The Front Garden
Landscaping Victoria brings you the latest in landscaping news, trends, and ideas by sharing some stories from people within the industry to help make your landscaping career a little easier.
The Front Garden
Diversify to Thrive: Kahl Gaffke’s Regional Growth Story | The Front Garden Ep131
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TL;DR: Kahl Gaffke reveals how diversification, resilience and family focus built Gaffke’s Gardens & Landscaping into a multi-arm landscaping business ready for interstate growth.
In this episode…
From mowing lawns with a flat-deck Victa to managing multi-acre government contracts, diversifying into plant propagation, and even launching a NSW branch, Kahl Gaffke’s story is all about building resilience.
In this candid chat with our host, Adam Hompas, he shares how Gaffke’s Gardens & Landscaping grew from a one-man maintenance service to a 12-person design, construct and maintenance business with a self-sustaining nursery and potting mix operation.
Kahl talks openly about tough staffing decisions, balancing family with business growth, and why surrounding yourself with talented specialists makes all the difference. Hear how his team keeps projects flexible by treating designs as “concepts” and how they’re gearing up for the next stage of expansion.
What you’ll learn:
- Why diversification (design, maintenance, nursery, potting mix) future-proofs a landscaping business.
- How to balance growth with family life and values.
- The importance of surrounding yourself with specialists (stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers, etc).
- Lessons from downsizing post-COVID to protect quality and culture.
- How to set up supply chains and machinery fleets to overcome regional logistics.
- Why building an in-house nursery supports big contracts and cuts costs.
- Practical insights on expanding interstate with limited risk.
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👁️🗨️ About Kahl Gaffke
- Website: gaffkes.com.au
- Facebook Gaffke’s Gardens & Landscaping
- Instagram: @gaffkes_gardens_landscaping
“LV membership today feels worlds apart from years ago; the warmth and welcome are real.”
Episodes like this prove the power of industry connections. As a Landscaping Victoria member, you’ll access events, insights and a network that helps you grow stronger, smarter businesses. If you’re ready to step up, explore LV membership today.
⏰ Timestamps
01:00 Falling into landscaping (missed uni, early maintenance)
05:00 Family decisions: moving back to Gippsland
10:00 Adding design; concept-based flexibility
14:00 Building a team of specialists
18:00 Scaling up to 21 staff → post-COVID restructure
22:00 Government & commercial contracts
26:00 Logistics & fleet management
32:00 Nursery + potting mix diversification
38:00 NSW branch launch (Bega Valley)
44:00 LV membership: past vs present
48:00 Favourite plants (protea, crape myrtle, weeping lily pilly)
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