Open Polytechnic Connection Blooms At The Melbourne International Flower And Garden Show

Wednesday, 4 June 2025, 10:05 am
Press Release: Open Polytechnic

Open Polytechnic was well represented at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2025 recently, by Megan Parker, Academic Staff Member in floristry for the distance learning organisation, along with former horticulture graduate and well-known landscape designer Bayley LuuTomes.

While Megan, who was head judge, enjoyed working alongside various inspiring floral designers on stage, her biggest highlight this year was being invited by Bayley who is a host on the TV show, My Dream Green Home, to collaborate on The Welcome Garden.

How did this opportunity come about?

Megan and Bayley had both attended the Singapore Flower Festival in 2024, where Bayley had an informal discussion with the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show Executive Director Trent Cornish.

“I knew Megan was an amazing florist and said to myself, one day I would love to collaborate with her on a project,” Bayley said.

“While designing The Welcome Garden, an opportunity presented itself to incorporate her skills and abilities.”

The Welcome Garden

The Welcome Garden is the first garden that the public sees when they enter the main gates of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

According to Bayley, The Welcome Garden delved into the concept of “Endless Possibilities”, inviting us to liberate our minds and dream freely.

“It’s about breaking free from the boundaries that shackle our creativity, being brave enough to explore unlimited potential, and daring to venture beyond the norm,” he says.

“The Rubik’s Cube stands as my symbol of this movement and serves as the inspiration for this year’s Welcome Garden at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.”

Inside the cube Megan created the heart of the cube, the eye of the cube, along with the dreamcatcher.

“It had to be colourful, picking up the colours of the cube and be tropical to connect with the planting,” Megan said.

Megan’s piece also had lights, so it looked amazing when the gardens were open at night-time.

Bayley’s horticulture journey

According to Bayley, horticulture is in his blood.

“From a very young age my inspiration came from my mother who gave me a small corner of the family garden, to grow what I wanted,” he said.

“She grew food for the family, while I wanted to grow beautiful flowers.”

This creative side led him to pursue a career in design working in advertising. After a few years Bayley made the decisionto leave the world of advertising to follow his dreams of a career in landscaping.

He took a job working as a gardener in Wellington, before enrolling in Open Polytechnic’s National Certificate in Horticulture (Level 4) which he completed in 2012.

“Open Polytechnic opened many doors to the industry I was about to step into at the time,” Bayley said.

“Not only was I armed with the horticultural knowledge that programme provided, it also enabled me to understand plants on a level that improved and enhanced my landscape design.”

Megan’s role as head judge

Megan has been a member of the New Zealand Professional Florists (NZPF) since 1985.

This experience has seen her judge competitions at international shows and events.

Megan has been the appointed head judge of the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show since 2019.

This year there were 90 entries to mark, making it an extremely busy time.

Megan loves the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, which had more than 110,000 people in attendance.

“We have nothing like this in New Zealand not even on a small scale any longer,” she says.

The experience of being involved in the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, provided opportunities for Megan to converse with other show attendees, including ākonga (learners) and their very proud and supportive families.

“The floristry students and tutors I spoke with were blown away that we (Open Polytechnic) teach both Level 2 and Level 3 online,” she says.

“I love to share how this process is possible, what we actually teach and the results we gain.”

Megan joined Open Polytechnic in 2017 and was also involved in helping to set up Open Polytechnic’s first online Level 2 floristry course, which started in 2019.

“I believe we are breaking ground at the Open Polytechnic with our floristry courses with the way in which we deliver a practical course with great results,” Megan says.

She also recently received an Associate of Honour, (AHRIH), the highest award possible from the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture’s (RNZIH) at the New Zealand National Awards.

To find out more about studying floristry at Open Polytechnic, go to www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz

About Open Polytechnic

As New Zealand’s specialist provider of open and distance learning, Open Polytechnic enrols more than 35,000 mainly part-time students per year. The majority of students are adult learners, combining work and study.

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