In a school near where I live, 25 trees had to be removed as they were found unstable. The reason was that the species chosen was not suited to the soil type and their root system could not develop adequately.

Not long ago I was given a plan to quote from. Of the plant specification list of 50 species, only 3 were suited to the region’s climate and soil. The landscape architect was from Sydney and had never visited the site or even the locality.

These stories are unfortunately not the exception. Using people lacking local knowledge and sometimes horticultural expertise lead to landscaping failure. This is render disservice for the future of the ornamental horticulture industry as a whole. The general public seeing plantings that fail or stagnate will not be likely to use professionals to prepare their gardens as they will think they can do as well by themselves. It may even put them off spending money on their gardens. This will lead to a decrease in plant sales and lower use of garden materials such as mulches, soils and fertilisers.

On the other hand, when the public see a well designed, well planted and maintained garden they are inspired to improve or get started on their own garden. This will increase the frequentation to garden centres, landscape suppliers and the use of garden professionals.

Plants are living organisms that have very specific requirements. By employing a suitably qualified person with local knowledge of the environmental conditions and horticultural expertise to specify plants for your next project, it will ensure its long term success and client’s satisfaction. This in turn will benefit all concerned in the production, retail and installation of amenity horticulture.

About Patrick Regnault
I have worked in the horticultural and landscaping industry for over 35 years in three different countries.I am a member and Registered Horticulturist with the Australian Institute of Horticulture and member of the Housing Industry Association. I am the owner of Interactive Landscapes, a successful structural landscaping and landscape design business. I believe that what gardens and gardening do is to reconnect people with the fundamental elements of nature. A good gardener will try and acquire a profound understanding of the balance of nature and endeavour to do the best to improve the environment in which the garden is situated. At Interactive Landscapes it is a philosophy that we put into practice when designing and creating a garden, no matter the size. Our name reflects this as we understand that gardens are a place of interaction. View all posts by this author »