Costa Georgiadis
Costa studied landscape architecture at the UNSW, where he developed a deep interest in ecological design and sustainable living. His career began with SBS’s Costa’s Garden Odyssey, a show that explored the spiritual and environmental dimensions of gardening. Costa took on the role of host of Gardening Australia in 2011. This brought his infectious energy, passionate love of plants and signature beard to Australian TV.
Costa’s has an holistic approach to the garden. He passionately believes that we need cultivate the soul and the soil. He has a community verge garden in Bondi which features compost systems and worm farms illustrating his commitment to regenerative practices. He’s a passionate advocate for youth education, serving as an ambassador for Junior Landcare. He extends this to building a love of plants and gardens in the next generation and hosts Gardening Australia Junior.
Costa is a multifaceted personality. He’s a rugby referee, occasional performer, and has worked across Europe on rooftop gardens and natural swimming ponds. His book Costa’s World: Gardening for the Soil, the Soul and the Suburbs shows his philosophy and how he lives what he believes.
Costa’s charisma and authenticity have earned him accolades, including a Silver Logie and AACTA Audience Choice Awards. Whether he’s chatting at a farmers market or singing at Beardstock, Costa Georgiadis lives and breathes the joy of connecting people with nature. Come and meet him yourself at the Yarra Valley Spring Plant Fair
Jane Edmanson
Jane Edmanson OAM is one of Australia’s most respected gardeners. She has a passion for sustainable gardening and environmental education. Born in 1950 and raised on a citrus farm outside of Mildura, Jane’s early life on the farm laid the foundation for her lifelong passion for plants.
She studied teaching at Monash University and started her working life teaching in Western Victoria. She later obtained certificates in horticulture and landscape technology from Burnley. Her nursery career started at the State Schools Nursery before eventually becoming co-owner of the Bell Street Garden Centre in Coburg.
Jane became a familiar face on Australian television in 1989, replacing Kevin Heinze on ABC’s Sow What. This lead her to be one of the founding presenters of Gardening Australia in 1990. Jane remains the only original host still on the show. Her warm, practical advice, deep plant knowledge and love of people have made her a trusted voice in homes across the country.
In addition to writing several gardening books and contributing to Gardening Australia magazine, Jane has lead garden tours across Australia and the wider world. She is the immediate past patron of RHSV and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2004 for her contributions to horticulture and environmental sustainability.
Jane continues to inspire Australians to connect with nature, one garden at a time. Come and chat with Jane about your garden experiences. at the Yarra Valley Spring Garden Fair
Vasili Kanidiadis
Kanidiadis grew up in Coburg in Melbourne's north. He began broadcasting on Greek radio station 3XY for 7 years before moving to Channel 31 He has studied structural engineering, classical piano and horticulture.
Vasili is a much loved garden expert who has run garden centers, help develop products and made thousands of videos for TV and YouTube about plant and garden health. Roughly half way through his career he had a complete change in garden philosophy and hasn't looked back since.
Clive Larkman
Clive has worked in horticulture since travelling across Asia, UK and USA. With a degree in Biology, diploma in Philosophy.
He and his family, have built Larkman Nurseries and Romantic Nursery into key production nurseries and the Herb-Chilli Festival into a major event.
He sat on key Agribusiness bodies: NGIV, IPPS, Primary Training, AIH, TALGA, AgYV, VAC and a local councillor and was International IPPS president.
Clive has a passion for plants and cooking and gets satisfaction from teaching how to grow and use herbs. His philosophy is, life is for living and knowledge is for sharing.
Ben Brooker
Ben Brooker is passionate about studying the problems we face in our gardens and looks holistically at the root causes, concentrating on the health of our soils & their improvement, eliminating any need for chemical herbicides, pesticides & fungicides.
He is a collector and grower of a wide range of rare, unusual and just stunning perennial plants. His nursery and garden is in Gippsland.
David Liddle
David Liddle is an expert plantscaper who has been working in the industry for 20 years. David presents on Outdoors/Indoors in Adelaide, writes for Vasilis magazine and absolutely loves the garden.
