About

Join us for a special day exploring the behind-the-scenes world of plant propagation and nursery growing in the Adelaide Hills.

We’ll visit two exceptional independent growers, stop for lunch at Karkoo Nursery, and finish with rare access to the normally closed-to-the-public nursery at Mt Lofty Botanic Garden.

It’s a chance to meet some incredibly knowledgeable plant people, learn more about propagation and climate-compatible planting, discover unusual species and see where plants are grown before they make their way into gardens and landscapes.

A full day for garden lovers, designers, horticulturists, and anyone curious about plants and how they’re grown — with access to places you wouldn’t normally get to see.

Bus transport and lunch are included, with pick-up available from Netherby or Piccadilly.

THE DAY
8:00 am – Pick-up 1 | Netherby Tennis Club
Bus departs 8:15 am.
8:30 am – Pick-up 2 | Piccadilly Netball Club
Bus departs 8:45 am.

Valley Horticulture
John Batchelor is an extremely experienced and knowledgeable plantsman and propagator. He will lead a tour of his modest nursery and share some of the unusual and uncommon plants he grows.
We will have a look at his propagation area and he will explain the fundamentals of propagation and will also do a demonstration. Plants can be put aside here to be purchased and picked up after the tour.

Redstem Nursery
Jason Thomas is becoming an industry leader in growing and supplying the nursery industry with climate-compatible, hardy trees, shrubs, grasses and hedging plants. He will lead a tour of his expansive nursery and explain what he is trying to create and share his enthusiasm, passion and knowledge of the nursery industry. Plants can be put aside here to be purchased and picked up after the tour.

Lunch at Karkoo Nursery
Time to relax, have lunch and explore Karkoo before we head to our final stop.

Mt Lofty Botanic Garden Nursery
Our final visit is a rare behind-the-scenes tour of the Botanic Gardens & State Herbarium nursery, which undertakes plant propagation for Adelaide, Mt Lofty and Wittunga Botanic Gardens.
Working with the SA Seed Conservation Centre, the nursery also propagates rare and threatened South Australian species, including endangered orchids. It holds significant plant collections, including one of the world’s most important collections of the endangered Sumatran corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanum.
Normally closed to the public, this is a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and see specialist propagation techniques including seed, cuttings, division and grafting, along with heated propagation beds, misting and fogging systems — and many rare plants not available through commercial nurseries.

3:45 pm – Piccadilly Netball Club drop-off
4.15 pm – Netherby Tennis Club final drop-off

We'll email the details of pick-up addresses and lunch options to ticket buyers nearer the time.