Bloomin great award for local gardener

A CITY of Ballarat apprentice horticulturalist was part of a team awarded best visual display at the recent Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

Jaclyn Gordon worked as part of the first all-female team with Emma Sheppard-Simms, whose design was chosen as the winner of an Opens Garden Victoria design competition.

Ms Gordon saw the call out from Ms Sheppard-Simms for a horticulturalist and was chosen to help create the garden.

“Emma was calling for female horticulturalists which sparked my interest straight away,” she said.

“Design is something that I absolutely love and I’ve been working with the City of Ballarat since 2021.

“I really enjoy making those spaces which nurture people’s connection to nature.”

The winning garden was called A Place for Us and focuses on sustainability, biodiversity, and local materials.

“It was about demonstrating the diversity in plant choices and celebrating native plants,” Ms Gordon said.

“My role was to help with acquiring the plants and installing them in the design.”

She said the project was a great learning experience.

“It’s definitely developed my career in that this is the avenue I’d like to go with horticulture,” she said.

“I’ve learnt what actually goes into a project like this as there’s a lot of pre-planning and challenges which come up along the way.

“I think women are underrepresented in the industry and its important to convey it’s not just a man’s trade and it’s something women can bring their skillsets to.”