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00:00Woo-hoo!
00:02Yeah!
00:06Hey!
00:08Hi!
00:10Ha-ha!
00:12Ooh!
00:14Ha-ha-ha!
00:16Hey!
00:18Hmm?
00:20Hey, buddy!
00:22Hey!
00:24Yeah!
00:26Oh!
00:28Ooh!
00:34How wonderful is it to be
00:36back with you all for 2025?
00:38Can you believe that
00:40this is our 36th year
00:42on air? And over the break
00:44we've unearthed some
00:46fantastic stories for you.
00:48Today, I'm at a secondary school
00:50on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula
00:52where plants and sustainability
00:54are growing throughout
00:56the curriculum. I'll show you
00:58around here a little later on,
01:00but first, here's what else is coming
01:02up on our first episode
01:04for the year.
01:06Gerry's got some
01:08houseplants that can become monsters
01:10in the garden.
01:12By containing these plants,
01:14you've got a friend for life.
01:16All gardeners have a lot
01:18of success and they have failures,
01:20including us. So today,
01:22I want to share with you some of my wins
01:24and some of my losses.
01:26For many of us, the notion
01:28of planting out annual flowers
01:30might conjure up images
01:32of petunias, snapdragons
01:34and marigolds.
01:36But with our scorching summer heat,
01:38it's time to consider native annuals.
01:40And I'm
01:42exploring Adelaide Botanic Garden
01:44where striking colours and shapes
01:46are blooming, making familiar
01:48landscapes seem new again.
01:54I love it
01:56when I go to a place and I can see
01:58straight away that someone
02:00has put consideration
02:02into every little detail.
02:04Well, Tammy's visiting a garden
02:06where hard work
02:08and a lot of thought has really
02:10paid off.
02:12Bold, sweeping
02:24and romantic. Words used
02:26to describe a naturalistic planting
02:28style that's widely associated
02:30with Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf.
02:32It focuses on
02:34a blend of perennials and grasses
02:36but has never really taken off with Aussie
02:38gardeners. I'm meeting a man
02:40who could change all that.
02:44Hi Stephen. Hi.
02:46What an amazing garden
02:48you have. Thanks. How long
02:50did it take you to create this?
02:52It's been ten years in the making.
02:54Wow. Horticulturist
02:56and garden designer Stephen Bellet
02:58has incorporated this naturalistic
03:00style into his own garden
03:02here in the foothills of the Blue Mountains
03:04of New South Wales.
03:06Naturalistic style gardens are all about
03:08planting plants grouped in
03:10mass, combining plants
03:12in long drifts,
03:14letting plants self-seed.
03:16It's that sort of wild
03:18style of garden and it was
03:20all brought about by
03:22European garden designers
03:24and in doing so
03:26it's encouraging the biodiversity
03:28in a garden.
03:30Stephen, I can see there's lots of different textures,
03:32colours, heights.
03:34Is this all part of the naturalistic
03:36planting style? Well,
03:38yes it is and it
03:40works well when you have
03:42flowers like the daisies,
03:44the umbiliferas
03:46like the sedums,
03:48the ball type heads of the
03:50echinops. They all attract
03:52beneficial insects, bees
03:54and butterflies. Even honey
03:56eaters visit this garden.
03:58The beds are themed in colours
04:00and here we have blues and whites
04:02and mauves. It works really well.
04:04It gives you that
04:06sort of soothing
04:08feel to the garden. The movement,
04:10the verticals, the grasses,
04:12it all works.
04:14It gives you that sort of natural
04:16prairie feel that we're
04:18really, really after.
04:26What happens
04:28across the seasons? Well,
04:30very much a four season garden
04:32and now as
04:34we approach late summer,
04:36coming into autumn, we still
04:38have like the sedums
04:40that are out, the echinaceas
04:42are still showing,
04:44the helleniums.
04:46As we sort of come into autumn,
04:48the autumn tones will
04:50like grow through the foliage
04:52where you'll get your
04:54golds and oranges and
04:56then as we approach winter
04:58you will have the
05:00acids and the greys and the
05:02straw. It's very
05:04skeletal looking coming right into
05:06winter and then right at the end
05:08we cut
05:10everything down, it's put back
05:12into the soil and
05:14then comes spring,
05:16all the spring bulbs emerge.
05:18It's fantastic. It's a really dramatic
05:20garden.
05:22People always talk about
05:24meadows are quite
05:26dreamy. There's a lot of movement.
05:28The grasses especially
05:30give you that movement through
05:32the garden. It's very relaxing.
05:34Grasses are a major part of
05:36the naturalistic planting style.
05:38I can see you've used a couple of different ones in your
05:40garden. Yes, very much so
05:42and this one in particular
05:44is Miscanthus flamingo.
05:48How have you approached where you've put them?
05:50Well, they're planted in drifts,
05:52they're spotted through.
05:54I have Miscanthus, panicums,
05:56ostrostipa.
05:58They all create
06:00this movement through the garden and it's
06:02beautiful to see as the wind
06:04blows through it all.
06:06It's basically the backbone to the
06:08garden.
06:10How popular is this planting style
06:12in Australia? Well, it's
06:14actually starting to become trendy
06:16as we're slowly starting to learn
06:18more and more about naturalistic
06:20style gardens.
06:22If someone were to try and do this at home,
06:24and you've got space,
06:26how do we downsize
06:28it? Choose grasses
06:30and perennials that are a little bit more
06:32smaller. Maybe some of the
06:34dwarf ones like this Yucca shimano,
06:36which is very popular. You can actually
06:38buy a lot of these plants online.
06:40There's a lot of specialist nurseries
06:42that offer tube stock.
06:44You can probably get it by cuttings,
06:46seeds, divisions from friends.
06:48It can be easily
06:50achieved. Rip out all your lawn
06:52and you won't have to mow again.
06:54Why not have
06:56beauty, flowers
06:58and a meadow rather
07:00than having lawn?
07:02Your plants are looking really healthy.
07:04What do you do?
07:06It's all about having great
07:08organic, healthy
07:10soil. When you talk about organics
07:12in the soil, you're referring to things like compost
07:14and aged manures. Blood of bone
07:16and lime. Lime's quite
07:18essential. Our soils
07:20in Australia are quite acidic.
07:22These being European
07:24plants, they do like a higher pH.
07:26Actually adding lime to the soil will
07:28increase the available nutrients.
07:34What I like about
07:36Stephen's garden is that it offers beauty
07:38all year round.
07:40It looks incredible in summer
07:42with its colours and textures.
07:44Fades gracefully in winter and provides
07:46food for local wildlife.
07:48There's something here for all gardeners
07:50to think about. It's
07:52truly inspirational.
08:04Are slaters good or bad for the garden?
08:06Well, both.
08:08Slaters are a normal part of the garden
08:10ecosystem. They eat
08:12decaying organic matter, recycle
08:14nutrients and build soil.
08:16But they can be a problem if they're
08:18eating your plants. Rather than
08:20kill slaters, the aim is to redirect
08:22them. If you've just sown some
08:24seeds, try laying out orange rinds
08:26to distract slaters from the tender
08:28new shoots. For an easy
08:30DIY guard to protect young
08:32seedlings, add plastic pots with the
08:34bottom cut out. And where
08:36possible, aim to keep fruiting plants
08:38up off the ground. That way slaters
08:40can get about their business away
08:42from your plants.
08:44Is it possible to over-fertilise
08:46your plants? Well, yes it is.
08:48It's called fertiliser burn.
08:50And what happens is the leaves go
08:52brown, especially around the edges, then
08:54they dry off and then they fall off.
08:56And that's in response, very often,
08:58to dry soil around
09:00the roots. Excessive nutrients
09:02can cause toxicity.
09:04So what you need to do is make sure before
09:06you put any fertiliser down,
09:08is to water thoroughly, then the
09:10fertiliser, then water again.
09:12If you fertilise when the soil
09:14is moist, you'll be right.
09:16What's the story
09:18with the crazy pandanus legs?
09:20Well, pandanus species thrive
09:22in coastal tropics, living in
09:24swamps, forests and beaches
09:26from Port Macquarie in New South Wales
09:28to Cape York in northern Queensland.
09:30And their crazy legs are in fact
09:32stilts or prop roots that
09:34take over from the main trunk when it
09:36withers. Now this is an adaptation
09:38which allows the tree to either move,
09:40reshoot or stabilise
09:42in the shifting sands of their favoured
09:44coastal environment.
09:46In addition, they aid the plant by absorbing
09:48nutrients and water, or by
09:50capturing decaying organic matter
09:52on the surface of the ground.
09:54And it's easy to see why it's fast becoming
09:56the trendy plant for now.
10:06The town of Drysdale is
10:08Wadawurrung country on
10:10Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula.
10:12Not too far from Geelong.
10:14Plants and
10:16horticulture have deep roots
10:18at Bellarine Secondary College.
10:20And I'm
10:22taking you to meet some good friends
10:24of mine who are working on a project
10:26here at the school where
10:28sustainability, local food
10:30and the next generation
10:32are all growing up together.
10:34It's going to be
10:36an excellent morning for planting.
10:38So what we are going to do today is
10:40onions. So we've actually got some more
10:42onions here this morning that we're going to prep.
10:44Farm My School is a
10:46not-for-profit one and a half acre
10:48farm that makes use of
10:50underutilised school land,
10:52connects young people to food
10:54growing skills and commercially
10:56supplies fresh food
10:58to the local community.
11:02Farm My School co-founders Ben
11:04and James are both professional
11:06gardeners with an eye for the
11:08social big picture.
11:10I see schools as a
11:12really powerful
11:14piece of land already within
11:16communities. If we can
11:18grow food there, we're
11:20creating community resilience,
11:22we're creating food security,
11:24we're educating the school
11:26students and the communities around
11:28food systems and how to grow food.
11:30So it's a ridiculously powerful thing.
11:32You're both gardeners but you're
11:34really professional problem
11:36solvers. What are some of the ways that
11:38you're bringing about
11:40change?
11:42School gardens are
11:44an amazing opportunity where
11:46they are the students' favourite
11:48place often. They're where
11:50principals take prospective parents
11:52or the politician who comes to the
11:54school. Yet they're often left
11:56neglected through the
11:58school holiday period in summer
12:00when they haven't been watered or not
12:02tended to or not harvested.
12:04So for us,
12:06trying to get around that problem
12:08was really the start of this whole Farm My School
12:10concept where we could create a
12:12school garden that was actually a commercial model
12:14by making it a farm
12:16and actually producing food for the whole community.
12:18Your storytelling has been
12:20so captivating from the start. It made
12:22me want to come along
12:24and be part of that original
12:26farm build. How did it all
12:28unfold?
12:30We knew we had to do something big to transform
12:32what was a disused soccer pitch
12:34into a 1.5
12:36acre farm. We knew
12:38that we wanted to involve the community
12:40in that process. So
12:42we just thought how can we bring
12:44that many people onto the farm
12:46to actually start building it.
12:48So we came up with this idea to actually have
12:50a 24 hour, no dig
12:52build a farm in a day event
12:54where we actually can bring people in, sell
12:56tickets to teach them how to
12:58do a no dig garden
13:00and while getting them to work and actually build the
13:02farm. So we had over 600
13:04paid guests come down to
13:06Bellarine Secondary College and laid
13:08cardboard over the whole field and we
13:10started the beds with all organic inputs
13:12that we'd sourced from local waste materials.
13:14It was
13:16a pretty amazing event where we had food
13:18trucks, we had bands playing for the whole
13:2024 hours. We got to night time
13:22which was when you arrived and we got
13:24the spotlights out and we actually
13:26did so much that we ran out of
13:28extension leads to be able to go and do
13:30other sections of the farm so we had to call it quits
13:32for the night. And
13:34all these punters who were here were just
13:36keen to keep going so they came back at sort of
13:38five the next morning and we continued on in the morning
13:40so yeah it was an almighty effort
13:42and it was a fantastic event
13:44to be a part of. It was nuts
13:46the energy here. I mean
13:48at midnight people were just
13:50still chomping at the bit.
13:52People were ready. They were up and
13:54raring to go
13:56and yeah I've never experienced anything
13:58like it. Ever.
14:00Now
14:02the farm sells veggies at
14:04markets and through a veggie box
14:06program which means they can employ
14:08professional farmers as well
14:10as student trainees through
14:12the Farmer Incubator Program
14:14designed to build pathways
14:16for new farmers.
14:18Paul has just finished year
14:2012 and is now employed as
14:22a paid part-time trainee.
14:24Well it's amazing I mean I can go
14:26literally from the school just straight over here and then
14:28have a job out
14:30in nature with all the birds and all the little bugs
14:32and stuff learning so much about
14:34nature itself but also just like how to
14:36sustain myself and grow food
14:38for myself and all sorts of stuff like that.
14:40Sandy teaches
14:42horticulture at the school
14:44and her classes never miss an
14:46opportunity for people to get
14:48their hands dirty.
14:50I have been teaching horticulture for
14:52nearly 20 years.
14:54So the year 10 class is
14:56a full year class for Farm My School
14:58and a lot of the students
15:00choose to be in this program
15:02because they just love to be outside.
15:04What sort of impact
15:06are you seeing it have on
15:08students? I think it's really
15:10positive. Just getting outside
15:12and having it as a class
15:14is just a really beautiful
15:16thing and it just
15:18clears your mind and everything.
15:20I think some people might think that
15:22it's more for older people
15:24but
15:26it's not, it's for everyone and it's really
15:28good for everyone to
15:30do and it brings everyone
15:32together of all ages.
15:34I think it's
15:36really important for these students
15:38to become involved at an early
15:40age. To see
15:42the biodiversity that's
15:44happening in the farm compared to
15:46what we did have here which was the old
15:48soccer pitch and just being
15:50able to learn how they grow their food
15:52and then what do we do
15:54with it after that. The first
15:56term this year the students
15:58were actually coming out to harvest
16:00and sending all
16:02the fruit and veg that we harvest down to the
16:04foods rooms for our food tech
16:06students to prepare. So
16:08trying to incorporate all that into the
16:10school curriculum as well.
16:12It's made quite a positive impact. It's
16:14given kids the opportunity to come out
16:16and learn more about nature, involve it in all
16:18different classes such as ceramics media
16:20because you can come out and take photos of the farm
16:22you can come out and get leaves to do
16:24imprints on the ceramics.
16:26Wow, so it's kind of actually
16:28making its way into the
16:30broader school and all the
16:32subjects. It's found its way into a lot
16:34of the subjects including math
16:36and science and all that.
16:38I love plants.
16:40I love the gardening I have
16:42since I was the same age as these
16:44students so it's really
16:46lovely to see some of the passion
16:48that's coming through for those students as well
16:50at such a young age.
16:56Ben and I are both passionate
16:58about environmental
17:00conservation, about engaging
17:02people to nature, about getting them into
17:04gardens, teaching them about food systems
17:06and where their food comes from and
17:08literally all of those passions we have
17:10are now interwoven into this project.
17:12We wanted to
17:14reframe how a farm
17:16could operate because a lot of farms
17:18they're sort of out of sight, out of mind
17:20and you've got the farmer
17:22toiling away by
17:24themselves. It's quite a solo
17:26sort of pursuit and we
17:28wanted to change
17:30that or try to change that
17:32by bringing in more
17:34people basically. I mean
17:36we're all gardeners and we like to get our hands
17:38in the soil but it's much more fun
17:40doing it with other people.
17:42And hopefully
17:44some other schools might
17:46go, actually we've got
17:48those spaces in our schools, why can't we
17:50look at the landscape a bit differently?
17:52I used to overlook going
17:54onto farms and stuff thinking it's just dirty
17:56work but it's amazing to be out
17:58on the farm, it's lively and seeing
18:00multiple kids get involved with the farm
18:02it makes it so much more fun.
18:04On days when you're working by yourself you get a lot
18:06of time to yourself to think about stuff and all
18:08sorts of stuff like that but when you're working with others
18:10you get to chat because you can just work with your hands
18:12and then talk.
18:14I've learnt a lot about the farm
18:16and the way things
18:18kind of work
18:20and the community around it
18:22but also I think I've kind of
18:24learnt things about myself as well
18:26like just being outside
18:28and planting things on the land
18:30it's just a really good place to
18:32reflect on everything.
18:40Some of the students here may be
18:42learning trade skills but they're
18:44all learning life skills.
18:46They're not only the horticulturists
18:48and farmers of our future
18:50they're the everything of our
18:52future. I like
18:54to imagine what our world would be
18:56like when everyone has
18:58an education grounded
19:00in the garden.
19:08How can I grow my pumpkins vertically?
19:10Growing pumpkins vertically
19:12can happen on a fence line,
19:14a trellis or an archway.
19:16It's a fantastic way to be
19:18economical with your space because
19:20otherwise they can ramble everywhere.
19:22It also helps
19:24reduce fungal problems by increasing
19:26air flow and it looks
19:28gorgeous. You can really get up
19:30close to see the beautiful produce.
19:32But some pumpkins can be heavy
19:34so to prevent them from snapping off
19:36the vine or dragging the whole plant
19:38or structure down you can simply
19:40just choose some smaller varieties
19:42or learn how to support the larger
19:44ones.
19:46You can give the individual fruit support
19:48by making hammocks from a stretchy material
19:50such as old stockings.
19:54It's that simple and
19:56your pumpkins will love you for it.
20:04Now I don't mean to panic you
20:06but I have some breaking
20:08and alarming news.
20:10We've had reports of monsters
20:12in our midst and they're threatening
20:14to claim your backyard as
20:16their own. Our reporter Gerry
20:18is on the scene with more.
20:20Some popular plants
20:22are best in a pot.
20:24Plant them outside
20:26and they'll suddenly supersize
20:28and take over your whole garden.
20:30I'm going to introduce you to
20:32some undercover monsters
20:34that are better contained
20:36without any chance of them
20:38coming into contact with your garden's
20:40soil.
20:44Who doesn't like ornamental
20:46figs?
20:48This is a variegated
20:50rubber tree.
20:52And there are many different tones
20:54but this one with the pinkish hues
20:56is ruby. It's a wonderful
20:58house plant. They tolerate
21:00heat, neglect, low
21:02water, low light levels,
21:04all sorts of things that could kill a plant
21:06won't kill this but
21:08if you love them
21:10they'll quickly grow and fill a room
21:12and that's when a fatal mistake
21:14can occur. If you put these
21:16outside, you don't even need to
21:18plant them because these little
21:20wispy roots will reach down into
21:22the soil and suddenly
21:24they'll supercharge the plant.
21:26It'll break the pot and you've got
21:28a 40 metre specimen dominating
21:30your back garden. The
21:32only place where you can allow
21:34these to grow uncontained
21:36is in a large park. But
21:38you can prune them
21:40and you can use the cuttings to
21:42propagate more. I've shown
21:44on Gardening Australia
21:46how you can use aerial
21:48layering as a technique to propagate
21:50these plants so you can check out the
21:52website how to do it. By
21:54containing these plants, you've
21:56got a friend for life.
22:02The giant bird of paradise,
22:04Strelitzia nicoli, is deservedly
22:06really popular as a
22:08landscape plant. It's widely
22:10available but in this
22:12nursery, it's only sold
22:14as an indoor house plant
22:16and for a very good reason.
22:18It has tropical
22:20looks, flowers freely, is
22:22tough in drought and will grow quickly.
22:24You can distinguish it from
22:26its smaller cousin by its blue
22:28and cream flowers over
22:30the lurid orange of the smaller
22:32type. However, this
22:34plant comes with a warning. If you
22:36plant this in the ground, you'll need
22:38plenty of space because
22:40this plant is fireproof,
22:42droughtproof, frostproof
22:44and it'll rapidly grow
22:46into a clump eight metres high
22:48and form a suckering clump
22:50five metres wide.
22:52Now, this also sells
22:54seeds and it's emerging as
22:56an environmental weed.
22:58You'll need an excavator to remove
23:00one of these once they've settled in.
23:02Isn't it amazing
23:04that a plant like this can
23:06be simply tamed by a plastic
23:08pot?
23:12The fruit salad plant, Monstera
23:14Deliciosa, has iconic
23:16leaves which launched a thousand
23:18plant collections, including mine
23:20when I was a youngster in London.
23:22Now, these fenestrations
23:24only develop on mature leaves.
23:26You can see on this seedling here
23:28there's none at all.
23:30Now, this plant is quite easily
23:32maintained indoors and it's a fabulous
23:34house plant. I manage
23:36them as a house plant for many
23:38years just by pruning them back
23:40in spring, using the stems
23:42as cuttings and preventing
23:44the aerial roots from making
23:46contact with the walls because they
23:48can damage plaster.
23:50If you plant one out in the garden
23:52it will need managing as well, otherwise
23:54it'll disappear up a tree
23:56or over the neighbour's fence.
23:58We're also learning that
24:00this is an emerging environmental
24:02weed in coastal New South
24:04Wales and Queensland.
24:06So, if you grow the fruit salad plant
24:08eat the fruit. They do
24:10taste like fruit salad.
24:12Manage the plants, manage the
24:14seed and you and this plant will have
24:16a long and productive life together.
24:23Look at these bonsai.
24:25They're a perfect example of how
24:27to manage an undercover monster
24:29because most of these
24:31are forest trees.
24:33So, all you need to remember
24:35to manage large plants
24:37is how to prune and how to pot.
24:47How good are these student-made
24:49scarecrows? I reckon
24:51there's been plenty of lessons
24:53learned around materials
24:55recycling, creativity
24:57and, of course, structural
24:59integrity. Now, Batman,
25:01Millie is someone who's learned
25:03plenty of lessons in her
25:05garden and she's here to share
25:07with us a few of her hits
25:09and misses.
25:17This garden is incredibly
25:19productive, but for me it is also
25:21experimental. I'm always
25:23trying things that I haven't tried
25:25before. I've had hits and
25:27misses along the way and even if
25:29things don't always go to plan,
25:31there are lessons to be taken
25:33and sometimes unexpected
25:35benefits.
25:39Let's look back to late winter
25:41when I planted my first
25:43shallot crop. So you just
25:45really nestle them into
25:47the soil surface. The worst
25:49thing that you can do for a bulb
25:51onion like this is rot them by
25:53covering them with soil.
25:55But up there they are a risk of
25:57being pecked out by birds
25:59but also from being completely
26:01frosted. So I'm going to put a frame
26:03over the top and then put
26:05a bit of a frost cover over the top of
26:07that and I'll leave it there until they've
26:09solidly got their roots in the ground
26:11and then it can come off and they can enjoy
26:13that warm sun.
26:17Well, I'm pleased
26:19to report that the shallots have been
26:21a fantastic success for a really
26:23small amount of garden space
26:25and effort. They grew away
26:27and produced this fantastic crop.
26:29I've let it dry off and now
26:31I can store them for use
26:33right through the winter months. I'll replant
26:35some and I can give some away to some other
26:37gardeners. But really, this one for
26:39me has been a massive win.
26:43Now, let's check out another experiment
26:45from last winter. A soil
26:47solution for my spuds.
26:49To try and get around planting into
26:51the heavy clay soil here in the garden
26:53in central Victoria.
26:55Now these bales are essentially just dry carbon
26:57so to create a really good growing
26:59environment you do have to add some things.
27:01I've got to add that moisture and the nutrients.
27:03You should see
27:05the tops of the potatoes come through
27:07in about three or four weeks
27:09and then hopefully by the end of
27:11summer I should be able to cut that baling twine,
27:13harvest a stack of spuds
27:15and get all that
27:17rotten straw to put on the garden as well.
27:19This experiment
27:21didn't quite go to plan.
27:23It was really effective.
27:25For the first few weeks the potatoes
27:27shot away and grew beautifully
27:29but we had a lot of rain
27:31over a short period.
27:33It drained down the hill,
27:35the bales soaked it up and completely
27:37soaked and rotted my crop.
27:39So no spuds out of this
27:41but of course in gardening
27:43there's really no such thing
27:45as a total loss and the straw
27:47now fully rotted and wet
27:49is going to make cracker compost.
27:53I've put you to such productive use.
27:59Now let's travel back
28:01to 2021.
28:03I want to make a small pond
28:05and I'm going to do it in this bathtub which is perfect
28:07for it because it's already watertight.
28:09I'm going to create a native
28:11plant pond and many of these species
28:13are actually indigenous to
28:15the local area.
28:17This is a very special
28:19little fish. It's a southern pygmy perch
28:21and it is an endemic species
28:23to southeastern Australia.
28:25Now they make fantastic pond fish
28:27because they are frog friendly.
28:29I'm happy to
28:31report that this little pond brings
28:33so much joy in the
28:35garden. It of course is growing lots of
28:37beautiful plants, the lithium
28:39and the buttercup flower beautifully
28:41and there's all of that beautiful vegetation
28:43and it's also used by so many
28:45species. Dragonflies,
28:47birds visit and it also is still
28:49home to a great little population of
28:51rare pygmy perch. Now the truth is
28:53I never see them. They're hidden down
28:55under the shade of the vegetation
28:57and the deck. That's why I put it there
28:59but they keep the mozzies completely under
29:01control. I've also installed
29:03a little solar pump so through the
29:05day this water trickles and it helps
29:07to aerate the water and I do need
29:09to top that level up but here in town
29:11our water is chlorinated so I never
29:13add it straight into the pond. It's bad for the fish.
29:15Instead I've got a little system. I fill
29:17up the bucket and then after
29:19about 24, 48 hours those chemicals
29:21have evaporated and I can pour that
29:23straight into the pond.
29:29For such a little
29:31investment of space and effort
29:33this is a big win.
29:35It's not always
29:37a clear win or loss. Sometimes
29:39there's grey green areas.
29:41What I've built is essentially
29:43a dry stone wall. Now the wall
29:45is doing a great job already
29:47retaining all of the soil for this garden
29:49bed up here but it is also
29:51going to provide me a fantastic
29:53microclimate to try a few new plants.
29:55One plant that I
29:57always want in my garden is
29:59this one. It's caparis spinosa, the
30:01caper bush and in Italy I saw
30:03these seeded in walls
30:05and on buildings and that's
30:07exactly what I want to try and create here.
30:11The wall project, well I've
30:13had mixed results here.
30:15The capers that I pretty much built
30:17it to grow have failed.
30:19I suspect it was the timing. It was just getting
30:21too cold and they went dormant
30:23and they rotted away. So I'm going to try again
30:25in early spring and hopefully
30:27I'm going to have success. A lot of the pocket
30:29plantings also failed. They just got
30:31too hot and dry but one has been
30:33really successful and that is
30:35chrysum maritimum. It's a great
30:37little herb or vegetable that you can add to
30:39lots of dishes. So in this case, this
30:41project, it's not a win, it's not a loss
30:43I don't think it's even a draw
30:45because everything in the garden
30:47is a lesson about how you might have
30:49better success in the future.
30:53Last winter you might remember I planted
30:55a red flesh peach tree that I'd grown
30:57from seed. It was a wonky little tree
30:59and I wasn't really sure if it
31:01would take in our heavy clay soil.
31:03I gave it some really
31:05tough love with the secateurs.
31:07I always end up going too far.
31:09Alright, walk away
31:11now. I'm going to see how it responds
31:13and hopefully
31:15this little stick will grow into
31:17a fantastic, delicious
31:19beautiful, homegrown
31:21peach tree.
31:27Actually I'm just going to
31:29take the whole centre out
31:31and we'll see what happens.
31:37Ta-da!
31:39Well, you can see what happens
31:41when you prune a tree quite
31:43hard. You get lots of vigorous
31:45response, particularly if you do it in winter.
31:47I'm really happy with this. I wasn't convinced
31:49it was going to be as strong.
31:51I'm not going to prune this tree now. I want
31:53all these leaves to stay on. I want it to keep
31:55photosynthesising and building energy.
31:57So instead I'm just going to give it a really light
31:59feed with some organic fertiliser as it
32:01goes into its dormancy. It's getting
32:03even more energy.
32:07Because this is a seed
32:09grown tree, I'm not 100% sure it's
32:11even going to bear beautiful fruit.
32:13But it is still worth trying.
32:15So the jury is still
32:17out on how much of a success this is
32:19but our initial report
32:21pretty leafy.
32:23Any gardener will tell you
32:25no matter how long you've been doing it
32:27there's always something new to try.
32:29And sometimes that'll be a great
32:31success. Other times it'll go
32:33completely pear-shaped. You'll fail.
32:35But it's no reason not to try.
32:37And it doesn't matter how things work out
32:39you'll always get some sort of
32:41reward.
32:43Oh, yum.
32:45That's delicious.
32:54Still to come on
32:56Gardening Australia.
32:58Jane shows us how to make your
33:00potting mix go the extra
33:02mile. You can reuse
33:04old potting mix and just go about
33:06rejuvenating it.
33:08Clarence takes a close look
33:10at an Aussie favourite.
33:12Lillipillies have got the lot.
33:14And Sophie checks out
33:16an incredible installation
33:18blurring the lines between
33:20nature and art.
33:22When you get inside here it's another world.
33:30This is what I call
33:32happiness in progress.
33:34It's so awesome to see
33:36that the school has an orchard.
33:38And with a couple more years
33:40of patience they'll be harvesting
33:42apricot, plums, cherries
33:44apples and figs
33:46just to name a few.
33:48While fruit trees are a little bit of a
33:50slow burn, sometimes
33:52instant gratification is good
33:54too. Maybe you need
33:56some colour in your life, like
33:58pronto. Well, Josh
34:00is here to show you how.
34:04Heat waves.
34:06We get a few of them out west
34:08especially at this time of
34:10year.
34:12As gardeners,
34:14how can we prepare for
34:16these types of conditions?
34:18That's a question
34:20the team at King's Park
34:22and Botanic Gardens have been
34:24tackling.
34:26Ali, despite the scale
34:28of this place, I'm assuming
34:30that many of the challenges you're facing
34:32would be similar to those of us
34:34at home. For example,
34:36how have the gardens gone with the
34:38crop and the
34:40heat this summer?
34:42It has been a challenge. It's been a really
34:44really hot summer so far.
34:46A lot of our well-established
34:48plants are really resilient and
34:50used to this kind of climate to an extent.
34:52Another strategy we use is to
34:54plant a really great suite
34:56of lovely species from some of the hotter
34:58areas within Western Australia and they
35:00absolutely thrive in these hot temperatures.
35:10Here we are.
35:14Here's a perfect example of a resilient
35:16plant in these hot summer months we've been
35:18having in Perth. This is Crotalaria
35:20cunninghamii, or the green bird
35:22flower, so named for these beautiful bird
35:24shaped flowers that sit in this
35:26lovely panicle held high
35:28above these lovely soft grey green
35:30leaves. It also follows
35:32on with these lovely pods here that rattle
35:34once they're ripe with seed.
35:36Quite a nice ornamental feature in their own right.
35:38We treat it as an annual here
35:40but it does get quite woody and it
35:42does have some perenniality in its natural
35:44range in the Kimberley,
35:46Pilbara, the desert regions of
35:48Western Australia. The flowers
35:50look like origami. They're so
35:52detailed in their folding.
35:54Do they persist in the hot weather?
35:56They do. They last really well.
35:58You can see from these arrangements here they actually
36:00start to flower at the top of the panicle
36:02and open slowly all the way down so they
36:04do last a good long while even in the really hot weather.
36:06Here's
36:08an iconic Northwest Australian
36:10plant, the Tylotus exsultatus,
36:12mullah mullah. It's got these beautiful
36:14sort of violet
36:16pink almost flowers that sit atop
36:18the stems with this lovely blue green
36:20leathery, still
36:22quite soft but robust foliage
36:24and the plant itself here in
36:26Kings Park probably gets between 50 to
36:2875 centimetres tall
36:30and as you can see it spreads quite nicely
36:32and fills a space
36:34in the garden or in a pot if you prefer
36:36to grow them in a pot. We plant them out as
36:38seedlings. We find that we get the best results that
36:40way. In the wild you see them as
36:42sort of mass displays. I guess there's no
36:44reason why you couldn't create the same
36:46kind of effect as a bedding plant at home.
36:48Absolutely. If you had an open space
36:50on your verge, other areas
36:52in your garden that's sort of a bit bare in summer,
36:54you could plant some of these in
36:56and let them spread and ramble and fill that
36:58space over those hotter months that look
37:00great. How about care?
37:02Do you find they need a bit of pruning to
37:04keep them tidy over the growing season?
37:06It's entirely up to you.
37:08You can prune them. We do do that here
37:10sometimes. Sometimes we just let them run.
37:12Other times if they're getting a bit scrappy at the
37:14end we might prune them back down into a healthy
37:16pair of leaves and then we do
37:18find that they shoot on again and flower again.
37:20Another beautiful
37:22species that we grow is Gonferina connessens,
37:24bachelor's buttons. A little bit
37:26similar in flower to this one but
37:28hot pink and a more globular flower head.
37:30A little bit finer foliage and that
37:32comes from up in those hot northern regions
37:34as well up through the Pilbara and Kimberley.
37:36Gets to about 50 centimetres
37:38or so with us. Also spreads out
37:40beautifully. Good for in a pot
37:42or planting en masse through those
37:44hot areas in the garden over summer.
37:54Speaking of iconic, arid land
37:56heat tolerant annuals, you can't
37:58go past the desert pea. You sure
38:00can't. It is absolutely stunning.
38:02This comes from inland
38:04arid regions all around Australia apart from
38:06Victoria and it's found growing
38:08here in WA in the north
38:10in from the desert out to the Pilbara
38:12coast. And we grow
38:14it here in Kings Park. Treat it as a
38:16sprawling annual in our bed displays
38:18in our gardens but also we
38:20grow it as a pot specimen
38:22as well and it grows very well in a pot.
38:24So this one's well known and
38:26loved but what's this little
38:28ripper? That gorgeous
38:30little thing there is a Calendrinia Mirabilis.
38:32Mirabilis being Latin
38:34for extraordinary and wonderful
38:36and you can see why it's got
38:38these stunning hot pink flowers
38:40succulent like
38:42fleshy green leaves
38:44and this is found up in the
38:46Gascoyne and Murchison regions
38:48inland and
38:50grows over those very very hot
38:52conditions there and so we just treat
38:54it as an annual here in our displays
38:56over the summer months.
39:00What's the availability
39:02like of these species for the home
39:04gardener? So a lot of them are
39:06readily available either as seed or
39:08as plants. So for example
39:10the Swainsona you could get as
39:12seed or as a plant.
39:14Same with the Mulla Mulla, the Tylotus,
39:16the Bachelor's Buttons, the Gomphrena
39:18and also the Crotalaria
39:20the green bird flower.
39:22Things like this lovely
39:24Calendrina here not so readily available
39:26yet but we hope that one day in the
39:28future we can make more of these climate
39:30resilient plants available for gardeners
39:32to use over those hot summer months.
39:34What's the timing of planting to have these
39:36flowers looking at their best during
39:38the heat? So we sow them
39:40all of the species that we've spoken about today
39:42in mid-September, grow them
39:44on under glass, harden them off and then
39:46plant them out usually late November
39:48to mid-December as we're coming into our
39:50time of the year in Perth.
39:52We keep them well watered
39:54so they get a deep soak twice a week
39:56that's sufficient for them
39:58and that just keeps them growing nicely
40:00even during these really hot temperatures
40:02that we've been having.
40:11We all want to reduce waste
40:13and we want to save a bit of money
40:15so here's a very nifty trick
40:17with a few simple steps
40:19you can reuse old
40:21potting mix and just go about
40:23rejuvenating it and this
40:25silverbeet is an ideal example. I'm going to
40:27harvest it, this will be great
40:29for dinner and I'm not
40:31going to waste this, I'm going to replant
40:33that silverbeet, it's got little buds coming
40:35out and if I put that in the veggie garden
40:37it'll reshoot from that rather
40:39funny looking base and I'm
40:41also going to completely
40:43rejuvenate the soil, don't
40:45just throw it away. So take
40:47out the silverbeet from the pot
40:55don't use the old
40:57potting mix if it's been exposed
40:59to pests and diseases
41:07just shake
41:09the old roots so that you can get
41:11a bit more of that potting mix out
41:13and there we go
41:15and now all I have to do is
41:17add some compost, this is home
41:19grown compost and
41:21if I just mix that into the
41:23old potting mix it's going to do it no
41:25end of good, you could also use
41:27slow release fertiliser pills if you
41:29want to but compost will
41:31really do the job too
41:33so that's a really easy
41:35way to completely change that
41:37old potting mix into something with
41:39new life in it and away
41:41you go, you can sow and grow
41:43until your heart's content
41:51sometimes familiar and common plants
41:53can be taken for granted
41:55but there's usually a reason why
41:57they're so widely planted
41:59Clarence is here to remind us
42:01why one particular garden
42:03classic is such a
42:05genuine winner
42:09with over 50 different
42:11species of lilypilly in Australia
42:13and heaps of cultivars going around
42:15there's plenty to choose from
42:17lilypillies have got the lot
42:19you can pick up varieties for hedging or topiary
42:21and there's a vast selection of
42:23shrubs and trees that will grow in
42:25containers or in your ornamental
42:27garden
42:29the best thing is they all produce
42:31fantastic fruit, now a couple
42:33of attractive species that I reckon
42:35are worth a grow for the fruit
42:37alone are Psycygium australii
42:39the creek lilypilly
42:41which after flowering gives you an edible
42:43red berry that's a little apple-like
42:45in texture and it's close
42:47cousin Psycygium lumennii
42:49also known as native ryeberry
42:51and this gives you a tiny pinkish
42:53red fruit which is absolutely
42:55delicious
42:57lilypillies are tough
42:59and they can tolerate dry conditions
43:01and most soil types once they're
43:03established, however if you
43:05want to get the most out of your lilypillies
43:07because they're from our east coast
43:09rainforest, they will love it if you give
43:11them a feed every now and then
43:13now any organic fertiliser will be
43:15fine or top dress with
43:17compost or even aged cow manure
43:19also water
43:21regularly, they thrive in
43:23rich, slightly moist, well-drained
43:25soils and you'll get quality fruit
43:27and flowers
43:29lilypillies like
43:31a sunny or part shade position
43:33growing here in part shade
43:35is Psycygium wilsonii
43:37this one's from the lowland rainforest of
43:39far north Queensland and it will grow
43:41in climates right down to Sydney
43:43this one here
43:45is Psycygium cascade
43:47it's a hybrid, its parents are
43:49Psycygium wilsonii and Psycygium
43:51lumennii
43:53cascade has a shrub form with pink
43:55powder puff flowers followed by
43:57fruit, the new growth
43:59is this flush of gorgeous pink
44:01which gives a beautiful weeping form
44:03that looks great in a large pot
44:05or tub, now you can also mass plant
44:07these to form a really dense hedge
44:11there's also
44:13a cultivar of Psycygium lumennii
44:15you can try, it's called Psycygium
44:17lulu, now it
44:19grows into a small, neat tree
44:21and the new growth is a shade of hot pink
44:23it also has edible berries
44:25you can grow it in a container
44:27or plant a few as a privacy screen
44:33some
44:35lillipillies are loved not just by us
44:37but psyllid insects also love them
44:39now they like burrowing into the soft new
44:41growth and this causes pimples on the
44:43leaves, now they won't kill the plant
44:45but it can be unsightly
44:47and there are plenty that are not overly
44:49susceptible, like the ones we're looking
44:51at today, and there are a heap of
44:53cultivars being bred to be psyllid
44:55resistant, if you're unsure
44:57you can always ask your local nursery
45:04this lillipilly
45:06is Acmena cherry surprise
45:08and it's been bred to be psyllid resistant
45:10the new growth is
45:12coppery red, and as it gets older
45:14the foliage turns to deep green
45:16now it is used for hedging
45:18where it can get up to about 2 or 3 metres
45:20high
45:26this one here
45:28is Psycygium australii, and it's
45:30at least 5 years old, but of course
45:32it's not just one tree, it's about 5 or 6
45:34to form this beautiful hedge
45:36now if you are trimming to control the height
45:38it's worth thinking about how much
45:40the trimmed plant will grow back
45:42now if you're pruning in late winter or spring
45:44for example, the new growth will be
45:46vigorous, and it might grow back something
45:48like 30 or 40 centimetres
45:50now in the cooler autumn weather
45:52the new growth will be
45:54much less, so
45:56whether you prune your lillipilly late winter
45:58early spring, or
46:00in autumn, estimate how much
46:02the plant will grow back, and take off
46:04at least that much
46:22now this one is Echmina
46:24Allen's Magic, now after you've gone
46:26over it with the shears, you can
46:28come back with your Secchies and
46:30tidy it up, so snip
46:32back to the nodes, and this is
46:34where the new growth will shoot from
46:42Lillipillies don't need
46:44a whole lot of pampering, but a little
46:46TLC goes a long way
46:48regular watering, feeding
46:50and pruning, you'll be amply
46:52rewarded with good looking foliage
46:54flowers
46:56and fruit
47:04Now
47:06there's garden art, and there's garden
47:08art, some of us might
47:10consider the humble garden gnome
47:12to be enough, but Sophie
47:14is at an exhibition where they're
47:16taking things to the next level
47:22Humans have always
47:24turned to art to help us communicate
47:26make sense of, or just
47:28be in the world, and considering
47:30we are nature, it
47:32of course makes sense that art
47:34often explores the natural world
47:40The Adelaide Botanic Gardens
47:42is a place that I love, and know
47:44very well, but today
47:46around every corner, there
47:48are bursts of bright contrasting
47:50colours that transform the familiar
47:52to the extraordinary
47:58These huge glass installations
48:00are part of an exhibition from American
48:02contemporary artist Dale Chihuly
48:04Each piece has been
48:06designed specifically to be displayed
48:08in botanical garden landscapes
48:10For over 20 years
48:12Chihuly's architectural pieces have
48:14been displayed in botanic gardens all
48:16over the world
48:18That way if you get the stems up high
48:20then you can show the whole
48:22waterfall. It could go anywhere
48:24in there Tom
48:26And for a while, they're here in Adelaide
48:36So you take sand
48:38and fire, and put it
48:40together, and you have
48:42glass, and you make, it turns
48:44into a liquid, imagine
48:46the sand turns into a liquid
48:48and then you stick a pipe in there
48:50and gather it up like honey, and bring it
48:52out, and blow down there, and you
48:54blow a shape
48:56that over the centuries, glassblowers
48:58have learned to make it into
49:00an incredible array of forms
49:02and I've been lucky enough
49:04to come along at the right time
49:06at the right place, to be able to
49:08expand many of the
49:10forms that were made throughout this
49:122,000 year history
49:18music
49:24When you look at my work
49:26it's very organic
49:28If I hung a chandelier, or had some parts
49:30coming out of the ground
49:32and we had them in the forest, and you came around the corner
49:34your first thought might be that that was
49:36something made by nature
49:38music
49:48music
49:52There are 23 artworks
49:54around the garden, some up to
49:5620 years old
49:58Some of these works involve
50:00thousands of individual pieces
50:02which have all been carefully transported
50:04around the world, and
50:06installed with painstaking detail
50:08music
50:14The colours and shapes are bold and architectural
50:16and play strategically
50:18to stand out against dark
50:20foliage
50:22contrast against the many shades
50:24of green of their surrounds
50:26cast reflections
50:28and play with translucency
50:30and sunlight
50:32music
50:42I'm finding it hard to choose a
50:44favourite because I truly love them all
50:46but I'm going to show you some of the
50:48ones that are going to stay with me long after
50:50the exhibition is over
50:52because they were made specifically
50:54for the Adelaide Botanic Garden
50:58This is the Jet and Crimson
51:00Fiore. The strong shapes and
51:02vivid colours are inspired
51:04by our South Australian floral
51:06emblem, the Sturt Desert Pea
51:10Another piece made specially
51:12for this exhibition is suspended
51:14from the ceiling of the 19th century
51:16Palm House
51:18This is the Glacier and Lapis Chandelier
51:20designed by Chihuly
51:22to celebrate the iconic blue
51:24glass of this beautiful building
51:32One of the things I love about this exhibition
51:34is that it's not indoors
51:36in one of the kinds of institutions
51:38where people are used to seeing art
51:40Instead, it's outside in the elements
51:42for everyone to discover
51:52I hope that it, you know, gets people
51:54that are interested in gardens
51:56and greenhouses to get them
51:58interested in art and vice versa
52:00so people, because a lot of
52:02lots of people
52:04are missing out by not going to conservatories
52:06and that would be the majority of people
52:08probably, and they are
52:10once you get inside here, it's
52:12another world
52:20Gardens are the perfect place
52:22for art, whether created by
52:24a world-renowned artist like this one
52:26or something you've made yourself
52:28in your own backyard
52:30While making something like this is definitely
52:32out of my league
52:34bright, bold colours will always have a
52:36place in my heart and in my gardens
52:52Buckle up everyone
52:54Here's your list of jobs for the weekend
52:56Gardeners in cool areas
52:58your zucchinis are on their way out
53:00To prolong the harvest, remove
53:02older, larger leaves that are getting
53:04daggy, and don't be afraid
53:06to remove plants that are too far
53:08gone
53:10If your tomatoes haven't looked at the calendar
53:12and are still pumping out fruit
53:14remember, green tomatoes can be
53:16ripened indoors on a sunny
53:18windowsill, or just to
53:20keep them fresh
53:22If you've got a lot of time
53:24make some room in your garden
53:26for Lithrum salicaria
53:28or purple loosestrife
53:30an adaptable native perennial
53:32with incredible spikes of
53:34purple flowers
53:36In warm, temperate areas
53:38you're heading into the prime time
53:40for weeds to set seed
53:42Get on top of it now
53:44to save you a headache in the future
53:46Check your hanging baskets
53:48as they can dry out and become
53:50hydrophobic over time
53:52Apply a top dressing of compost
53:54and organic wetting agent
53:56to rehydrate
53:58For a tropical feel and a tight spot
54:00try a walking stick palm
54:02It's native, slow-growing
54:04frost-hardy, and maxes out
54:06at around 2 metres
54:08In the subtropics
54:10now is a good time to sow
54:12leafy amaranth
54:14In warm, damp soil
54:16you'll have fresh greens in 3 weeks
54:18Call your local council
54:20and find out what they do
54:22with their chipped tree clippings
54:24It's often a cheap or free
54:26source of mulch
54:28In season now are the edible nuts
54:30of the bunya pine
54:32An important food to First Nations
54:34people like the Cubby Cubby
54:36the nuts are extracted from
54:38enormous cones and eaten
54:40raw, boiled, roasted
54:42or ground into flour
54:44In the tropics, time is
54:46almost up to take advantage
54:48of the wet season for planting
54:50fruit trees
54:52The extra moisture in the soil
54:54means it's the ideal time
54:56to get some new tasty tropical
54:58treasures into your garden
55:00Remember to keep up the liquid
55:02fertiliser as nutrients
55:04are being leached from the soil
55:06by the monsoonal rains
55:08Remedy with fortnightly applications
55:10of fish oil
55:12Remedy with fortnightly applications
55:14of fish emulsion
55:16If you've got a rambutan and it's fruity
55:18remember fruit won't ripen once picked
55:20so be patient
55:22They're best harvested in early morning
55:24when the fruit is fully hydrated
55:26In arid areas
55:28radishes can be sown
55:30from seed now
55:32and expect a harvest in a little over a month
55:34Don't forget to
55:36top up water sources in your garden
55:38like bird baths and ponds
55:40to make sure they continue
55:42to be an oasis to local
55:44wildlife
55:46Looking for a medium sized native shade tree
55:48that laughs at the heat?
55:50Try Allocasurina decasneana
55:52or Desert Oak
55:54Reaching 10 metres, the thick
55:56bark helps it survive drought
55:58and resist fire
56:00Welcome back gardeners
56:02We can't wait to show you
56:04what we've got planned for you
56:06this year
56:10Music
56:14Well, that's
56:16all we could fit in for this week
56:18but I promise you we're just getting
56:20started for the year ahead
56:22Here's what's coming up next time
56:30I'm looking at how to combine edible
56:32and ornamental plants to maximise
56:34colour, diversity and pollination
56:36Gerry shows
56:38us how to grow a plant with an appetite
56:40These are tropical
56:42carnivorous plants
56:44Most of them come from South East
56:46Asia
56:48And I'm visiting a native nursery in North Fremantle
56:50that's become an institution
56:52for local gardeners
56:54We care about the planet
56:56Greener planet, connected world
56:58Music
57:00Music
57:02Music
57:04Music
57:06Music
57:08Music
57:10Music
57:12Music
57:14Music
57:16Music
57:18Music
57:20Music
57:22Music
57:24Music
57:26Music
57:28Music
57:30Music
57:32Music