, Victoria. Peter has recently release a book titled Soulscape, so we discuss the contents of that, as well as the path Peter took from starting out working by himself, to running a team of 20+ staff. There are quite a few business tips in this episode too, so a great one to finish the year, and the first season of the...
Dec 12, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this episode I speak with Rich Wigley of Bluesky Landscaping. Rich is currently based in Sydney but about to move to the Central Coast of New South Wales, and runs a design and construction company. I enjoyed my chat with Rich so much that we kept talking after I'd wrapped up the episode, and there was so much value in that 'after' chat that I've put it into the episode as well. You can follow along with Rich on Instagram @blueskylandscaping_ You can follow along with the projects we're curre...
Dec 05, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 29
In this episode I speak with Jac Semmler. Jac formerly worked at the Diggers Club and recently started a new role with The Plant Society as Head of Plants and Strategy. We discuss her current and previous roles, as well as her work writing articles for The Planthunter. Jac's own garden in Frankston, called 'Heartland' is open the weekend of the 4th and 5th of December 2021 as part of Open Gardens Victoria and we discuss the various spaces which make up her garden. You can follow along with Jac o...
Nov 28, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this episode I speak with Sam Collie of Esjay Landscapes and Pools. Esjay is based in Melbourne and are a one stop shop for their clients, doing design, landscape construction, pool construction and maintenance. We discuss how Sam keeps on top of all of this. Sam mentions who he worked for when he started out in the industry, including two Icons of the industry. We also talk about some advice Sam has received through the use of a business coach. And I was impressed at how Sam tracks his emplo...
Nov 21, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 27
In this episode I talk with Mark Cvetkovski of Top Buxus Australia. Mark and his business partner operate a garden maintenance business in Melbourne and after struggling to find a suitable solution to the lack of health with Buxus plants, they discovered Top Buxus and started importing it into Australia to use on their clients gardens. After a year of using it they decided to be the Australian seller of it. Mark's background is in Science, and we discuss how he looked to develop root systems wit...
Nov 14, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In this episode I speak with Alistair Hutton of Everscapes. Everscapes is a landscape design and construction company based in Brisbane and Alistair also runs Infinity Pool Builders. In this chat, Alistair mentions how he started in the industry, by pushing himself to do new things as clients asked, which allowed him to grow his skillset. When I ask about how he grew the business to the size it is now (26 employees), he mentions how learning to not micro manage was the biggest thing he had to do...
Nov 07, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 25
In this episode I speak with Steven Wells. Steven is a horticultural therapist and nurse, and has combined his love of horticulture and caring for people by designing and implementing a beautiful gardens built across three Austin Hospital sites for the benefit of patients, visitors and staff. I found this chat to be great for reflecting on the way I think and act in business and life. Steven speaks about his amazing manager who supported his passion in the early days, how he's able to sit back a...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 24
In this episode I speak with Craig Ratcliffe of Southern Cross Lawns and Gardens. Craig is a gardener who specialises in hedging and topiary and works in New South Wales. Craig recently moved to Orange from Sydney, which is about 3 hours commute, so we discuss how he's going to look after past clients in Sydney and obtain new ones in Orange. He's got a great story about how he started in the industry and the persistence he had to work for the employer he wanted to work for. And Craig has a large...
Oct 24, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 23
In this episode I speak with Jordan Taylor from Granite Works, a paving supplier based in Melbourne. We speak about Jordan applying for a job ad in the paper to work for Granite Works 18 years ago and the path he has taken to get to his role today. We speak about how the paving industry has changed, about a couple of impressive projects Granite Works has been involved in and some new products on the market. You can follow along with Granite Works on Instagram @granite.works or their website www....
Oct 17, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this episode I speak with Tony Mcleod from Domain Pools, a pool building company based in Melbourne. Tony has been in the Landscaping/Pool industry for more than 30 years and is a wealth of knowledge, some of which he shares in this episode. He also talks about a massive project he won in the early days which set him up for future success. He talks about people not charging enough when they're quoting for tasks such as paving. And I ask the age old question "Why should I pick a concrete pool ...
Oct 10, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 21
In this episode I speak with our first international guest, David Andersen from Insideout Design and Build, a landscape design and construction company based in Vancouver, Canada. David was born in South Africa, moved to London in the UK when he was 19 and started landscaping there. He ended up starting his own business in London before moving to Canada and, after working for other employers, ended up starting his current business which has been running for about 5 years. We talk about the diffe...
Oct 03, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In this episode I speak with Steve Taylor of COS Design. Steve is a landscape designer based in Melbourne and is one of Australia's most awarded designers and my favourite designer. We discuss how Steve started out, starting in landscape construction before growing the company and then doing design and construction, before transitioning to what he does now, being solely in design. The Before and After video I spoke about in the episode can be found here and then click on the first video titled '...
Sep 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this episode I speak with John Hall from Cactus Country. Cactus Country is a Australia's largest Cactus garden situated near the Murray River bordering Victoria and New South Wales in Strathmerton. John's parents started Cactus Country and run the business along with John, and it's not just a garden, but a retail nursery, wedding venue, restaurant/cafe and education centre. I discuss all of this with John as well as their plans to grow. We also go more off the landscaping track in this episod...
Sep 19, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 18
In this episode I speak with Dale Vine of DVine Scapes. Dale operates a landscape construction business in Geelong, but is better know for appearance as a contestant on The Block in three series. He has also released his own book "Dale Vine's Outdoor Reno Guide" and has his own TV series currently airing called "DVine Living". We discuss his book and TV show in this episode, as well as the path Dale took to get into the landscaping industry and his time on The Block and how he juggles being a la...
Sep 12, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In this episode I speak with Dan Cusack of Revive Landscapes and Living Walls. Dan is a landscaper in Canberra in the ACT and has previously been on the board of The Landscape Association. It's clear from this chat with Dan that he's passionate about the industry, and we discuss the need for clients to have a landscape design prior to engaging a landscaper and we also chat about all the different things Dan is up to inside and outside of the business. You can follow along with Dan on Instagram @...
Sep 05, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this episode I speak with Tristan Pierce of Tristan Pierce Landscape Architecture. Tristan is based in Western Australia and does some of the most amazing 3D renders of his projects that I've seen. We discuss his design process as well as how he got into the landscaping industry. A few days after the interview, Tristan won a few awards at the WALDA Awards (West Australian Landscape Design Association) I highly recommend checking out his Instagram @tristan_pierce and see how realistic the 3D r...
Aug 29, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 15
In this episode I interview Jamal Steer of FCG Landscaping and The Framed Landscaper. Jamal's main business is FCG Landscaping, which is a design and construction company based in Sydney, and he recently started up the Framed Landscaper, which is a business selling photo prints of various plants. We discuss both businesses in this episode as well as how he made his way into the industry in the first place. You can follow along with Jamal on Instagram @fcglandscaping and @theframedlandscaper You ...
Aug 22, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In this episode I interview Ash Muir from Ashley James Gardens, a Landscape Design, maintenance and garden company from Melbourne and The Yarra Valley. Ash has a great story and path that he took to get to where he is today, starting off working for his dad at 14, ending up starting his own business and then taking over part of his dad's business. We discuss all of that as well as what he's got coming up for Ashley James Gardens. You can follow Ash on Instagram @ashley_james_gardens You can foll...
Aug 15, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this episode I speak with Ollie Stephens of Hungry Wolf Studio. Hungry Wolf Studio are one of the best architectural concrete companies in the country, and we discuss how Ollie made his pathway to get there, starting out doing house slabs. We also discuss the concrete course which Ollie is just about to launch to teach people around the world how to do the awesome concrete products that Hungry Wolf Studio create. You can find Ollie on Instagram @hungrywolfstudio And you can sign up to registe...
Aug 08, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode I speak with Lily Sabo of Sabo Design, a landscape architecture company based in Melbourne. I ask Lily about how she got into the industry and where she was working prior to starting her business. We discuss 3D design and how not every design firm does their own 3D work. I also ask her about the source of her work flow and how her answer is the best type of advertising you could ask for. Lily can be found on Instagram @sabo_design You can follow along with the projects we're curr...
Aug 01, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this episode I interview Jade Child from Tassie Artificial Turf. Jade started out as a landscaper and then saw an opportunity to focus predominantly on artificial turf. And now he spends the majority of his days installing artificial turf in Tasmania and doing landscaping to fill in the quieter months. Jade travelled to the USA in 2019 to attend a seminar run by the Synthetic Turf Council, of which he is a member, and we discuss that trip and what he learnt over there. We also discuss the val...
Jul 25, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this episode I interview Tim Harper of Space Capsule Design Co, Banks and Brown, Plants'n'sh*t podcast and Jungle Talk podcast. Tim is clearly a man with many hats and we discuss all of his businesses/ventures in the episode. I first met Tim at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden show where we were both building a garden in the Boutique Gardens competition, and we discuss what that was like for Tim, as well as the many other show/display gardens he's built since that one. We also di...
Jul 18, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 9
