In this episode I speak with Shannon Blackbourn from Panacea Landscapes, a landscaping and maintenance business based in Canberra. 

Shannon has been involved in gardens at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show the past three years, coming 1st and 3rd in the Balcony Garden competition the last two years.

Shannon talks about how she's obtained some business/accounting advice recently to make sure she's on the right track, which I think is a great thing to do being only 4 years into running the business.

We also talk about the places Shannon worked and studied prior to starting Panacea Landscapes, and a recurring theme I noticed is that Shannon still keeps in contact with many of the people she worked and studied with, which is awesome.

You can follow Shannon on Instagram @panacealandsapeservices

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I speak with Daniel Taylor from Taylor'd Waterscapes, a waterscape and landscape construction company based on the Sunshine Coast.

Daniel initially started out working for several landscape companies before starting with Patrick from Waterscapes Australia and finding his passion in aquascaping, working with him for 4-5 years and then starting Taylor'd Waterscapes.

Danie has been to the USA as part of his role as a CAC (Certified Aquascape Contractor) and also recenty spent time in Namibia working on what sounds like an insane water feature.

You can follow Daniel on Instagram @taylord_waterscapes

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this special edition episode, I speak with 20 different people involved in designing and building the show gardens at the 2025 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

It's a great episode to listen to to get a better understanding of the special meanings and inspiration behind some of the gardens, whether attending the show or not.

0:00 - Intro

3:16 - Trent Cornish - IMG

10:28 - Rob Cooper - Distinctive Gardens

16:53 - Matt York - Ratio

24:09 - Brent Reid - Candeo

31:44 - Ben Hutchison - Ben Hutchison Landscapes

36:05 - Adam Hompas - Adam Hompas Landscapes

39:52 - Paul Pritchard - Paul Pritchard Landscape Design

44:19 - Jason Hodges - Buxus Balls of Berry

50:04 - Scott Latham - Latham Landscapes

55:51 - Aaron - Timeless Outdoors

59:25 - Kaz Krasovskis - Kaz Krasovskis Landscape Design

1:04:27 - Liam - EarthCore Landscapes

1:06:59 - Jocelyn Bennett - EarthCore Landscapes

1:10:05 - Carla Perry - Carla Perry Gardens

1:15:42 - Riley - Lonepine Landscapes

1:20:15 Grahame Rowe - Better Homes and Gardens

1:26:36 - Jake - Go Landscaping

1:29:44 - Ash Walker - Ash Walker Gardening

1:32:21 - Bayley Luutomes - Bayley Luutomes Design

1:37:46 - Mitch - Bespoke Landscapes

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I speak with Luke Smith, not only from Silverstone Gardening and the Australian Lawn and Garden Podcast, but he's also now the founder of Moqo App, an app for lawn mowing/maintenance contractors.

We talk about the origin of the app and what it does, as well as talking about what he's up to with his maintenance business, and  how his business course is going, now that it's almost been out for a year.

You can follow Luke on Instagram @moqo_app  , @theaustralianlawnandgardenpod and @silverstonegardening

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I speak with Remi Willems, a gardener based in regional Victoria who spent 6 years working at Paul Bangay's Stonefields.

Remi has a great story of his first gardening memory, and also has plenty of insights into the high end maintenance he's work in his whole career.

He has great plans to coach people to do the same work he does, so it'll be great to following along with his career and see it take off.

You can follow Remi on Instagram @remi_the_gardener

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I speak with Mike Andes, founder of Augusta Lawn Care. 

Mike started his business early, and has grown it significantly, to now have 100+ franchises in North America, as well as one in Melbourne.

Mike is big on systems within business, and also employs P4P in them, which is Pay for performance, where the employees receive a profit share based on performance.

Mike also talks about the CoPilot CRM he uses for the business, and we also briefly touch on the future of robotic mowers.

You can follow Mike on Instagram @themikeandes

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I speak with Rob Cooper from Distinctive Gardens. Rob is a landscape designer based in South Australia, and only recently stopped doing construction within his business.

He's heading a South Australian team, alongside Yergan Landscape and Desert Flower Landscapes, to design and build a garden at this years MIFGS, so we talk plenty about that.

We also talk about Rob's process of communicating with contractors who are going to build his projects so that both they, and the client win.

You can follow Rob on Instagram @distinctivegardens_landscaping

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I answer some questions asked via Instagram.

It's the shortest episode I've ever done, but we'll be back to regular episodes next week.

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I speak with two past guests in Paul Pritchard of Paul Pritchard Landscape Design (ep 69) and Adam Hompas from Adam Hompas Landscapes (ep 66).

Paul and Adam are both based in Melbourne, and since being on the podcast in Spring of 2022, they've teamed up to design and build 2 show gardens in the Boutique Garden category at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, and are going back again this year to tackle a large show garden, so we talk about their plans for that, as well as what they've learnt from the two they've built.

I also ask them both about how their businesses have been since being on the podcast, and follow up with them on questions answered in previous episodes.

You can find Paul on Instagram @paulpritchardlandscapedesign and you can find Adam @adamhompaslandscapes

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel

In this episode I answer some questions asked via Instagram.

I also make a major announcement towards the end of the episode!

If you're wanting to sign up to be on the mailing list for The Landscaping School, you can find the link here.

You can follow along with the projects we're currently working on via our Instagram page
@instyle_gardens
@thelandscapingpodcast

You can view each episode on our YouTube channel