Following a meteoric rise, Jac Semmler has now become a household name in the horticulture fraternity due to her appearances on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia.
After years of study and forays into the training and education sphere, she spent 6 years with The Diggers Club before starting her own business ‘Super Bloom Plant Practice’ as a plant practitioner, involving consultancy, landscape design and writing 2 books, Super Bloom and Super Bloom Handbook.
So, it’s no surprise that she is now involved with the new Laak Boorndap urban garden project that is planned for the Melbourne Arts precinct, collaborating with world-renowned landscape designers.
Well done, Jac!”
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What drew you to horticulture originally?
I grew up on a farm in central Victoria with a family of plantswomen, and gardening was a way of life. I had my separate garden from a young age, and growing and making have always been fundamental to my origin and way of working. At the end of the day, I am obsessed with plants; it is an every-day, every-hour thing for me. Plants, Plants, Plants!
What pathway did you take to get there?
It wasn’t linear. I started in plants and then returned to it after other careers. It seemed as if you were a bright country kid that a life in plants and design wasn’t an option, though I started with local seed collection and cleaning as a teen on the farm – I still have our old seed sieves that I use today. At university, while studying outdoor education (ecology and environmental education) and then education, I worked in Marilyn Sprague’s Goldfields Revegetation, propagating seed collection and planting local Indigenous species and diverse Australian plants throughout the university. After this early experience and an alternate career in training and engagement in an Alice Springs with an Indigenous Science and Technology Company and, before that, leading remote Outdoor Education Centres. Plants again called on a move to South Australia.
I qualified as a horticulturist by studying Horticulture and Landscape Design at TAFE SA in Urrbrae at night school while working in community engagement for the South Australian Government and studying an MBA. After other gardening roles, I started with the Diggers Club at the South Australian Botanic Gardens, then relocated home to Victoria to run the Heronswood Nursery, then Seed Manager, Operations Manager, Education and Major Projects before finally leading Ornamentals including research, selection and trials for The Diggers Club.
Further training and qualifications in plant science, biosecurity and more happened in parallel, and opportunities arose to share my great plant passion. When Thames and Hudson approached, I was grateful to work part-time as Head of Plants and Strategy for The Plant Society while I wrote my first book, Super Bloom, and began building Super Bloom as a Plant Practice, which has been in operation for three years and growing.
I now see my career as a portfolio of multiple disciplines, qualifications, and rich learning and experience. The opportunity to research, pilot projects, travel, attend symposiums and conferences, spend time with practitioners internationally, apply these lessons in projects, and also practice at Heartland, my home garden and plant lab, has accelerated my work and practice exponentially in the last five years from this first foundation, and I am fuelling this continual learning.
What obstacles did you encounter along the way?
Horticulture is perceived as a hobby rather than a vocation. Still, it is not seen as a serious profession or the contribution and expertise of plant people as valuable. The common expectation is that work is done for free or reduced fees from pleasure without the reality of making a living or operating a small business. It is concerning that this is still a justification in the industry, from enterprise agreements to contract negotiations, that lower remuneration is justifiable in roles that offer horticulturalists to practice real horticulture or that it is a privilege to work with plants without recognition of specific skills, qualifications, experience and talents.
Living wages are an important conversation to have for the sustainability of our industry. This impacts entry into our industry, retention, and professionalism. Professional development and work cultures that encourage life-long learning and ongoing development are essential for our industry to thrive.
Our industry and plant world is composed of more than 60% women, which is increasing. Likewise, the audience and consumers are more than female. These are statistics that were not reflected in media, accolades or senior roles as I started, and I am still now concerned that gender-based bias persists and that it is worse in the plant world than in other professions and disciplines I have worked in. It is a fair expectation that all workplaces should be safe and respectful.
Who were your mentors?
Marilyn Sprague of Goldfields Revegetation was an early mentor and now I find that support comes from within a community of practice and from supportive colleagues and plant people.
What are you working on at the moment?
It is action ago-go. A small snapshot, Super Bloom is part of the design team with Hassell, James Hitchmough and Nigel Dunnett for Laak Boorndap. A project funded by the Victorian Government and delivered by the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation is currently in a design development phase. Super Bloom is also researching the management of naturalistic planting with the University of Melbourne as part of a trial program for Laak Boorndap, together with other works. Super Bloom is developing designs on several smaller public projects, including an urban project with Architectus, a large dry dynamic street garden for the City of Maribyrnong building on past test plantings, amongst others, for planting time, which is quickly approaching. Super Bloom is caring for a handful of public gardens and mentoring horticulturalists to care for complex planting designs which is a joy. A new website and strategy for Super Bloom is germinating. Personally, there are several talks to come, more test plots at Heartland and I am finalising the design for my next big book, a compliment to Super Bloom on planting design for an October release this year. I am investing in learning and research this year for Super Bloom and soon be leaving on a combined work and research trip to the States in April, pursuing my expertise in dry summer planting design.
What does an average day consist of for you?
As a tiny but mighty practice, I am testing a new scheduling approach of time blocking to streamline the busy week as a leader, to have development and design days in the studio, design workshops or meetings out and about with clients and then plant days with the team for garden care, site visits, planting days and time with growers. Days and timings vary with different deadlines, design processes and collaborations. At times, it is seven days a week.
What is your favourite plant?
I have to admit that I don’t have a favourite singular plant. I have the common infatuations or the thrill of finding delightful plants with resilience and functionality. But this is constantly changing.
What hort projects are on your “To Do” list?
More public works and planting design here and internationally in summer dry climates, more testing, more art/design colabs, more exploration, and more conversations about where we can go with plants in public space — plants for the people.
What are your 3 most worthwhile tips that you can give to women who are starting out in the horticulture industry?
- Learn, learn, learn. Push beyond what and where you can learn. Seeking ideas and expertise within Australia and internationally. Travel, plant nerd where and when you can, sign up for online talks, read, go to rare plant fairs, and cultivate your gardens. Don’t forget the fundamentals. Grow from seed.
- Take yourself and your industry seriously, even when other people and professions may not. You have support within the industry, so keep going. Hard work, plant passion, and smarts are essential. Teams make for planting dreams. It is always a collective effort.
- Saying yes and saying no. As you commence, say yes to everything that arises, who knows what you may learn or where it will lead. I am now at a point of saying no and strategically cultivating work and nurturing potential with plants and people.
@jac.semmler
@superbloomau
