Who am I?

I believe I have developed a great personal rapport with all of Trevallan's customers, both in person and online. In fact, sometimes I forget I am actually just a business on a computer screen and as a result, some of you may not know the face behind Trevallan's web presence….So here I am!

I come from a family of gardeners. My knowledge is part book based, but mostly comes from being surrounded by it all my life. It's amazing what you can learn just by listening and being made to do something as a chore !

My grandparents were gardeners. Their vegetable patch sustained the family, so, apart from meat, there was no store-bought food. My grandfather also loved fiddling with plants and taught himself to cross breed, graft and do cuttings. However, his true love lay with camellias and azaleas, he was also a lawn fanatic. One of my fondest memories is getting in trouble as I didn’t mow straight enough on his ‘bowling green’ lawns.

Before going into retail, my parents ran a successful landscaping business 'Trevallan Landscapes' that would have been in operation for about 40 odd years today had my father not died in 2000. Trevallan Landscapes was high in demand and I remember my father travelling all over Queensland doing landscaping work - private and commercial. Working for him throughout my childhood was also a great way for me to earn pocket money.

In 1999, I finished my business degree and although I wanted to travel the world, I decided to postpone travel to help my mother at the centre after my father's unexpected death.

Since then, my pieces of paper have increased - I have a Certificate III in Horticulture, am chemcert qualified, have been a national finalist for Young Horticulturalist of year and have also been a HAL emerging leader, as well as being a member of the Queensland Horticultural Media Association.

However, as quickly as my pieces of paper increase, so does my workload. I have written for local papers and gardening magazines. I write all the information found on this website, manage Trevallan's workshops and social media - Facebook and Instagram, plus physically work at Trevallan. I also love giving gardening related talks to social and gardening clubs.

While I've been paper collecting so has Trevallan - over the years Trevallan has won a few awards, one I am most proud of is Best Small Garden Centre in Qld in 2010. We have also just joined Tourism Queensland, as we were recognised as a place of attraction to visitors outside of Ipswich.

As many of us know, knowledge isn't gained from just reading a few books. Knowledge consists of a lifetime of asking questions and determining what you believe is right answer.

I attend a plethora of industry events, run my own events here at Trevallan and read as much as I can, to stay informed in regards to all things plants. I also try to take the time to listen to my customers, my growers and my suppliers, as I find they've tried and tested many things I wouldn't get a chance to do in my lifetime.

My aim at Trevallan has always been to grow people’s minds, allowing them to experience gardening in their own style, but also educating them and giving them the tools for success. I want gardening to be for everyone, so I try to make it easy and simple. For me, Trevallan is a place that grows people’s minds, not just gardens.

But horticulture isn't my only love - aromatherapy is another passion. In between all my paper accumulating for horticulture, I also completed - Certificate Four Massage Therapy, attended many Aromatherapy Masterclasses and am also a qualified Aromatic Kinesiologist and run my own Energetic Healing Practice, Potionatrix .

In October 2012, I won a world wide competition to create my own essential oil blend. This blend 'wisdom' was produced, until recently (2019) by internationally renowned aromatherapy company, Perfect Potion and sold at Trevallan, as well as world-wide, via Perfect potion stores and online trading.

However, life isn't just about fertilising and sweet smells as on top of all of the above, I'm nurturing a young family with three children.

So that's me.

The woman behind the computer screen.

Gardening Advice, who you ask is Important!

I was horrified the other day to hear this story…

A customer was in the greenlife section of a big box store when she overheard a staff member recommending a particular potting mix. Curious because all gardeners want to know what they could be doing better, she moved closer to hear more.

What she discovered was shocking: the staff member was recommending a product she recognised immediately as composted fertiliser, not a potting mix at all.

The bag even clearly stated, in bold print: "THIS IS NOT A POTTING MIX."

These first-time gardeners walked away with three bags of the wrong product and a handful of plants. Unknowingly setting themselves up for heartbreak. Their plants were unlikely to survive, and worse, they’d probably blame themselves when it all went wrong.

This is the real danger of bad advice.

When a plant fails, people get discouraged. They feel like they’ve wasted their time, energy, and money. Many give up on gardening altogether, thinking they were the problem, when in reality, it was simply the wrong product for the job.

The right advice makes all the difference.

And the best place to get it?

A business that actually specialises in gardening.

Garden centres are home to qualified, experienced horticulturists. People who don’t just sell plants, but understand them. We’re locals too, which means we’ve battled the same clay soils, the same hot summers, the same tricky planting spots. We don’t just sympathise, we’ve been there.

Our goal is to help you through your gardening challenges, take away the confusion, and bring back the joy of growing. For most of us, this isn’t just a job. It’s a lifelong passion.

Here at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre, between Carolyn and myself, we bring over 50 years of hands-on gardening and horticultural experience to the table.

We work hard to stay current, not just with what looks good, but with what actually works. That means staying on top of:

• Changes in product formulations

• Plant performance in our climate

• Emerging industry trends

• Environmental challenges

We attend supplier sessions, horticultural expos and conferences, and regularly read industry journals and research papers. I’m also a proud member of the Horticultural Media Association, which helps keep us connected and accountable as professionals in this trade.

At Trevallan, we’ve learned that we don’t need a thousand gardening items on the shelves. We only stock what we use ourselves. The tools, products, and plants we know work. It’s all about keeping things simple, effective, and grounded in experience.

We also run a number of horticultural workshops and masterclasses throughout the year, because we believe gardens are investments and to make sure that investment thrives, you need access to honest, down-to-earth, professional advice.

So next time you’re ready to improve your plant-life balance and give your space a little TLC, visit the real gardening experts at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre, your local garden centre.

Talking Dirty

Last week on Trevallan Lifestyle Centre's Facebook page, I posed the question "What gardening terms do you use that people think you've made up, don't understand or have a little giggle at your expense?"

There were some great examples and I thought I'd enlighten you all with some gardening terms that I find I use and people think I have started to talk in my own special language.

Deciduous

Deciduous, pronounced dih-sij-oo-uhs, is the term I am most often asked to explain. Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and it is typically used when talking about plants that lose their leaves seasonally. Many plants, particularly in cooler regions, drop their leaves in autumn, have a dormant period through the winter and then come alive again in the spring. In some subtropical and arid regions, plants lose their leaves during the dry season and remain dormant until the wet season begins.

Active Constituent

Active constituents are the substance/s in an agvet (agricultural and veterinary) chemical product primarily responsible for a product's biological or other effects.

For example, Glyphosate is the active constituent in most weed killers. In horticulture, companies register products with different trade names, however, you will often find the active constituent is the same. Trade names such as Yates Zero, Searles Dead Weed, Brunnings Weedkill all contain the same active constituent - glyphosate. When dealing with chemicals in gardening, know your active constituents and you'll never need to rely on trade names again.

Bisexuality

A Bisexual flower or perfect flower is when the flower has both the essential whorls i.e., androecium and gynoecium (male and female reproductive units). Some examples are lilies, roses and sweet peas.

When it comes to fruit and vegetables, we generally use the term bisexual plant, meaning the plant has both male and female flowers and you do not need two separate plants. For example, a pumpkin will usually produce both male and female flowers, following this, insects will hopefully pollinate the females, with the result being big, healthy pumpkins.

Self-watering pots

Now unless you have gnomes in your garden doing all your dirty work, there is no such thing as a self-watering pot. When you buy a self-watering pot, you still have to water.

In a self-watering pot you have a very large saucer, or water well, and the soil is held above the water well, with a false bottom. The water well and the soil are usually connected by a wick of some sort.

As water is used by the plant, capillary action draws the exact amount of water up from below, therefore the soil has just the right amount of water all the time, but also maintains air pockets, which the plant roots also need. This is great for plants that don't like being over watered, as you just fill the bottom chamber.

While self-watering pots are great, I find they only really work once the plant has an established root ball.

This weekend, why not practice your ‘dirty talk’ with someone and show off your new gardening knowledge.

Uncoordinated Wins Again

I’m not what you’d call a sportswoman. I’m a little uncoordinated.  At school I was the child the sports’ teachers would shake their heads at when they saw me coming.  I’m sure they were thinking there is no hope for this one.  Apart from winning most improved player for about three years in a row for basketball, I don’t have that many awards from childhood.

I’m sure making up for it now.

The Queensland winner of the Heather Ramsey Young Leader Award goes to – Chelsea Allan”

Last Friday night (2013), I attended the Nursery and Garden Industry Queensland Award Ceremony.  During the night I had one of those “this is your life moments”. The presenter started to read a story about a girl who seemed to have accidentally fallen into horticulture while looking for her dream job. 15 years on that girl discovers she is working her dream job.

As the presenter was reading this story I got thinking, this girl sounds a lot like me.

He then announced “The Queensland winner of the Heather Ramsey Young Leader Award goes to – Chelsea Allan”

It took a moment, hang on that’s me. Wow.

I WON.

But what does this mean?

The Heather Ramsey Young Leader Award recognizes and rewards the outstanding achievements of individuals in the Australian nursery and garden industry, who display exceptional commitment and passion towards their business, the industry and industry leadership potential.

That’s me. I’m young (this is my last year of being young though), I’m committed to this industry (long days and sometimes longer nights) and gardening is my passion.

But it’s not just the physical aspect of gardening. It’s the sharing component I love. I love enabling others to enjoy gardening with my few simple tips. I love going to clubs and talking gardening. I love writing Trevallan’s gardening blogs that you can read on here and using Trevallan’s Facebook page to keep you updated and informed. I don’t get paid to write my gardening column that appear newspapers and magazines across Queensland, I do it because I want to share with you all this wondrous thing called gardening.

It was an amazing experience to be recognised and awarded this award by my industry peers.   I couldn’t have won this award without you.

It is because of my customers, my family and my mentors that this award was possible.

The other day a gentleman came into Trevallan Lifestyle Centre to tell me he hated mowing. He read my lawn challenge article and thought I was crazy saying I loved to mow. He followed my simple steps and now he loves to mow. His granddaughter loves coming over and running barefoot on his lawn. He mows twice a week and loves sitting back to admire his handiwork.

It’s because of happy customers and family who are gardening enthusiasts that my passion has grown. It’s because of you I want to achieve more so I can give you more.

I am so proud to win this award. Thank you for helping me turn my passion turn into an award. I hope we can continue to share this passion for many years enabling us all to have amazing gardens.