How TAFE students help make Show look at its blooming best

As more families in Western Sydney make the shift towards high-density living, community gardens are surging in popularity, with demand for landscapers and horticulturalists set to increase over the next five years.
The focus of the Community Gardens display is to provide a welcoming space for show visitors to relax, connect with nature, and learn about the diverse educational pathways offered by TAFE NSW.
Thanh has been hard at work arranging the wide variety of flowers, fruits and herbs which form the community garden.
“Participating in building the TAFE NSW community garden display has been a really exciting opportunity to put into practice the design principles we’ve been learning as part of the course,” Thanh said.
“It has also been great to observe how different plants complement each other. My personal favourites in this year’s display are the strawberry wall, bush tucker garden and sensory garden.
“Better still, all the plants we used were propagated by the students.”
TAFE NSW Horticulture Head Teacher Tony Momi has been collaborating with the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW for 15 years to provide students with this real-world experience.
“The Sydney Royal Easter Show provides an invaluable opportunity to showcase student talent and skills, while also growing their confidence,” he said.
For residents looking to spruce up their own gardens, Padstow TAFE is hosting its bi-annual nursery sale on May 28-30, where plants propagated by students will be on sale to the public at discount prices.