Learning resources for farmers & florists

Never. Stop. Learning. A great piece of advice from my Mother after I finished my final year of schooling. It has resonated with me ever since. After I became involved in the Flower industry, it got me thinking about how we learn and share knowledge. How does the next generation learn the ropes?

Let’s be honest, it is a classic example of a highly fragmented industry. Lots of small businesses doing things independently from each other in the best way they know. Some are professionally trained, others have learn’t on the job. I initially thought this is a hard environment to share knowledge efficiently. However, once you start digging deeper, we have a plethora of learning opportunities available to us all.

We have identified some of the key resources available to learn more about our industry and up-skill yourself or your staff.

  • Schools
  • Courses
  • Farm-tours
  • Workshops and more!

Floristry and Horticulture Schools

Floristry schools provide the critical hands on and theoretical learning for florists. From the basics to the advanced stages , the course duration and accreditation can vary. Do your homework on what works for you.

Academy of Floral Art – Wisemans Ferry
www.academyoffloralart.com.au
02 9653 9651 || [email protected]

Adelaide Floristry School
Keswick, Adelaide
www.adelaidefloristryschool.com
0424 027 442 || [email protected]

Australian Academy of Wedding & Event Planning
South Melbourne
www.aawep.com.au
1300 854 200 || [email protected]

Bloom College – Melbourne and regional
www.bloomcollege.com.au
[email protected] || [email protected]

Floral Art School of Australia and International Floral Design School
Cheltenham VIC
www.floral-art-school.com.au
03 8555 9774 || [email protected]

Flower Design School
Perth, WA
www.floristry.com.au
Iris Pich 0422 581 540 || [email protected]

Flowers to Impress
Toowoomba (Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns and Canberra)
07 4638 2727 || [email protected]

Gold Coast Floristry & Retail Management
Helensvale, Gold Coast
www.goldcoastfloristrymanagement.com.au
0419022619 || [email protected]

Holmesglen
Melbourne
www.holmesglen.edu.au || 1300 639 888 || [email protected]

International Career Institute
www.ici.net.au/courses/design/floristry/
1300 131 582

Marjorie Milner College
Melbourne
www.marjoriemilner.edu.au
03 9880 7257 || [email protected]

Matthew Landers Academy
Perth & Adelaide
www.matthewlanders.com
(08) 9355 5369 || [email protected]

Pearsons School of Floristry
Darlinghurst, NSW
www.pearsonsschool.com.au
02 9550 7755 || school@pearsonsfl orist.com.au

Sydney Flower School
Sydney Markets, NSW
www.sydneyflowerschool.com.au
0403 565 361 || [email protected]

The Flower School
Brisbane
www.theflowerschool.com.au
07 3868 2939 || [email protected]

Melbourne Polytechnic
www.melbournepolytechnic.edu.au
03 9269 8400 || [email protected]

TAFE

This is a great place to start when considering both floristry AND horticultural training. If you are an aspiring grower, a TAFE course is certainly worth considering.

TAFE NSW – Floristry and Horticulture
www.tafensw.edu.au || 131 601
TAFE NSW offers a Diploma of Floristry Design course and a Certificate IV, III and II.
Locations: Padstow, Ryde, Ultimo, Granville, Richmond, Kurri Kurri, Campbelltown & Hornsby

Great horticulture courses are also offered;
Locations: Online, Goulburn, Kingscliff, Leeton, Moss Vale, Mudgee, Nowra, Taree, Padstow, Trenayr, Wauchope, Wollongbar, Yallah, Yass, Kempsey, Kurri Kurri, Moruya, Ourimbah, Richmond & Ryde

TAFE QLD – Floristry and Horticulture
www.tafeqld.edu.au || 1300 308 233
TAFE QLD offers Certificate III and introductory and intermediate floristry
Locations: Southport, South Bank

Horticulture courses are also offered;
Locations: Ashmore, Bohle, Bowen, Cairns, Charleville, Dalby, Grovely, Hervey Bay, Ipswich, Kingaroy, Loganlea, Mooloolaba, Mt Gravatt, Nambour, Roma, Toowoomba, Warwick & Whitsundays

TAFE SA – Floristry and Horticulture
www.tafesa.edu.au || tel:1800 882 661
Study from a wide range of Floristry courses and earn a Certificate, diploma or Advanced Diploma qualification in Arts & Design at TAFE SA.
Locations: Adelaide City Campus study a wide range of Horticulture courses and earn a Certificate, Diploma or Advanced Diploma qualification in Primary

Industry & Science at TAFE SA.
Location: Urrbrae Campus

TAFE ACT – Canberra Institute of Technology
Floristry and Horticulture
www.cit.edu.au || 02 6207 3188
Certificate III in Floristry, Offered at CIT, Bruce, ACT
CIT’s horticultural courses are ideal for anyone with a passion for plants or flowers. [email protected]

TAFE VIC – Floristry and Horticulture
www.vic.gov.au/free-tafe
131 823 – [email protected]

TAFE WA
Floristry and Horticulture
www.southmetrotafe.wa.edu.au || 1800 001 001
TAFE WA offers offers a Diploma of Floristry Design course and a Certificate IV, III and II
Locations: Murdoch campus
Various horticulture courses are offered
Locations: Murdoch & Mandurah campus

TasTAFE Tasmania – Horticulture
www.tastafe.tas.edu.au 1300 655 307
Study a range of Horticulture courses at TasTAFE
Locations: Clarence, Alanvale & Burnie Campus

Farm Tours

Stop and smell the…. (while you’re there, learn from the experts). Some of our faves

Consortium Botanicus – mixed flowers
www.consortiumbotanicus.com.au

FARM & CO – Sunflowers
www.farmand.co

Lavandula – Lavender
www.lavandula.com.au

The Big Bouquet – Gerberas
www.bigbouquet.com.au

Tropical Blooms – Tropical flowers & foliage
www.tropicalblooms.com.au/flower-farm-tour

Podcasts, webinars and Youtube!

A plethora of info about growing and selling flowers is freely available on the web. If you are out in the field or heading to an early morning market trip… podcasts are a great way to pass the time.

Check out some of these podcasts as a sample.
The Flower Podcast – www.theflowerpodcast.com

The Flowerlounge – www.lotuswei.com/pages/podcast

The Flower Pros Podcast – www.flowerpros.libsyn.com

Botanical Brouhaha – www.botanicalbrouhaha.com/botanical-podcast

Sustainable flowers podcastwww.sustainableflowerspodcast.libsyn.com/

With such a variety of online courses, webinars and workshops… and more popping up all the time, do a search on your favourite topic. Here are a few examples we found:

Floral Workshops – HD video www.tulipina.com/workshops

Floriology – www.floriologyinstitute.com/freewebinars/

Floral Strategies – www.floralstrategies.com/webinars.html

Zimmerman Events – www.zimmermanevents.com/the-resource-hub

Soils for Life – www.soilsforlife.org.au/media/blog/webinars

Horticulture – www.horticulture.ucdavis.edu/event/horticulturedevelopment-webinars

Ever considered a business coach?

Having an advisor who understands the flower industry and good business practice can mean the difference between just surviving and potentially thriving. Using a business coach is a very personal choice, but often one that garners positive results. Initial consults and discussions to work out a good match for you is an important first step. Here is a start:

Little Bird Bloom – florist coaching www.littlebirdbloom.com.au

Farm Business Coaching – www.farmbusinesscoaching.com.au

Ag Advisory and Coaching – www.abdi.com.au/agricultural-advisory-and-coaching

If you have any more resources to add – send them through to [email protected] and we will update this post.