Waterless Gardens
At age 35, Kevin Hunter asked himself “What’s my passion?” The answer for him was gardening and so he embarked on seven years of part-time study to qualify in horticulture.
Then, at the age of 50 he was retrenched from the printing company to which he had given years of loyal service and his wife suggested he could turn his hobby of gardening into a business. With the help of NEIS Waterless Gardens, offering a qualified horticulturalist to the general public, was the result.
Operating in a growth corridor in Melbourne’s southeast, services offered by Waterless Gardens include lawns and edges, mulching, small landscaping work and garden restoration and maintenance. The business has experienced steady growth since commencing in November 2004, which Kevin attributes to a sound business plan, a realistic objective and lots of hard work!
“The NEIS program filled in the gaps between my idea and reality”, he said. “NEIS training opened the doors, all subjects taught were relevant, though not always apparent at the time.”
“A positive approach by NEIS staff members and lecturers, who had time to answer questions also helped,” he added.
From the very first interview the NEIS team at Chisholm Institute could see the passion for horticulture beneath Kevin’s not-too-confident exterior. Three years later and Kevin is a changed man, exuding confidence and enthusiasm in his conversation and mannerisms – pursuing his dream and seeing himself as being in charge of his own direction. It is for this reason that the NEIS team at Chisholm have nominated Waterless Gardens for the NEIS-Change award.
“NEIS has changed my life in so many ways,” said Kevin. “It’s a lifestyle choice. From my personal perspective, in the first year of business I lost 15 kg in weight – it’s great eating anything you want, even today!”
“I will do this until the day I decide I can’t do gardening anymore!”
With his business still growing Waterless Gardens employs a part-time gardener and the next objective is to provide fulltime employment for him by the end of the year. With Kevin’s drive and passion (helped by a solid customer base) there is little doubt he will reach that goal.