T&SG: MT EVELYN GARDEN CENTRE

On Tuesday, 18 October, some 90 T&SG members and friends visited Mt Evelyn Garden Centre where they were hosted by owners Barry and Rebecca Humphris and the garden centre’s leader Steven Touzel.

The event was oversubscribed a week out, such was the desire by members to get out again. This also reflected the high regard in which the garden centre is held by the industry. Accordingly, NGIV strongly encourages members to book early to avoid disappointment of missing out.

Tree & Shrub Growers’ chair and MC, Heath McKenzie welcome everyone to Mt Evelyn Garden Centre and the October Tree & Shrub Growers meeting on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Everyone in attendance commented on how stunning the garden centre looked, full of stock, colour and vibrancy. The centre is celebrating 50 years of providing customers with products to create beautiful living spaces and it has evolved into a modern garden lovers’ destination, filled with inspiration.

The exciting changes, transforming a basic shed into an impressive retail space with its simple, natural and rustic feel, were there for all to see. It was generally agreed it’s a vibrant nursery that offers locals, as well as shoppers from distant suburbs, ample choice in plants, giftware and essential gardening needs.

Dinner was held nearby at the York On Lilydale, with members giving the tab a workout after a rookie error left attendees a little dry at Mount Evelyn!

We were joined on the night by Bridget Vallence MP, State Member for Evelyn, Shadow Minister for Industry, Shadow Minister for Manufacturing and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Digital Economy & Medical Research. She officially welcomed everyone to Mt Evelyn before releasing one of the Coalition’s election policies over dinner which she believes would benefit growers.

MC Heath started the evening session off with an interesting Q&A with Barry and Steven, with the following observation recorded:

How’s the business travelling and what do you see as the opportunities for retailers?

Steven – While the big box chains are our competitors, we provide better customer service, applying honesty, advice and really a mini consultancy, thus providing a clear point of difference.

You added in a Tram Café – not without its challenges. How’s that going?

Barry – it’ll be a lot better when the liquor licence comes through! By way of a back story, I saw on the news they were selling trams through a tender process for about $1k and thought it would be cool to own one. After chatting with Rebecca, I lodged a bid and the rest is history.

Barry, you’re a regular overseas traveller always looking for the cutting edge; what do you see as some future changes in the Australian market?

Technology remains a key – Australian growers are 40 years behind Europe. A simple camera at the end of a production line assessing quality and size exists in Europe. I can’t recall seeing one in an Australian nursery.

Covid hit businesses hard; how did you adjust?

Steven – really, given there were no rules to follow, we just winged it. Overall, it ended up being positive as all customers wanted was stock to make their our homes better. But finding that stock was a real challenge.

Then Bridget Vallence MP highlighted the Coalition’s manufacturing fund and explained that, if elected at the November poll, this potential fund would be available to nurseries.

CEO Craig Taberner responded to Ms Vallence’s comments on behalf of industry and provided an update to members on the current NGIV-related activities, including sharing the news of NGIV being the recipients of a $1.9M State Government grant through the Jobs Victoria Fund – Priority Workforce Projects to help our member businesses find staff and tackle the current workforce challenges.

John Van der horst, current president of Garden Centres of Australia, said a few words to conclude the evening.

Thanks to Barry and Rebecca Humphris, Steven Touzel and the whole team from Mt Evelyn Garden Centre and Humphris Nursery for hosting an outstanding evening.