Tens of thousands of people have shared their passion for plants at Australia’s largest sub-tropical gardening event.
There was all the right ingredients for a blockbuster Queensland Garden Expo at Nambour Showgrounds, from July 8 to July 10.
The 37th edition of the expo was a massive drawcard for tourism on the Sunshine Coast, during the school holidays, with 65 per cent of attendees arriving from outside of the region.
It’s estimated that more than 40,000 people attended.
Scroll down for more photos
Event Manager Marion Beazley said there was growing interest in gardening.“The queues at the gates on Friday morning indicated the appetite for this event and with more people turning to gardening than ever before over the course of the pandemic, the demand for plants, information and all things gardening is at an absolute premium,”she said. Australia’s largest gardening speaker program included crowd favourite Costa Georgiadis as well as ABC Gardening Australia’s Jerry Coleby-Williams, Claire Bickle, Sophie Thomson, Millie Ross and Phil Dudman.There was also a significant boost to the local economy.“The economic impact of this event is estimated to be more than $10 million so we were thrilled that the event was able to be back in full swing this year after COVID restrictions impacted the Expo last year and forced us to cancel the year before,” Ms Beazley said.To find out more, visit Queensland Garden Expo.
Festival facts
- Three-day event from July 8 to July 10.
- 40,000-plus attendees.
- 65 per cent visitation from outside the Sunshine Coast.
- More than seven hectares of gardening inspiration.
- 360-plus exhibitors and displays, including 55 nurseries.
- 100-plus free lectures and demonstrations.
- Eight live speaker stages.
- 60,000 plants for sale each day.
- More than $10m injected into the local economy.
