Welcome
After almost 5 years in our humble home at 135 Lygon Street, we bring you the first edition of our Newsletter/Blog. Welcome to the first edition of Lygon St Nursery News. The team is really excited to be able to share our insights into the things we are most passionate about – gardening, landscapes, and plants. With each newsletter, we’ll talk about everything we know about plant and garden care, our personal stories, tips and advice; inspiring products and events.
We start our first edition with a personal story from Michael, passionate landscaper and nurseryman; and the proud owner of Lygon St Nursery. Michael shares the humble beginnings of the nursery. He explains why we love what we do and why we value community. Michael also shares his hopes for the future of Lygon St Nursery and some personal garden inspiration.
OUR NEW WEBSITE
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
As a child of migrants, everywhere I went with mum and dad was about food – Footscray Market, Victoria Market, Brunswick wholesale fruit and veg stores. Traditions from my family that we’ve carried into our lives now, and into our business, particularly around food and plants is to really eat locally and seasonally and choose plants for your home and garden that are native or that can thrive.
We’ve lived in Brunswick for the last 12 years. We grew into ourselves in this suburb, and we chose to open our business in Brunswick East because of the sense of community and diversity of the suburb.
WHY WE LOVE WHAT WE DO
Since I was young, my first vivid memories were of being with dad in the garden, picking up a shovel when I was three. The garden was really important to us. When dad came to Australia from Egypt, as soon as he had a bit of land he was out growing veggies on it. Dad’s side were Egyptian cotton growers, and before that his family were in the fertiliser business. So he had a strong understanding of soil and the ground in which we grew our plants. That’s been passed on to me and fuelled my passion for all things plants and landscaping.
Our Team at Lygon St Nursery are all passionate and dedicated to making the world a little greener. We really enjoy sharing our knowledge about plants and gardens. Equally, we enjoy learning from the people we meet through the nursery and understanding more about the community we work in.
WHY WE VALUE COMMUNITY
Opening Lygon St Nursery is really about engaging with our community, and having a platform to interact with others around our shared passions of environment, gardens and supporting local sustainable business.
OUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE
Importantly, we hope to continue to make connections with the people in our community and to learn and understand more about the ever increasing importance of urban greening.
Our top 5 PLANTS
With each edition of our blog, we will share some of our top plant suggestions and what is currently available. In the spirit of Christmas here are some suggestions for some small Christmas trees:
PICEA GLAUCA (14/20cm pot
picea 'Blue star' 20/30cm pot
BUXUS 'CLIPPED CONE'
ADENANTHOS (WOOLLY BUSH)
magnolia 'teddy bear'
Green talk WITH MICHAEL Khalil
What I've lOVE MOST ABOUT: LYGON STREET NURSERY
Michael has personally answered these questions about his first few years as a Nursery Man in the inner city suburb of Brunswick East
Question:
What do you think is most important about a place like Lygon St existing in a built up urban neighbourhood?
Answer:
I believe the most important reason the nursery should exist is because it provides a place for customers to come in and interact with people. It’s so lovely when people stop by and share their own passions and love for plants and gardening. It’s so important that I often record these memories in our daily diary so I can remember the people who stop by to visit. Its particularly important to get this right in the urban context because our access to green space has reduced as the city has becomes more densely populated.
Question:
What are some of the key things you’ve learnt since opening the nursery?
Answer:
I have learnt that the most important thing is to listen so I understand how to best use my knowledge to help a customer. I want the nursery to be a place where people can come in, ask questions and to learn more about caring for plants and gardens. We don’t just sell indoor plants because they are popular, we want to help people care for plants and create gardens that will last.
I have also learnt of the importance of building relationships with locals and other shop traders and tradespeople in the local neighbourhood.
Question:
What are some of the gardens and plants around Australia and the world that inspire you?
Answer:
I am inspired by an eclectic mix of gardens. A place I would love to visit and see the landscape is the Northern Territory. I would love to see the old, ancient Boab and Xanthorea grass trees in their natural environment. We use grass trees and Brachychiton rupestris (the same family as the Boab) in our landscaping projects.
Overseas, I have visited the Giant Forest in the Sequoia National Park in California, home to the Sequoia Redwood. I really loved walking amongst the impressive cathedral-like trees and the General Sherman, the largest living thing on earth!
I’m also inspired by the native displays at The Australian Garden at the Cranbourne Royal Botanical Garden; and one day I’d love to visit The Adachi Museum of Art, Japan and it’s stunning display of topiary plants and Japanese style gardens.
Question:
What are some of the plants that inspire you?
Answer:
I’m really fascinated by plants that have medicinal properties. There are many medicinal herbs available that we traditionally use for cooking. However, many of these plants also have potential medicinal health benefits. I love talking to people about how common plants, readily available can be used to benefit our health.
