Doing the Green Street Score made me stop and think. We scored well, but there’s always room for improvement. You do things you naturally think are right, but for some questions my reaction was “Oh my gosh, I haven’t even thought of that!”
Della, Samford Valley Garden Centre
Passionate about plants (and the planet)
Samford Valley Garden Centre is a peaceful oasis in the middle of Samford Village, 22km from the centre of Brisbane. This relatively small garden shop and plant nursery is brimming with indoor and outdoor plants, flowers, herbs, trees, garden supplies, accessories and giftware. It’s a friendly place focusing on homegrown produce, seasonal planting and practical advice.
Della Holden runs the business with her husband Derek and staff. The team’s passion for plants matches their desire to operate sustainably and support their customers and community.
By nurturing the environment, they nurture the business too – it’s a win-win!
Sharing sustainability actions and learning points
Della shared the garden centre’s sustainability story at the Sustainability Smorgasbord event hosted by Green Street in October 2024 for Samford Sustainable Business Network members.
Using the Green Street Score as a general sustainability indicator, Della mentioned actions to reduce energy, cut waste, buy locally and save water. Watch the video to see and hear what she said…
Samford Valley Garden Centre’s sustainability initiatives
Here’s a summary of the main points Della mentioned:
- rewiring the shop’s main shed to replace outdated wiring with more efficient systems like LED lights
- painting the shed with heat-reflective paint to keep it cooler and reduce energy use
- operating some aspects of the business from home, where energy is provided by solar panels and the energy supplier has high sustainability ratings
- taking all green waste to the local green waste recycling facility, and producing very little other waste
- choosing plastic pots that can be recycled, reusing them, and giving excess pots to community groups
- buying second-hand furnishings, equipment and stock from a garden centre that (sadly) closied down
- buying plants locally, and buying imported pots and other products from local suppliers where possible
- growing a much larger percentage of plants at home, which is more profitable and sustainable than buying from plant suppliers
- hand watering plants to reduce water use, using tank water at home (and looking at installing a tank at the shop)
- investigating systems that catch water and recirculate it, to use water efficiently and nurture the plants
- educating customers on seasonal planting and food-growing advice via social media, a gardening club and local events
- planting hundreds of trees, flowers and wildlife-loving plants, and encouraging customers to plant more too!
“One question in the Green Street Score asks how many trees we plant. Woo-hoo! We scored well on that one!”
Della, Samford Valley Garden Centre
Locally grown: many plants for sale at the garden centre are now grown at the owner’s home, rather than being brought in from further afield. This not only reduces transport emissions, it ensures the plants suit the locale and reduces the costs and risks of buying plant stock.
Sustainability challenges and opportunities
As the above list demonstrates, Samford Valley Garden Centre is taking many small measures to be more sustainable. However, there’s always more to be done, and sustainability does not come without its challenges:
- as there is no suitable public transport to Samford, staff coming to the garden centre from different areas have to travel by car individually
- many garden products and giftware items are made interstate or overseas, and some are more eco-friendly than others
- reducing water usage while keeping plants healthy and well-watered can be difficult in droughts or very hot periods
- customers may need help choosing plants that thrive in local conditions and support local ecosystems, so ongoing education is important.
“Hand-watering plants reduces water usage. We’re also looking at a system to capture and recirculate water overflow.”
Della, Samford Valley Garden Centre
Saving water: the garden centre team hand-waters plants, using tank water at home and town water at the shop (but are looking into a tank there too).
Join a Sustainable Business Network
Samford Valley Garden Centre is a member of the Samford Sustainable Business Network. Members connect via local events and Groups on Green Street. If you’d like to join a local network (or create a new one), contact Green Street.
