The Landscaping Podcast

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...

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 t...

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&apo...

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, ende...

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...

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 dis...

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 episod...

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...

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...

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 th...

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&apo...

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...

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 as...

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 w...

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 wh...

In this episode I interview Taylor Lukic of Odyssey Landscapes, a landscape design and construction company based on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. Taylor has been running the business for just 5 years, but currently has 15 staff including 3 constructions teams, fulltime office staff and a full time videographer. We discuss how he built to be this size so quick, as well as how he came across hi...

In this episode I interview Brent Reid from Candeo design and it's by far the longest interview we've done to date, and part of the reason for that is due to the amount of Garden Show experience Brent has, both in Melbourne, as well as interstate and internationally. So we spend plenty of time discussing Garden Shows. We also talk about his latest undertaking, as director of the Melbourn...

In this episode I speak with Ben Hayman of The Garden Keeper, a horticultural maintenance company based in the Southern highlands of New South Wales. Ben didn't take the stereotypical path to get into the horticulture industry, instead he completed a mechanical apprenticeship and worked in that for several years before realizing he'd prefer working outdoors. We discuss that while the pro...

In this episode I interview Greg Soster from Outside Space, a landscape construction company operating in and south of Sydney. Greg had a less than regular pathway on his way to getting into landscaping. He started out of school in banking and finance, then went on to advertising and printing, before working in his family business with his father working on a building and fencing business. He then...

In this episode I interview Landscape Designer, Gardener and owner of Buxus Balls of Berry, Jason Hodges. Jason has been a presenter on TV for around 20 years, most recently on Better Homes and Gardens where he worked for 16 years. He's also designed and built 6 Gold medal winning gardens at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and was also awarded a Silver Gilt at the Chelsea F...

In this episode I interview nursery owner at Bamboo South Coast nursery on the south coast of New South Wales, Clint Bramston. Clint is a man passionate about plants and people, so it's easy to see why he's been successful in running one of the most amazing nurseries in New South Wales.  The nursery stocks more of your unusual landscaping plants, including rare tropical type plants that...

In this episode I interview landscape designer and researcher on Better Homes and Gardens, Grahame Rowe. As mentioned in the first episode of The Landscaping Podcast, Grahame was the inspiration behind me wanting to create this podcast, as I knew he was a passionate plant nerd and a great speaker. Grahame talks about his time doing an apprenticeship and working at Government House in Sydney. He sp...

In this, the first episode of The Landscaping Podcast, I give you an insight into what you can expect from The Landscaping Podcast going forward, and also give you a run down of my story to get into the landscaping industry and how I got to where I am today. I mention who the upcoming guests are for the podcast: Grahame Rowe of Better Homes and Gardens TV, Clint Bramston of Bamboo South Coast nurs...