The 2022 Queensland Garden Expo will come alive this weekend, with an array of unusual topics making an appearance on the program during the three-day event at the Nambour Showgrounds from 8-10 July.
This year, gardening guru Kate Wall will be sharing 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,” Ms Wall 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 at 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,” Dr Redd 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. 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,” Dr Head said.
“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 2022 program features more than 100 free 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 has become a firm family favourite, particularly given children under 15 are free and the extensive kids program of activities on offer, including kids 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, 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,” Ms Beazley said.
Tickets are $20 for adults, while children 15 and under are free. To find out more and purchase tickets online, please visit qldgardenexpo.com.au.
