After almost 33 years at Otago Polytechnic’s Central Campus, Jo Wakelin is leaving for fresh challenges.

She described her future as a "renaissance rather than retirement".

Well respected for her horticultural expertise and contribution to both education and industry, Jo said horticulture is in her DNA.

And she’s not speaking figuratively - one of her ancestors, the Reverend Richard Johnson, is regarded as the father of the Australian citrus industry.

"Really it is all about plants," Jo said.

"I get the most buzz out of plants, particularly alpine natives, vegetables, medicinal and dry-loving xerics."

Sharing her knowledge with others is also an obvious passion: Jo has taught horticulture to primary and secondary school students, at certificate and diploma level, online, face to face, in industry, to farmers … to "anybody who wants to learn to grow", she said.

"I do get a buzz from seeing graduates progressing in industry and the feeling that I may have helped contribute to their passion."

Highlights in her time at Otago Polytechnic include the rise in popularity of the annual labour weekend giant plant sale, and the new nursery at Bannockburn Rd.

"The steady development of a commercial plant nursery at Cromwell has resulted in more than 25 giant plant sales, with increasingly larger crowds lining up to catch a bargain grown by the students."

Jo recently developed a medicinal herb bed at the Central Campus in a partnership with Artemis, a producer of traditional plant medicines. 

More than 20 different species of medicinal herbs, from echinacea to ashwagandha, have been trialled.

Passionate about environmentally conscious landscaping, Jo has highlighted the sustainable use of water to her students and the local communities.

"After so many presentations to groups and conferences over the years, it is heartening to see increasing awareness of water use in landscaping."

She played a key role in establishing the Water Conservation Garden in Cromwell. Starting as an initiative from Otago Polytechnic, the garden has been supported by the Cromwell Community Board and the Central Otago District Council (CODC), and aims to educate people about the sustainable use of water in local gardens.

Jo supported and helped develop Project Gold, a Department of Conservation (DOC) initiative encouraging people to grow and look after kōwhai trees and strengthen enthusiasm for Central’s dryland forest restoration.

Her next challenge is to grow her consultancy and continue to develop a four hectare commercial cherry orchard at her home near Mt Pisa.

She plans to spend more time enhancing her internationally recognised resilient dry-loving garden. It has featured in several books and magazines, the New York Times and the UK’s Sunday Telegraph.

"Most notably, it was one of 40 gardens worldwide to be included in Wild - The Naturalistic Garden by the British authority, Noel Kingsbury," Jo said. 

Download CODC’s brochure that draws on Jo’s expertise; Changing How We Use Water: a guide to landscaping with less water in Central Otago