Every time there is a major Home or Pool Show in Melbourne, tens of thousands of people flock to the Exhibition Centre.
They come from all over the city and even from down on the Mornington Peninsula.
Everyone comes to see the latest in design trends, new innovations and all sorts of great ideas for the home & garden.
It’s a great place for inspiration. You can wander around, look at all sorts of things, without having to buy anything if you don’t want to.
You can talk directly to suppliers, get free samples, touch and feel things, see live demonstrations and compare different home or garden features, often side by side.
Usually there are special offers available that can save you heaps if you do sign up at the show.
On top of all this, it’s free!
It’s the people that really make the show
While it’s true there are lots of amazing things to check out at a Pool or Home Show we actually believe the best thing at the show is always the people you meet.
Because meeting someone in person is so different to any other form of research.
If you are looking at a major project in your garden, then you’ll probably need a landscape designer or landscape architect.
Now sure you can always visit their website anytime. You can look at their portfolio. Read reviews, study photos, read blogs or any other material on their site.
But even the reviews won’t give you your own feeling of what the people in the landscape design business are actually like in person.
Which is why meeting them (or us) is such a good idea.
You can tell so much about a potential supplier just by chatting to them in person. It becomes so easy to judge what type of person they are.
Do they listen? Do they seem like they understand what you are saying? How do they respond to your suggestions about what you really want in your garden?
Do they feel open to your suggestions and ideas or do you get a bit of arrogance – like that’s all their department because they are the experts?
Are they experienced? Competent? Good communicators?
All these things add up. Skill and experience count for nothing if you can’t get your message across to them or they can’t get their ideas across to you.
When you visit Whyte Gardens’ stand at a Pool or Home Show we can guarantee you won’t be talking to a high pressure sales person who will try and talk you into signing up to something on the day.
No. We always have our team present at the show, including myself.
You will have the chance to meet our Landscape Architect. And our Landscape Designers, one of whom is also a Horticultural Designer. (She knows all about plants).
This gives you the opportunity to have a completely free, no-obligation chat with a highly experienced professional.
They, or I, are all happy to chat with you about whatever your plans for your new garden might be, at whatever stage they might be at.
What to bring to a Home or Pool Show to chat with a landscape designer
The more you bring along with you to our stand at the show, the more you will gain from your visit.
Bring your new house plans.
Bring a video of your current garden, that you don’t like.
Bring a video of your neighbour’s or friend’s garden and tell us – “I want one just like that”.
Bring a photo or photos of gardens you saw online.
Bring a page you tore out of a magazine.
Bring a Pintrest board you’ve been curating for 3 years!
Bring a sketch you drew on the back of a napkin at a restaurant over dinner with your spouse or partner.
It doesn’t matter what you bring, even nothing but a few loose ideas in your head.
Whatever it is, so long as it helps us to understand what you are thinking then it is valuable. It helps us see what visions and dreams you have for your garden.
A 20 minute chat – problem solved
You might be amazed at how quickly some seemingly “impossible” problems can be solved in a chat with one of our designers. Because you will be talking directly with someone who is a trained professional and does this every day.
We’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve come up to us at a Pool or Home Show with an “unsolvable problem” they’ve been sitting on for years.
“Oh we’ve always wanted a pool but we were told our block is too steep.”
“My neighbour said he had to redo his retaining wall after 10 years.”
“I always thought you needed a ‘blah’ before you could build a ‘blah’.”
“My father always said never put in a spa.”
“My soil’s too sandy, we’d never be able to grow those”.
People get all sorts of false ideas and incorrect information about landscaping and garden design. We hear it all the time.
It’s very satisfying to sit down with a client and 10, 15 or 20 minutes later see them walk away with a spring in their step and new hope in their hearts that maybe, just maybe, they can make that dream garden come true.
No booking. No waiting. No appointment. No extra travel.
The great thing about coming to see us at a Home or Pool Show in Melbourne is convenience.
You don’t need to make an extra trip from Balwyn, Kew, Mont Albert, Brighton or wherever you live to meet us.
You’re already there. And so are we.
You don’t need to ring or email to make an appointment.
You don’t have to find space in your calendar.
You just walk up the stand and say hi.
(Sometimes we might be tied up with someone else but usually there’s not a long wait.)
If we are busy, we can book you in for a session. Go have a wander and come back in half an hour.
So keep your eye out for our next appearance.
Next Melbourne Home Show is April Click for more info
Next Melbourne Pool & Spa Show in January Click to explore
Hope to see you at a show soon. And look forward to helping you bring your dream garden to life!
