The Front Garden

Self confessed 'plant nerd' Andrew Smith talks all things Horticulture and his 35 years working at Warners Nurseries.   Find out how Andrew's love of plants commenced at a really early age - he recalls some great stories of being part of different plant clubs whilst still at school.     He also provides advice on the things individuals can do to get into the industry and shares why...

Ollie Stephens from Hungry Wolf talks about his meteorical rise from a supermarket register operator to becoming a concreter highly regarded in the landscaping industry.  As concrete started to enter homes through floating stairs and BBQ benches, Ollie capitalised on the boom in social media, in particular Instagram, to grow his business and explore interesting and unique ways to utilise concrete...

Our Hosts Chris Weiss and Tyson Owen share their experiences of lessons learnt throughout their careers and discuss how, as a business owner, that the way you respond to the challenges you face will shape the future success of your business.   From using new contractors to taking on jobs 'just a little bit' out of your capability, or the best way to set up your teams on site, tune in as...

In this episode of 'The Front Garden', Chris Weiss and Tyson Owen, have a chat with Lisa Ellis from Lisa Ellis Gardens about how she happened upon the Landscaping industry, the challenges of operating within a predominantly male dominant industry and industry specific challenges in general.  With a successful career in marketing to a Graduate Diploma in Horticulture, Lisa speaks with pas...

Chris Weiss and Tyson Owen, together with Andrew Grasby, Managing Director of Super Gardens and current President of Landscaping Victoria discuss smashing through the stigma of having more women join the predominantly male-dominant Landscaping industry on this brand-new episode of ‘The Front Garden’ brought to you by StrathAyr, the home of ‘World Class Grass’.  Andrew also takes us through the hum...

Chris Weiss and Tyson Owen have a chat with Shah Turner, Landscape Architect and owner of Pitch Box, on this brand new episode of ‘The Front Garden’ brought to you by StrathAyr, the home of ‘World Class Grass’.  Shah takes you on a journey of how his love for Landscaping got him enrolling in a degree in Landscape Architecture at RMIT before setting up Pitch-Box, an online ‘on-demand’ service, work...

On this episode we take a deep dive on the topic of OH&S standards and the importance of staying on top of your obligations for the safety of your workers, and the survival of your business.  David Jarman from Coolabah Landscapes, with 36 years of knowledge, experience and know-how under his belt takes us on a journey through his early days in the business, whilst emphasising the importance of...

Yet another informative episode brought to you by StrathAyr where Chris Weiss and Tyson Owen pick the brains of Ineke Clark, Director of Ambition Consultants, a successful Marketing Consultancy whose primary objective is to help small business Landscapers and entities in the built industry to build brands online. Ineke takes us through her journey from being the former CEO of Landscaping Associati...

In this episode, we speak with Bruce Winstanley from Winstanley Landscapes and Great Ocean Pools about his 30 years in the landscaping business.   Bruce has a great story to tell - from his beginnings of working in a Bank for 10 years, to completing his apprenticeship at 28 years of age! He has some great tips for tradesmen in general and offers advice on how you can improve your business. Got a s...

In this episode, we are speaking with Chris Keay. He describes how he started his career as an (almost) roof tiler before deciding on a Landscaping Apprenticeship, culminating into the creation of his own commercial landscape business, Landscapes Plus.  Chris gives Chris and Tyson his tips for building a successful business and outlines the process he went through in successfully selling an 80% sh...

In this episode, co-host Tyson Owen takes us through his experience dealing with VCAT in a 2-year battle. He provides a background of his business and how the project came about.  From positive beginnings, communication then stalled, leading Tyson to navigate the VCAT  process. Some of the key tips and tricks Tyson provides includes how to maximize Landscaping Victoria Master Landscaping Membershi...

In the launch episode of The Front Garden, hosts Chris Weiss and Tyson Owen chat with Adam from Adam Hompas Landscapes. Adam summarises his 6 year journey of owning his own business and describes how it was the passion he had that really pushed his business to new heights.      Adam, Chris and Tyson discuss their experiences of 2020 and share how COVID has affected them personally and professional...