The horticulture industry is rapidly evolving, intertwining with health, sustainability, and technology sectors. This transformation is driving demand for expertise in sustainable and environmental horticulture, which aims to minimise ecological impact and boost climate resilience, and in therapeutic horticulture, where plant-based practices are used to support wellbeing and social connection.
While the horticulture industry is evolving, it can also offer a personal path to recovery and renewal. Laurence Tockuss, a 61-year-old former primary school teacher from Tamworth, spent more than three decades in education before a series of three strokes starting in 2020 changed his life. Laurence needed to relearn basic life skills, including how to speak and communicate, after a brain injury left him with aphasia.
An intensive period of rehabilitation followed. Laurence had to relearn numbers and letters, tell the time, read, write, shop, use a debit card, and rebuild basic life skills. He underwent intensive physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and learned to adapt to partial vision loss, with minor blindness now affecting one eye. During this period, Laurence crossed paths with Sue Wood, TAFE NSW Head Teacher Agribusiness and the mother of one of his former students. The chance meeting sparked a new direction, and Laurence enrolled in a Certificate III in Horticulture.
Two-and-a-half years into the course, Laurence now works alongside his wife, Suzanne, in her small business, Joy in the Paddock, a micro flower and Christmas tree farm in regional New South Wales.
In 2024, Laurence’s dedication to horticulture was formally recognised when he received a Merit Award from the Australian Institute of Horticulture, presented by renowned Australian landscape architect and TV presenter, Costa Georgiadis.
“After my strokes, I lost nearly everything I knew about myself. But working with my hands in the soil – and learning again – has been healing in more ways than one,” Laurence said. “Horticulture gave me purpose again. I want others recovering from stroke to know that having a life after a stroke is still possible.”
In addition to working on the farm, Laurence actively raises awareness about stroke recovery and prevention, using his experience to inspire others, while highlighting the restorative potential of horticulture.
TAFE NSW Tamworth Head Teacher of Horticulture and Australian Institute of Horticulture Secretary, Sue Wood, said, “Laurence has shown incredible determination in pursuing a new career path after major life setbacks. Studying alongside some of the students he once taught is a rare full-circle moment, and fellow students admire his resilience and willingness to start over. Laurence is a great example of how it’s never too late to learn something new or take your life in a different direction.”