History of Gardenarium
Nestled in the rich volcanic soils at the foot of Mount Gambier’s famous Blue Lake is a gardener’s mecca that is second to none.
Established for more than 25 years, Gardenarium quickly gained a reputation as the garden centre and choice of nursery for many. Specialising in rare and unusual perennial plants, thousands of roses and other beautiful garden giftware, fountains and pots, the nursery’s success instigated diversification into providing a wider range of plants including trees, shrubs and citrus.
Now, 25 years on Gardenarium is your one stop shop for everything garden, with the establishment over the years of three other stand alone businesses all complementing each other.
First to be added was The Pot Shop which was formed to cater for the growing demand for terracotta, glazed, sandstone and concrete pots, as well as associated products. The fountain and water feature revolution was just beginning, so the Pot Shop encompassed all of those areas too.
Gardenarium had also already been importing A grade teak outdoor furniture direct to the public and so a move in to other types of quality outdoor furniture was imminent. Now, The Pot Shop imports containers of sandstone, cast aluminium, Travertine, marble and numerous other outdoor tables with many chair options. The range is now so extensive that all undercover areas within Gardenariun are filled with outdoor settings, bar settings, chimineas right through to outdoor couches and coffee tables in quality german wicker and aluminium, catering for our insatiable demand for the ever growing outdoor pergolas and entertaining areas we all enjoy.
The huge demand for Gardenarium’s roses led to a mail order service being offered right across Australia and as word spread of the quality and range, so this aspect of the business intensified. As a result of numerous requests to sell roses wholesale to other garden centres and nurseries nationally, Gardenarium Roses (as it was then called) decided the next step needed to be made.
With the move to re-brand the region as the Limestone Coast, Gardenarium embraced this move and launched Limestone Coast Roses, giving the roses credit for the region in which they are grown and also identifying where they come from. Limestone Coast Roses is now the largest grower and supplier of bare rooted and potted (containerised) roses in South Australia and Western Victoria, and possibly even further afield as the number of growers in the industry diminishes. Supplying old favourites, such as hybrid teas and floribundas right through to a great range of David Austin English Roses, Meilland and Delbard of France, old fashioned varieties, many that are hard to find, and an impressive range of standard roses, second to none, has meant there is literally no rose we haven’t got. Limestone Coast Roses has two open weekends a year. One is held approximately on the second weekend in November when the rose paddock is open to the public for charity to see thousands of roses in bloom and have a sneak peek at the new release roses for next year. The second open weekend is at Easter when the advanced tree and rose paddock is open with many discounts for Autumn. Once gain Gardenarium had also been growing a very extensive range of ornamental fruit trees and both in the bare root (dormant ) season and potted or containerised format.
The education of customers over the years to understanding the fact that deciduous trees, fruit trees and roses can be planted all year round has been a challenge for the initiator of the Gardenarium Group, a qualified landscape architect and horticulturalist. Following trends in Europe and the USA, where the majority of this type of plant is now sold as potted specimens, you can purchase a broad range of trees, shrubs, fruit trees and roses all year.
Limestone Coast Advanced Trees was formed to address this need and is the newest part of The Gardenarium Group. It has a range of advanced trees for the home owner, builders, landscape architects, industrial landscapes and local councils. The new advanced tree section opened in April 2007 giving everyone the opportunity to browse the huge range of potted advanced and advanced bare rooted trees that we have just dug from our advanced tree paddock.This gives the opportunity to pick out your very own tree. Access is through Gardenarium and The Pot Shop. You can personally select your own specimen or specimen trees. The trees range in size from two metres high with a well developed branching structure and reasonable caliper, right up to 150 litre plus planter bags and root control bags for a really instant effect. Limestone Coast Advanced Trees also grows a great range of evergreen shrubs and trees from Pittosporums through to Gordonias, conifers and magnolias. If you are looking to plant an avenue or driveway or a rural property, we can cater to bulk orders and have smaller grade trees where conditions or finances dictate this.
Fruit trees are once again in huge demand. As we prefer to provide larger trees, you are guaranteed fruiting much earlier, as our stock is more mature and has probably already fruited for two or three seasons. However we still maintain the lowest pricing, in line with our pricing policy,across the Gardenarium and Limestone Coast Group making us anywhere between 25% and 40% lower in our prices. Tree catalogues are now available to make selection and ordering easier or come and talk with the horticulurally qualified staff, including a landscape architect and select the tree that’s right for you.
