Draft:Collectors corner

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Wikipedia

Collectors Corner
Company typeSpecialist nursery
IndustryHorticulture
Founded1985
FoundersJeno Kapitany, Attila Kapitany,Tom Kapitany
HeadquartersBraeside, Melbourne, Australia
ParentParadisia Nurseries

Collectors Corner is a specialist nursery located within Garden World in Braeside, Melbourne, founded in 1985 by horticulturalist Jeno Kapitany and his brothers Attila and Tom as part of Paradisia Nurseries.[1] The nursery houses extensive collections of rare and unusual plants curated by Jeno Kapitany, including complete collections of cacti, succulents, orchids, bromeliads, carnivorous plants and other specimens, alongside fossils, meteorites, gems and natural history items.[2]

Media coverage

In 2023, Gardening Australia profiled Collectors Corner through its founder Jeno Kapitany in the "My Garden Path" series, describing the nursery as "one of the most unique retail nurseries in the world." The program highlighted Kapitany's philosophy: "Every plant that we work with, we work with to the extreme. So, we have complete collections not just the top five," and showcased the nursery's extensive collections of cacti, succulents, orchids, bromeliads, and carnivorous plants.[3]

Collectors Corner has also been featured on Better Homes and Gardens, an Australian television series. The nursery appeared in Season 25, Episode 36, aired on 25 October 2019, which showcased its orchids, succulents, museum‑like displays and rare plant collections.[4]

Rare plant events

The nursery has attracted national attention for rare plant events, most notably the blooming of the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), commonly known as the corpse flower. Blooms of this species are extremely rare worldwide, and under Kapitany's direction Collectors Corner is one of the few nurseries in Australia to successfully cultivate and display it.[5]

An article in Melbourne Pollen described the Titan Arum as “one of the most fascinating plants in the world” and reported that “a corpse flower named Casper bloomed at Collectors Corner in GardenWorld, Braeside, offering the public a rare chance to see this botanical marvel.”[5] Dr Edwin Lampugnani, a plant scientist at the University of Melbourne and one of Melbourne Pollen's contributors, visited Casper during its brief bloom and explained: “It’s an incredible plant, not just because of its size and smell, but because of how it has evolved to interact with its environment. It’s a reminder of the incredible diversity of pollination strategies in the plant world.”[5]

Hundreds of visitors attended the bloom, which was reported by Nine News, noting its pungent odour often compared to rotting fish.[6] Serendib News also described the Braeside bloom as a “once‑in‑a‑decade event,” highlighting its rarity.[7]

Earlier blooms have also received mainstream media attention; a 2017 article in the Herald Sun reported on a Titan Arum flowering at GardenWorld, noting the rarity of the event and the public interest it generated.[8]

Awards

Collectors Corner has been repeatedly recognised at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS). In 2022, Collectors Corner's gold medal display was noted among the official winners.[9] In 2023, the nursery was again recognised for excellence in horticultural design.[10] In 2024, Encouraging Women in Horticulture reported that Collectors Corner won Gold in the Visual Display Category for the fifth consecutive year, with horticultural designer Monika Rogers credited as one of the main creators of the award-winning exhibits.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". Paradisia Nurseries.
  2. ↑ "About Us". Collectors Corner.
  3. ↑ "My Garden Path – Jeno Kapitany". ABC Gardening Australia. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "Collectors Corner feature". Better Homes and Gardens Facebook. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Casper corpse flower". Melbourne Pollen. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "'Rotting fish': Hundreds visit Melbourne garden centre to smell corpse flower". 9News Australia. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Hundreds visit Melbourne garden centre to smell corpse flower". Serendib News. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "Rare corpse flower blooms for the first time at Garden World". Herald Sun. January 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show Winners Revealed" (PDF). Horticultural Media Association. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Australia's Best Horticultural Design Winners at MIFGS 2023". Outdoor Design Source. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "EWHA – MIFGS 2024 feature". Encouraging Women in Horticulture. 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.