There is a growing movement to bring back old style heirloom varieties of plants. They are varieties that were commonly grown in the past but fell out of favour as we developed newer varieties. Before the industrialisation of agriculture a much wider variety of plant foods were grown for human consumption. Today most food crops [...]

Tags: employee engagement, Employee morale, Karen Schmidt, Organisational culture

If you have read a gardening book or magazine you will have seen images similar to those pictured here. These are zone maps that represent the various climatic conditions that different gardeners operate in. The shading indicates whether a region is classified as Arid, Mediterranean, Temperate, Tropical or a Rainforest. Within some of these zones [...]

Tags: Leadership and gardening, Leadership and management, Organisational culture, www.letsgrow.com.au

Did you know that coffee grounds are regularly used by gardeners? I don’t drink coffee so the issue of what to do with leftover grounds has never concerned me. However, I recently came across an article that outlined some really interesting ways to use coffee in the garden, including: Coffee grounds can be used as [...]

Tags: Employee Communication, employee engagement, Employee morale, engagement, Engaging conversations, Karen Schmidt, Leadership and gardening, Leadership and management, Leadership skills, Leading is like gardening, Organisational culture, Workplace gardening, www.letsgrow.com.au

The Hydrangea has a naturally white flower but there is an interesting trick that gardeners have learnt that changes their colour. It seems that if you alter the pH of the soil they can become shades of pink to red and blue to purple, depending on what you add. Lime will get you pink or [...]

Tags: Karen Schmidt, Leadership and gardening, Leadership and management, Leadership skills, Organisational culture, Workplace gardening, www.letsgrow.com.au

In his latest series, “Kingdom of plants” David Attenborough reminds us that plants aren’t the pretty, passive organisms they appear to be. In his words: “They are every bit as aggressive as animals. Locked in a desperate battle for light and space, they stretch and pulse as they attempt to barge their way into poll [...]

Tags: Karen Schmidt, Leadership and gardening, Leadership and management, Leadership skills, Leading is like gardening, Organisational culture, Workplace gardening, www.letsgrow.com.au