We are currently a "by appointment only" nursery, however as of 2011 we expect to be able to open as retail between the hours of 8am and 5pm Friday and Saturday. Feel free to call and make an appointment to visit. The region of Burringbar has a number of plant enthusiasts and nurseries. Why not make a day of it !
Burringbar Botanic Gardens & Nursery
Botanic Gardens Nursery (BGN) is a subset of
Ooray Orchards P/L. BGN currently offers a small but promising variety of mostly Australian tropical and subtropical species specifically catering for botanical collections but also for landscaping and bushfood plantings. BGN is developing its growing facility at Burringbar in the wet subtropics of far northern-eastern NSW (just over 100km south of Brisbane) where water is plentiful and the winters mild. Operating since November 1999, Ooray Orchards P/L has concentrated on growing native Australian fruit trees with particular emphasis on assessing varied genotypes of Davidsonia species. Ooray Orchards P/L and the associated
Burringbar Botanical Gardens are the concept of Kristopher Kupsch, an avid botanical enthusiast who has been studying Australian native plants for twenty years.
Kristopher has 20 years experience in plant propagation, landscape restoration, flora surveys and is tertiary trained in Horticulture and Botany with particular focus on botanical sciences. Kristopher has for the previous two and half years been employed as a Botanist and Environmental consultant based on the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland however has recently moved back to NSW to pursue his heartfelt venture of developing Australia’s largest collection of (non-invasive) Australian tropical and subtropical plants. As of September 2008 he and the family has been based on the family farm in the Tweed Valley where they hope to cultivate many of his garden species for offer to other enthusiasts, landscapers and botanic gardens.
Unlike some plant providers BGN strives to develop a responsible practice of avoiding species that rank a high score on a ‘
Risk Assessment Rating’ so as to help reduce the possibility of introducing new weeds. This rating is based on biological character traits of each species grown. Once developed individual species risk assessments can be forwarded on request. BGN is aware of the risks posed by bridging natural ecological barriers and introducing species to new areas. Reflecting this attitude, BGN openly consults with clients concerning the sale of those species which score a moderate or high risk and doesn’t grow species which are known to be weeds.
Here at BGN, nursery hygiene is of the upmost importance. BGN constantly strives to better its hygiene practices by using soil-less media and by utilising shelved growing facilities. In the future BGN eventually aims to possess
Nursery Industry Accreditation Scheme Australia (NIASA) accreditation.
BGN is closely associated with
Global Land Repair in which BGN offers their expertise as the New South Wales distributor of products and services
www.treeplantingproducts.com . Global Land Repair P/L have expanded to the Sunshine Coast, Tweed Coast and Canberra region where they design and implement timber plantations and various tree planting projects. They specialise in a range of unique tree growing products from biologically rich soil improvers and photosythetically active tree guards.
Closer to home BGN is collaborating efforts with
Incana Nursery P/L so as to broaden the availability of species and thus offer a greater range to landscape gardeners. Incana Nursery P/L invest their time in growing a wide range of ornamental foliage and flowering plants with most attention towards species in the family’s Heliconiaceae (Heliconias), Zingiberaceae and Costaceae (Gingers), Begoniaceae (Begonias- non-invasive species and cultivars only) and Taccaceae (Bat Plants). Also available are various Palms and rare trees and a number of other understorey plants in the Marantaceae family (Calatheas etc.)