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Gardening.Australia.S36E06

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00:00Woo-hoo!
00:06Hey! Hi!
00:13Ooh!
00:18Hey!
00:19Ooh!
00:20Hi, buddy.
00:23Yay!
00:24Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36This week we've got something you've all been asking for.
00:40A whole show on Australian native plants.
00:43There's so much to love about the unique, precious flora of this country.
00:49So we want to inspire and motivate you to fill your garden with native plants.
00:55Here's what's in store.
00:59My garden is showing signs of ageing.
01:02So I'm shopping for fillers.
01:04Native plants to fill my garden beds.
01:08What could be more special than an abundance of native blooms?
01:11I'm at a flower farm to get tips on growing your own bouquet of beauty.
01:16I'm visiting Goulburn Wetlands, a community and wildlife hub with two stunning native gardens.
01:24And we meet an ethnobotanist connecting culture, science and intellectual property.
01:30I'm visiting a garden in Northcote in Melbourne's north.
01:45And the location is outstanding.
01:48I'm in the All Nations Park.
01:58It's a large urban green space, much loved by the community.
02:02And I'm heading for the garden just over that fence.
02:05It's a beautiful garden overlooking this lovely space.
02:09The thing that most interests me about this garden, though, is the way the designer has solved a series of classic gardening challenges
02:21by using a palette of interesting native plants that complement the surrounds.
02:26This is our backyard.
02:28Oh, it's lovely, isn't it?
02:29Yeah.
02:30This garden is part of Marge Horns and her husband's retirement plan, downsizing four years ago to this 400 square metre block.
02:39So we wanted a low maintenance garden.
02:42We wanted something that would be drought tolerant and would resist in climate change, survive in climate change.
02:50We wanted it to be a natural place that would blend in with the park and the local surroundings.
02:56Generally a place that you could live in and do things in, but wasn't going to be high maintenance on us.
03:02Well, you've certainly succeeded because it's, how old is it?
03:06Two years?
03:07It's done well.
03:08It has done well, hasn't it?
03:10What made you go for a garden like this?
03:20Did you have it landscape designed?
03:22In the past, we've always done our own, but we're getting elderly and we can't do the gardening anymore the way we used to.
03:31So we decided to get a landscape designer to help us.
03:35When we bought the property, there wasn't much here at all in the way of garden.
03:39There was a big bay tree here that dominated the yard and really stopped other things growing well.
03:45So it was pretty dilapidated and scrappy.
03:49We really needed to do something about it.
03:52The house was very poor energy.
03:56We were going to renovate, but in the end we decided to knock it down,
04:00which meant we could bulldoze the whole block.
04:02A clean slate.
04:03A clean slate meant we could start on the garden afresh,
04:06but it also meant that we were able to build an energy efficient house that's really low energy.
04:12So with the landscape designer and the architect of the house,
04:15how did you work with them so that your house was part of the surrounds, part of the environment?
04:21We chose an architect who was interested in that.
04:25Part of the brief to him was to have a house that fitted in with the park and the surrounds.
04:30The same with the landscape designer.
04:32We wanted a landscape designer who understood the area and we have a landscape designer who's local.
04:39But we also said to them, it doesn't have to be all the plants that are in the park.
04:43It's our garden.
04:44It's different.
04:45But we want it to fit with the environment.
04:48I think they did quite a good job of it actually.
04:51I think they've done very well.
04:52The garden has been completely transformed.
04:59The front garden has a feature, Acacia cognata, which is in flower right now.
05:04A path lined with a hedge of Dianella tasmanica takes you through to the new backyard,
05:11dominated by a deep bed of native shrubs, trees and grasses,
05:15with a beautiful large curved timber bench and a couple of small round steel raised beds for vegetables on one side.
05:27While the garden may look effortless, this site has some challenges.
05:31The garden does get sun in the morning, but in the afternoon,
05:35the big gum trees in the park next door cast deep shade.
05:39So all the plants you see here have proven they're up to the challenge.
05:44So this area here, this is a bit of a problem area, isn't it?
05:48Yes.
05:49Particularly the back corner.
05:50Yes.
05:51So the ground slopes down to the back and it's a clay base and that proves a problem with water.
05:57Too much water just collecting.
05:59Yes.
06:00It dries out at times, but other times too much water collects.
06:03We put a sump in to try and help deal with it, but that didn't solve the problem completely.
06:08So we've lost a few plants here.
06:10We have one fruit tree there that's growing well, but we lost another one.
06:13So what have you grown in the space?
06:15Well, at the moment we're trying a Pomodorus in the back corner.
06:18Yes.
06:19The little one down there.
06:20Yes.
06:21The little one down there.
06:22That should do all right.
06:23Well, I hope it does.
06:24If that doesn't work, have you got any suggestions for what we might try?
06:28Fingers crossed for the Pomodorus.
06:30Definitely, it's a good one.
06:31But I would suggest maybe a Mountain Corrier, the native Fuchsia, and that's quite nice.
06:36Yes, I quite like them.
06:37Yes.
06:38I hadn't thought of that.
06:39So we'll see how the Pomodorus goes.
06:40And fingers crossed.
06:41Keep the other one as a backstop.
06:42Yes, that's right.
06:43What about this one?
06:44The native Frangipani, which I believe is a rainforest tree.
06:47It is.
06:48But it grows really, really well here, and it's been really good.
06:51We put them in right at the start.
06:53They weren't tube stock.
06:54They were about that high to start off with.
06:56And because it's a rainforest, they don't mind that little bit of shade and they don't mind that extra little bit of water.
07:02No.
07:03Obviously a good choice.
07:04They're coping very, very well with it and growing well.
07:06The Banksia there too, that's doing quite well also.
07:09And much to our surprise, it's shot up.
07:11It's given us the hype that we really like to have there.
07:14It's good.
07:15And you get the contrasting folages, which I really like too.
07:18It's amazing how you can get really good foliage differences with Australian natives.
07:22There's a heap of them, isn't there?
07:24Yeah, they're good.
07:25They're good.
07:26They're good.
07:27They're good.
07:28They're good.
07:29They're good.
07:30They're good.
07:31They're good.
07:32They're good.
07:33They're good.
07:34They're good.
07:35They're good.
07:36They're good.
07:37They're good.
07:38They're good.
07:39They're good.
07:40They're good.
07:41They're good.
07:42They're good.
07:43They're good.
07:44They're good.
07:45They're good.
07:46They're good.
07:47They're good.
07:48They're good.
07:49They're good.
07:50They're good.
07:51They're good.
07:52They're good.
07:53garden has been mass planted with kangaroo fern, which gives a vibrant contrast to the grey and
07:59silver colours in the rest of the garden. So how does this garden make you feel after being a
08:05gardener for many, many years? Peaceful. It's just a lovely space. It's just a lovely space to be in.
08:14I love the fact that, well, I wake up in the morning, my bed, look out on this, and we didn't
08:21need a big space because we've got the park. It really works for us. I really like Marge's garden.
08:30It really proves that with good design, you can have a stunning native garden that is low
08:35maintenance to suit you at any age.
08:50My garden has had over 10 years to really grow into itself. At the very beginning, I mapped out the
08:57design and plant selection very carefully, and it's mostly grown up and out as planned. Now, in amongst
09:06the mature plantings, there are gaps, as some plants have come to the end of their natural lifespan,
09:12and others are no longer thriving, as changing conditions like increased shade and drying weather
09:20have taken their toll. I'm going to start with the verge garden, which is looking a bit tired.
09:27It gets very little water, and with some of the driest weather on record, it's time for some love.
09:34I put a few of these ground cover form of Califamnus quadrophytus in, and initially they did
09:40really well, producing masses of bright red bird attracting flowers, but they've started to struggle.
09:46I've already lost one, and these last two, well, they're declining. As a form that's a selection
09:53from another region, they're clearly not cutting it.
10:02So it's time to give them a cut, and a hard one. They might come back, but I've now got room
10:08to put something else in that I'm hoping will perform more reliably. Califamnus sanguinus,
10:15closely related, and locally occurring throughout this area.
10:20These will grow to about a metre and a half, with a little bit of pruning to keep them to shape.
10:25They'll also produce loads of bright red bird attracting flowers, and they'll also take a little
10:33bit of shade, so it should do just fine here under this light canopy.
10:37I'm going to fill other gaps with some quick, colourful, low-growing shrubs.
10:44Gastrolobium nervosum is a winner, growing to half a metre and producing yellow pea flowers.
10:51And Acacia lasio carpa, another native legume which gets festooned with wattle flowers from late
10:58autumn to spring. Both species are magnets for pollinators. It's like putting out a welcome
11:05mat for native bees. Keeping with the habitat theme, I've chosen a Malaleuca called Malaleuca
11:12sustenna, or coastal honey myrtle for this spot. Now it's a dryland shrub, but it will sit nicely
11:17alongside this damp land feature, which takes rainwater off the roof. These will grow to around
11:23a metre in these competitive conditions, with creamy white flowers in spring and early summer,
11:29and will fill out this spot beautifully. Growing under established trees is tough because of shade
11:39and also competition for water and nutrients. Here are two plants that will tolerate those conditions.
11:45Not deep shade, but the type of shade that you'll find around the edge of a canopy.
11:50Dianella Revoluta and Conostylus candiacans.
11:59Both of these strappy-leafed, clumping plants will grow to around 40 centimetres and spread to around
12:05the same. Both will attract native insects, with the Conostylus producing masses of yellow flowers
12:13and the Dianella delicate blue flowers. And the beauty of tube stock is they are cheap
12:19and easy to plant, so you can put lots in without causing much disturbance.
12:25Gardens are never finished. As they established, some things will last a long time, some won't.
12:33Good gardening is all about responding to changing conditions and taking the opportunity to try
12:39something new. And most importantly, have fun while you're at it.
12:50I love native flowers. I'm a big fan of their colour, their shape and their diversity.
12:57But if you're someone who needs convincing, Tammy's heading to a flower farm
13:03that will no doubt change your mind.
13:10My assignment for Gardening Australia this week is pretty awesome.
13:14I'm visiting a farm on the New South Wales Central Coast at Mangrove Mountain,
13:18growing Australian native flowers and foliage in open fields and polytunnels.
13:23Bess, what a place. Welcome. Thanks for coming.
13:31As a small enterprise, the farm turns over hundreds of bunches for market each week.
13:36But to Bess Scott, this place is home. It was such a special place to grow up.
13:42I grew up here with my three younger sisters. So we would spend our summers swimming in the dam
13:47every day and riding our bikes around in the bush and in the fields of flowers.
13:55My dad's a grower and wholesaler at the Sydney flower markets.
14:00We would do propagating and weeding and picking in the school holidays or after school.
14:09One really special time was when dad did the flowers for the Paralympics in 2000.
14:17He set up their warehouse into a big workshop where florists could make the bouquets for the
14:24ceremonies. So one of the first bouquets I made when I was I think about nine was one of the Paralympic
14:32games bouquets. So that was a very special thing to do. Oh, what a great memory. Yeah.
14:37These days, Bess is a full-time florist working in Sydney.
14:41I'm the fifth generation in flowers in my family. So my dad and my grandpa followed in the footsteps of
14:48my great grandmother, Veronica. She had a flower shop called Scott's Florist in Sutherland
14:54in South Sydney. She took over that in the 1950s from her father who was also a flower grower. My
15:03grandpa was always helping out. And then my dad eventually came and joined my grandpa and started
15:11this farm at Mangrove Mountain. At the time, they were growing more softer flowers as well,
15:16like a lot of dahlias and asters and things like that, baby's breath, as well as some native flowers. But
15:23my dad developed a real passion for native flowers. So he now solely grows Australian native wildflowers.
15:30So what are you learning from your dad? It's so great to be able to talk to him as a grower every
15:38day. The three-foot one's a lovely, lovely new one too. Oh, I love that one. I might be ordering for a
15:44special event or for my shop, but I think it's very unique to have such a close relationship with a
15:50grower as a florist. I just can always get the inside information on how to look after things,
15:57or what the proper name for flowers is. So I'm always giving him multiple phone calls.
16:07We find Bess's dad, Craig, in amongst one of their staple crops, the kangaroo paws.
16:15Yeah, I guess I've been doing it for a long time. And over the years, as we've had more varieties come
16:20on board, the florists have really taken that on. When I started my shop six years ago, some people would
16:27come in first off and say, I don't like native flowers, but what else do you have? And what's
16:32that over there in the corner? And I would say, oh, that's actually a flannel flower, which is a native
16:37Australian flower. So they were always learning what natives were available. And now those same
16:44customers are coming back, particularly for native flowers. Flannel flowers certainly have a humble
16:50flair that's hard to resist. And this cream and green ensemble is one of the many gardeners can try
16:56at home. Their natural range is southeast Queensland and into New South Wales.
17:03So they tend to grow on the coastal regions, high rocky outcrops, but also they do grow inland,
17:11in the pillaga. So they like that really sandy soils, but we love to grow them here on the farm.
17:17So Craig, how many bunches of flannel flowers would you have picked over the years?
17:22Oh, look, we, each year we probably pick about four to 5,000. Then we, yeah, we stopped counting.
17:29We've developed this method of growing them in containers in our greenhouse and we grow them
17:33quite well now. And do they need anything special in the container? Just a pre-drained soil and they do
17:40like water and they do like nutrient and they grow quite well. They're very susceptible to root diseases,
17:45need to be very careful. That's why growing them in the ground and in your garden can be a bit
17:51problematic. You might get a few survive and some might die, but they'll still grow okay in your
17:56garden. But because we want all of them to produce, we grow them in these containers,
18:02undercover in the greenhouse. Yeah. And would full sun be the best position for them?
18:06Full sun probably is the best position. They will grow in part shade. Okay. Yeah. Beautiful.
18:12What should people start with? Tube stock's a great way to get started. You know,
18:16go to a specialist native nursery. You can also buy seeds, give it a go.
18:23There's a whole lot of native daisies that last a long time when dried.
18:28As a group, they're often called everlastings or paper daisies. Craig is showing me a family
18:33favourite. This is a range of everlasting daisies. We've got the tall red anthes here and
18:39we've got these ones here. They're so soft and delicate. We call them silver bells. That's the
18:44nickname we use for them. Oh, so even though they're pink? Even though they're pink, yeah.
18:49I think it's probably the silver on the back that is where the name has come from. Oh, right. A lovely
18:55contrast. You can see this one here. We've actually got it marked because we want to collect seed off it.
19:00Ah. It was a real vibrant one. Yep. And each year we do collect seed off our different flowers and
19:08particularly with these daisies, we're always looking for something a bit different to take
19:11into the next year. And so I know these flowers come from Western Australia. Then it must be a bit
19:16challenging to grow them on the East Coast. Yeah, because they come from a fairly dry environment
19:21in Western Australia, growing them on the East Coast with all our rain and humidity is a bit tricky.
19:26If you have a dry year, they grow really well, no great issues. But if you have a bit of a damp year,
19:31you can get a lot of leaf disease. So we grow them in pots under our tunnel house here to keep the
19:38moisture off the plants. But if you're growing them outside, you grow them in a free-drained soil.
19:45Try and water them just on the soil rather than over the plant and protect them from snails and slugs
19:52because snails and slugs just love them. They do enjoy a little bit of fertilizer. Liquid feed is good.
19:59Yep. Just as they're coming into bud or when's the best time? Even as they're young and starting
20:04to grow, when they're about halfway up, if you give them too much food early on, they can get really
20:10twisty and wonky. So I usually like to let them grow a little bit before adding liquid feed. Yep.
20:17And when it comes to sunlight? They can probably handle a little bit of shade,
20:20but they prefer full sun. Yep. If there's any moisture in the air, they'll close up.
20:24Ah. But then the next day they'll open. A surprise depending on the day. That's it, yeah.
20:30When it comes to the range of Australian native flowers, there's endless possibilities. Just on
20:36this farm, they're growing over 50 varieties and experimenting with a lot more. I wonder what
20:42colours will be popular next year? Well, this one that Robert's picking here is a really strong
20:46producer, so we'll probably grow a few more of that. It's a nice white. There's plenty to keep Craig and
20:51Bess busy. Me and Bess just did a quick trip to Western Australia and Bess demonstrated there
20:57using native flowers to florist. And then we visited some farms and Kings Park and it was just lovely
21:03to see her joy at seeing the flowers growing on these farms in Western Australia and the different
21:09varieties that there are available and that we could possibly down the track grow. It was really
21:15exciting to see where everything had come from and learning more about the process of them growing.
21:21And there's such a beautiful range of flowers and for her to be an ambassador for native flowers in
21:26Sydney is something wonderful. Such a sweet combo, you two. Yeah.
21:31And later in the show, Bess will be sharing tips for arranging a uniquely Australian bouquet.
21:49Today, I'm two hours southwest of Sydney, heading to a pretty remarkable site, the Goulburn Wetlands,
21:57a chain of pond systems on the Malwari River.
22:06Next to the river here on the eastern edge of the city, an old abandoned brick works had become
22:12a derelict and neglected paddock. But 10 years ago, a group of community volunteers collaborated with
22:21the council to regenerate the 13 and a half hectare site and have a look at the transformation.
22:35The key to this project was constructing rock berms through the old clay pits, which redirected and
22:43filtered storm water back into the river systems.
22:46Then the friends and residents of Goulburn Swampland took over, affectionately known as the frogs.
22:54Everything that's grown in here is local prominence. Apart from these gardens at the
22:59two entrances, which are Australian natives, the Australian Plant Society went out looking for remnant
23:05vegetation that was all along the rivers around in this area and started collecting the seeds,
23:13trying to revegetate it the way it would have been before the first settlers got here 200 years ago.
23:18That's quite an achievement. Yeah.
23:20Look at how densely covered it is here. You'd just think that that's existing bush.
23:26That's within the last 10 years of growth.
23:31I'm particularly impressed because I'm a big supporter of this project.
23:37I came to help with some of the initial plantings. It's just so rewarding to see how it's grown.
23:46Pauline.
23:47Costa.
23:48How are you?
23:48I'm very pleased to meet you.
23:49It's lovely to see you and it's great to be back.
23:52Yes.
23:52I'm really excited to have a look around.
23:55The first time I came here, the thing that really struck me was all of the labels.
24:01Yeah. And look, that's part of the core thinking of the Australian Plant Society is to build that
24:07education around Australian plants. And because these gardens are designed to show the Goulburn
24:15public what grows well here, they've got to know what they're looking at.
24:19And I noticed there's plenty of Banksias through here. They play a big role in the garden.
24:24Yeah, absolutely. We've named this garden the Banksia Embankment.
24:27The Banksia Embankment. I like that.
24:31Yes.
24:32It's kind of, it's very well earthed into the hill, isn't it?
24:35Yeah. I decided to put the Banksias in because the wetlands itself had lots of Banksias along
24:41the fence line. And then I planted these Banksia Cunninghamiei, the quite tall ones with the big cones.
24:47Wow. Yeah, those cones are amazing.
24:49Yeah. And they're going so well.
24:52Like any garden site, you've got to deal with the local conditions. You've had some challenges up here.
24:57Yeah, that's right. When the remnant bushland behind us was cleared, that led to flash flooding
25:05whenever there was a heavy rain event. So it did create a lot of damage. Then there was also the
25:10introduction of weed seeds. The mulch was washed away and the silt came down. And as soon as the sun
25:18came out, then the soil turned like concrete. Rock hard, yeah.
25:22Yeah. It was just, it was really, really challenging. So basically we spent most of 2022 putting in measures
25:30to protect the garden from future flash floods.
25:33So what do they include, I see, on the edge here?
25:36Yeah. Heather created these Hessian tubes that are filled with mulch. And that has made a huge
25:42difference in terms of the mulch not moving and redirecting the water.
25:47Yeah.
25:47Yeah. Costa, come and have a look at the woodland garden.
25:53So what's different about it?
25:54Yeah. The thinking behind this woodland garden was to have three layers. The canopy obviously
26:01and shrubs and then the ground covers, because that really does provide shelter for the birds
26:06and obviously then also food.
26:09Can you hear that?
26:15Yes.
26:16It's one of the woodland birds that's come down off the rocky hill and it comes to these
26:22Neucalyptus poliolenta, commonly known as the silver-leafed mountain gum.
26:32These wetlands have become a magnet for birds.
26:36And someone who has noticed the increase is field naturalist Frank Antrim, who can often be found
26:43observing in his favourite hide.
26:46So, Frank, how many more birds are you seeing here in the wetlands since the regeneration?
26:52I've now recorded 146 species of bird in this wetland over the last 10 years.
26:59You've got two species of cormorant out there at the moment, the Little Pied and the Little Black,
27:03and you've got a white-faced heron over there and the Great Egret.
27:07So, these are all fish-eating birds.
27:13Oh, look, Costa, there's a darter.
27:15The wetland, woodland and migratory birds have all been drawn here by the increased biodiversity
27:23from all the native plantings.
27:24The brachyscombe are beautiful.
27:27Yeah.
27:27I mean, everyone can relate to those and the colour and they're happy.
27:30Absolutely.
27:31And then this is a lovely Grevillea bronze rambler.
27:34Yep.
27:35And this saltbush.
27:37And it's lovely to think that, you know, you can use these native species and shape them.
27:41Yep.
27:42And give that bit of a form and you kind of, you know, my thought is what's around the corner here?
27:46Well, let's go and find out.
27:49Wow, look at, you've, Christy Keflin, the buttons.
27:53Yeah.
27:53They're looking great.
27:54Oh, they're such a resilient plant.
27:58Right throughout the drought years, they'd flower.
28:01It was so lovely to have something colourful during those dry years.
28:04Yeah.
28:05And then, Costa, I'd really like to show you this Wallenbergia gloriosa.
28:09The gloriosa is the ACT's floral emblem.
28:13Oh, really?
28:14Yeah, yeah.
28:14I didn't know that.
28:15But this is a double one, so it's even more spectacular.
28:18And then next to it, there's the lovely Scavola.
28:21That one's Humilis.
28:23They too flower for such a long time.
28:25And they're surprisingly tough for such a delicate looking little flower.
28:30Yeah.
28:31They kind of all run together nicely, the Wallenbergia, the Scavola and the Brachyscone.
28:36Yeah.
28:37They're kind of bringing that splash of colour.
28:39And then you drop a couple of the grasses in there.
28:42Yes.
28:43And a couple of kangaroo paw and suddenly it's a really nice composition.
28:48Yeah.
28:49And with the granite path, you want to keep coming around.
28:52The care and enthusiasm in cultivating this 13 and a half hectare site is inspiring.
29:00You two are straight into it.
29:03Down and ripping around in there.
29:05What's it mean to come and be part of this group and do this kind of work?
29:11It's fresh air.
29:13It's natural environment.
29:15And it's a community.
29:17Yeah.
29:18And giving back to the community too.
29:19That's very important.
29:21How do you feel at the end of the day when you've come in and done a few hours
29:24and spent a bit of energy?
29:26What's the feeling like when you walk out?
29:28Good.
29:28You've achieved a little bit to help the planet.
29:32It's important at this time.
29:33What an amazing example of the power of collaboration.
29:39Bringing community together to revitalise the natural environment.
29:44I love these projects.
29:52Still to come on Gardening Australia,
29:56Clarence gets the scoop on natives grown from seed.
30:01Millie does some much needed maintenance.
30:04And we meet a traditional custodian and ethnobotanist.
30:14At a flower farm on the New South Wales central coast,
30:17Craig Scott is growing native flowers and foliage for market.
30:21And daughter Bess is following the family's footsteps, working with flowers.
30:25Best is sharing her design tips for building a beautiful bouquet.
30:30They're a Thai lotus.
30:32So is there the best time of day to pick them?
30:35Early in the mornings is a really good time to pick them before the heat of the day.
30:39And then also getting them into really deep water really quickly is good.
30:44And do you have to remove the lower foliage?
30:46It is good to remove some of the lower foliage just so that more water can go straight to the flower.
30:51I'm going to start with this piece of tea tree.
31:00Because it's got a nice V shape, it can be a good base for my arrangement.
31:05Start creating a shape in my vase for me to work into.
31:09So I've got a few pieces of that which I'm going to pop in.
31:12I'm going to put this other piece of tea tree in.
31:16My next biggest ingredient are waratahs.
31:20Next I'm going to work with some palmelia.
31:23So this is really beautiful.
31:25It is beautiful.
31:26It's really kind of like beautiful and field-like rather than big and sculptural.
31:32I've also got a piece that's got a little bit of a trail to it.
31:37So I'm going to pop that down the front.
31:40So do you just let this flower sort of tell you how to arrange them
31:45rather than you trying to force them?
31:47Yeah, definitely.
31:48Can you pass me some lemon myrtle?
31:50That's one of my favourites.
31:53I love smelling these.
31:56So you can scrunch it up.
31:57Smells amazing.
31:58Some people make tea out of it.
32:00It always reminds me of my childhood.
32:02So I'm going to pop some of this in.
32:05And that's going to provide a little bit of support
32:08for some more delicate paper daisies that we're going to add.
32:11The flowers are everlasting, but they're greenery.
32:14It normally goes a bit dark or black and dries up quite quickly.
32:18So I'm just going to pull off a bit of that green.
32:21They kind of give a nice punch of colour and shape in the arrangement.
32:27And it's got this beautiful blush colour.
32:30They've got a beautiful colour, but also a really pointy shape.
32:33We've got them hanging on the roof in the shed.
32:35We like to dry them out to use them in dried bouquets as well.
32:39Next, I'm going to use this able-style mulla mulla.
32:44It's like little pom-poms.
32:46That is going to add to my wild garden-like bouquet and give me a bit more structure.
32:55OK, next I'm going to put in some flannel flowers.
32:58So they've got some really nice white, bright white colour.
33:02Would it be too heavy just to put them all in one spot?
33:05It's good to just pop them in a few at a time just so you can make sure that they're all drinking water
33:11and they all aren't getting too tangled amongst the other stems.
33:15It's also good if there's no leaves going under the water in the vase
33:20because it will just make the bacteria grow in the water faster if there's more foliage.
33:27Flannel flowers are one that you really work with the natural shape of the flowers as well.
33:32You can see they're like quite do their own thing.
33:35You just have to let them.
33:36You're not forcing me to go a certain way.
33:38No, there's no hope.
33:40So you just have to let them do their thing, which is a really nice part of arranging flowers.
33:47OK, next we'll put in this beautiful Thai Lotus.
33:51It's got such nice, tall, straight stems.
33:55So that's going to give us some nice straight height in the bouquet.
34:00Once your bouquet is coming to the end of its life, you can pull out some of the elements that will dry
34:05nicely like the paper daisies or the mulla mulla and hang it upside down.
34:11It will dry nice and straight for you.
34:12Yeah, nice.
34:13So you can put it back in a vase after that or make a wreath out of it.
34:18And then, yeah, it can have a second life.
34:20The last thing I'm going to put in are these really huge billy buttons.
34:25So they've got really nice long stems and really vibrant yellow colour.
34:31These dry really beautifully as well.
34:33So all the other stems can hold these fine stems up in the bars.
34:40So we're all just leaning on each other for support.
34:43Yeah.
34:43Bess, this is stunning.
34:45Yeah, it's a little bit garden-y, a little bit wild, but then it's got some focal,
34:50bigger flowers that help to give it a bit of structure.
34:55Australian native plants are to be celebrated.
34:58And after today, I'm inspired to grow a field of flowers in my garden.
35:02If you've ever been into a native plant nursery, you'll know the huge variety on offer to grow
35:14in your garden.
35:16Clarence is checking out a nursery that grows it all and does it from seed.
35:29I'm meeting someone today who is completely obsessed with collecting and propagating native seeds.
35:3740 years ago, she worked as a typist for a seed company,
35:41but quickly became hooked on the plants.
35:43And now she has a booming business of her own.
35:47Marina Grasica is the propagator-in-chief.
35:49Hey, Marina, how are you?
35:51Hello, Clarence.
35:52Hi.
35:52Do you want me to have a look around?
35:53Oh, please.
35:54I'd love to see you around.
35:55And this is Her World, a nursery to the north of Sydney in Terry Hills.
36:03So, Marina, what got you so obsessed with native plants?
36:06We live in Australia and I didn't see that many native plants around.
36:12And they give off beautiful scents where exotic species do not.
36:17I became quite interested in where they grew.
36:21You can really tell where you have a native community.
36:25It's a different sense of being rather than being in a forest full of exotics.
36:30All these species are food for the animalia and the insects, et cetera.
36:34And we need more of these habitat areas so these critters can live like we live.
36:41And that's part of the whole system here is making sure there's enough natives in Australia being
36:48planted and being cared for.
36:51Because every plant needs to be cared for just like every human being needs to be cared for.
36:56And we're not doing that enough because we think we're better than plants and we're not.
37:01And we can't live without plants.
37:03No.
37:14What's the process you go through here?
37:15Ah, we collect the seed.
37:18Then you put them into flats with a mixture of let's say sand and perlite or whatever,
37:23depending on the species.
37:25When they're ready, you look underneath.
37:27See all the little, hello, all the little roots coming out.
37:32Then you dibble them out of here and then you put them into these forestry tube stock.
37:38And they live in here for three, four months until they grow up.
37:43And then they need to go outside to acclimatise before they go into anyone's gardens.
37:49Because the little buggers have got a really hard time out there sometimes.
37:53So they have to be hardy to be able to tolerate what people do to them.
38:01This is a really impressive array of different grass species.
38:15Isn't it gorgeous?
38:16It's lovely.
38:17And how can people use this in their own gardens?
38:19These are all common native grass species.
38:24So they can make little meadowlands, grass meadowlands, where you put your grasses in and
38:29then you put in your beautiful little wildflowers.
38:32The best thing about our native grasses is what gets fed from them.
38:37You know, you've got your little moths nesting in all the grasses.
38:40The Microlina, they love.
38:42Every time I clean up a Microlina patch, all the little moths are coming out saying,
38:47bugger off, this is our house.
38:49Eh?
38:49So I do.
38:50I go away.
38:51You're doing yourself a favour.
38:52You're doing the environment a favour.
38:54It's all about, if we don't look after them, they won't look after us.
38:58We've got to look after each other.
39:00What are some of your favourites?
39:03The one in front of us for a start.
39:05This is Aerogostus brownii.
39:08She loves a bit of moisture, so you do see her on swales, out in the bushlands, in the swales,
39:14etc.
39:15And when she's in the ground, she lays flat with purple, purple, purple flowers.
39:20So beautiful.
39:22Such a gorgeous plant for any garden.
39:24And that's one of the things with our native grasses.
39:26If you let them seed, you'll continue that regeneration in your own garden.
39:30That's right.
39:30And that's where your native lawns come into play.
39:33If you've got the tiniest budget, you can still make a native lawn.
39:37You put in one per square metre, you let that seed, and then you dibble the seed around.
39:42So you can do it on any budget whatsoever.
39:45All you need is one plant.
39:47And patience.
39:47And patience.
39:49If you've got more money, more plants and less patience.
39:52That's something really interesting over there.
39:56This grass is called a Plisminus amulis, the basket grass.
40:01And it makes a beautiful lawn, or you can let it shush up like that.
40:05And the butterflies love it.
40:07The moths love it.
40:08She's such a good coloniser as well.
40:10So you can use it as ground cover that high, or as a lawn.
40:14And that's why so many of these are so versatile.
40:17They'll do what they're told.
40:20Can we step in and have a closer look at this?
40:21Yeah.
40:27She doesn't take a lot of care, except just keep her mowed.
40:32She's a stunner.
40:33But I don't want to, I don't want to cut her.
40:36Because look at that.
40:37Look at that sound.
40:39That's beautiful.
40:39It's gorgeous.
40:44Look at this one.
40:47Mr. Neanderthal.
40:50He's so beautiful.
40:51And the form when those seed heads start to form, they're just beautiful, aren't they?
40:55Absolutely stunning.
40:56His botanical name is called Phasinian nodosa.
41:00He'll go sand dunes, inland, water, no water, hills, valleys.
41:07He doesn't care.
41:12See that?
41:13Yeah.
41:13It's all seed in there.
41:16So if you don't want them to keep perpetuating, cut off the seed heads before they fall on the ground.
41:24Tell me about one of the workstations that you have here.
41:27Well, we have Ross in one of the potting sheds, and he pots up from tube stock to bigger pots.
41:33And then he has to take them up to a separate area where he has Rolo and Lexi helping him.
41:44They take the front of the trolley up to the area he needs to go.
41:49So they're very helpful as well.
41:50What are some of your recommendations for using meadow species?
41:56This is your Brachycomb species.
41:59I love these.
42:00They're such happy plants.
42:02They flower continuously for like six, seven months of the year.
42:06And she'll wiggle in amongst your other plants, wiggle in amongst your grasses,
42:12and make herself a very happy home.
42:14And these are gorgeous.
42:15What are they?
42:15The paper daisies.
42:16Yeah.
42:17I love it dearly because if you're a little bit down, just go out and look at your daisies,
42:24and you're like, oh.
42:27And Wallenbergia here as well?
42:28Now Wallenbergia, she looks tatty and scatty.
42:31But all these little dead, little buds here, they're the actual seed heads.
42:36So those seed heads have dispersed, because they do go pooh-boom.
42:40But I tell you what, you cut her back, she just blooms, and then she'll pop up everywhere in your
42:46garden, which is what you want.
42:49This one I use a lot of fringe lily.
42:51It's just so stunning.
42:53How could you not love that?
42:54How could you not love that?
42:58And if everybody grew a few of these in every single garden, we'd be out of trouble.
43:04We won't be losing these species.
43:06This is Australia.
43:07Australian animals need Australian plants.
43:16So of all the ambitious ideas I had for this little garden, this was probably the most important.
43:40A beautiful sculptural, almost like a giant bonsai gum tree to form the centerpiece of the garden.
43:47And I bought this little tiny seedling of a Wallen snow gum eucalyptus gregsoniana before I was
43:52anywhere near being ready to plant.
43:55I potted it up and grew it on into a beautiful mature specimen while I renovated the house.
44:00And then as soon as I had a chance, it went in the ground.
44:03The growth of the tree was absolutely booming.
44:13But after a couple of wet winters, a problem set in.
44:16I started to see spots and damage on the foliage.
44:19At first, just a few leaves, but then it spread to the whole tree.
44:25So I did what every gardener should do when they're in a predicament.
44:29I phoned a friend. Actually, I phoned two.
44:32One who's an expert in Australian plants and another who specializes in native bonsai.
44:37They both pretty much told me the same thing.
44:39That I might have an insect attack, but I definitely had fungi.
44:43There's about 500 different fungi that might choose to attack some eucalypt leaves.
44:49In nature, when this happens, the tree does have a defense.
44:52They shed the leaves and with it, they shed the problem.
44:56So as a gardener, I needed to do the same thing.
44:59And that was remove all the foliage.
45:05So about six weeks ago, I took the plunge, removing all the foliage and affected stems
45:10back to a maximum of pencil thickness.
45:13It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do, but it had to happen.
45:20Watching the tree's response has been truly astounding.
45:24Within about 10 days, I started to see these tiny little dots all up and down these beautiful
45:29stems. And they were these little epicormic buds. And they lie just underneath the bark.
45:34You wouldn't know they were there until something happens.
45:37In nature, often it's the trauma of a tree, maybe a bushfire, a big storm, or even insect attack that
45:43destroys the canopy. And these buds are lying there, waiting to burst out from that bark really,
45:49really quickly, produce leaves and start to photosynthesize. They're designed as that safety
45:55net to get the tree manufacturing food straight away to aid its recovery.
46:06The other place that has been extraordinary to watch is this lignotuber. Now that is a storage organ
46:13that many eucalypts and some other plants have at the base. And again, they're designed to respond
46:19to trauma with lots of growth. You can see it's like a forest of shoots down here. And it is, you know,
46:26again, really trying to photosynthesize and grow. But today I want to start to thin these out. I want
46:32to encourage a few really strong stems because eventually these are going to form a nice framework
46:38in this area of the tree. It seems a little bit brutal, but it's time to get shaving.
46:46Today, I'm going to choose about a dozen of the strongest shoots to leave. And then over time,
46:52I'll thin to the best. As for that epicormic growth, I'm going to leave that pretty much intact.
47:09For now, I want it to do that job of photosynthesizing and building strength for the tree.
47:13I have been giving it a regular spray of an organic fungicide, alternating with a little bit of
47:18horticultural oil to try and stop any reinfestation of that fungus. Truly, I don't know if this is
47:26going to work. From the start, I didn't know that this tree would be the right one for my climate and
47:32conditions. And ultimately, it may not work. But in gardening, you've got to risk it for the biscuit.
47:38You've got to try anything that is in your heart, because no matter what happens in the end,
47:44you'll learn along the way.
48:04First Nations people have been curating, caring for, and learning about the plants native to this country
48:12for thousands of years. Our next story is with a traditional custodian and ethnobotanist and his
48:19team, who are working across the country, recording cultural plant knowledge to keep it safe.
48:27They're also working to ensure that Western science recognises, acknowledges, and accepts this vital resource.
48:42We're in Far North Queensland, near Cairns, so at a little town called Smithfield, and that's where the
48:53James Cook University campus is.
48:59The James Cook University campus is situated on Irukandji land.
49:03So they're the traditional custodians of this area. And we have Jabbagai to the west, up the range.
49:10And further to the north is Eastern Yalundji. And toward Cairns is Gimoi-Adinji.
49:18I'm Gerry Turpin. I'm a local traditional custodian from the Atherton Tablelands.
49:23My tribal nation is Imbarbarum. But also have familial links to Wajanbutta Adenji and Nudjan
49:33and Kuku Taipan on Cape York Peninsula.
49:39I am employed as a ethnobotanist. Ethno means people and culture, botany the study of plants.
49:47So it's the relationship of people and culture and the use of plants in regards to bush tucker,
49:56bush medicine or whatever.
50:00The Australian Tropical Herbarium is pretty much a plant library,
50:04assorted into families, genus and species.
50:10And within that I lead the Tropical Indigenous Ethnobotany Centre.
50:14When I arrived about 15 years ago, we just didn't want to start it without the consent
50:21and input from custodians. So we held a workshop, basically asked them what they would like to see
50:26in the centre. And so that's how the Tropical Indigenous Ethnobotany Centre was established.
50:32The main aim of the centre, as the custodians wondered, was to record the knowledge and document
50:38it and keep it in a safe place. A lot of groups have been, you know, reconnecting with country
50:46and wanting assistance in recording their knowledge again and storing it,
50:51but also look at how they can use their own knowledge to manage country.
50:55We have three assistants working with us, very interested in ethnobotany,
51:05young, strong females that are very strong in their culture as well.
51:08You know, it is very significant for me to be working where I am. It's not only in the wet
51:15tropics, but also my homelands. I'm a Yerikandi woman, part of the coast between Cairns to Port
51:21Douglas. And we're sitting in a creek right now. It's called Attica, named after my great-grandfather,
51:27not too far from the Australian Tropical Herbarium.
51:29You know, going out in the field, working with traditional owners, and then coming back and
51:39using the western side of science as well, and trying to create that bridge and that link and
51:47combining them. I think that's really important.
51:50Nooka is studying a science degree at the moment, and Siobhan will be starting in a couple of months
52:02or so. So their intention is to become ethnobotanists.
52:08When we go out in the field, tribal group or clan group will invite us out.
52:14Do we have plenty in the fridge?
52:16Yep.
52:17Tents and...
52:18The plant presses?
52:20Yes, the plant presses.
52:21And we do plant collection. And if they're comfortable enough and we've built enough trust,
52:28they will give us information on their traditional knowledge associated to that plant or those
52:35species. And then we will take notes or we do video recording or audio recording.
52:44And then we bring it back and put it into our system here, so our big database system.
52:59We keep it until they request it back, but we always give it back to them.
53:05A lot of communities, they are still connected culturally, but then there's also many more
53:10that have lost a lot of knowledge. So, you know, their language is almost extant or endangered.
53:17The cultural knowledge is lost. And that came about as a result of being shifted off country.
53:24A lot of the groups are coming back to country through native title and other means and just
53:35familiarising themselves again with country and relearning there and reinvigorating that knowledge
53:41back into their lives. And when we go out with them, it's always with family groups or clan groups.
53:49And while we use the modern technology, the elders are still transferring knowledge,
53:56the traditional way, by showing and teaching their clan groups.
54:02In the fields, we collect the plants and we press them straight away, so using paper and cardboard,
54:11in between plant presses. Once we bring them in, we put them in the dryer for seven days,
54:21regulate at about 40 degrees. They will then go into the freezer, minus 20 degrees, and that's in
54:28there for a week. That's because we want to manage if there's any insects or anything like that,
54:37and just to make sure that it's all clear before we bring them up into the herbarium.
54:43So we have a permission form that states that it's not going to be used for any commercial purpose,
54:51mainly for scientific purposes. If someone else wanted to study that plant,
54:56then we advised them to come back to the original owners of that plant and to contact them and to
55:02engage with them. And that's about access and benefit sharing, particularly to genetic samples and resources.
55:13My interest is Western science and Indigenous biocultural knowledge working together,
55:19so bringing those two knowledges together, ensuring that Western science recognises,
55:25acknowledges and accept biocultural knowledge as well. It's a hidden resource towards providing those
55:33solutions, such as climate change or food security, any water problems, things like that. So
55:41in every area, biocultural knowledge has a part to play within that.
55:50We have some major projects with bush tucker, with a couple of communities and a couple of medicinal
55:55plant projects as well. The bush tucker industry is worth 70, 80 million a year. Less than 3% of Indigenous
56:04people are engaged in that industry, you know, and they're missing out, you know, on the benefits,
56:09even though it's, it's their knowledge that is being used. So our project is about providing funds to
56:15kickstart a proposal. So it's about just putting Indigenous people in a place where they can be
56:23established as a nursery and then they can find further funding to go into that commercial operation.
56:31It feels pretty amazing that I know that I'm doing something, you know, not just for myself but also
56:41for my people and also giving back to them and it's really rewarding. It's the continuation of traditional
56:49knowledge and culture. It's thriving and still going.
56:53It's a strong foundation for me. It gets me, you know, wanting to do what I do in protecting the
57:02plant knowledge and most importantly to make sure it's there for the next generation.
57:09My knowledge comes from the traditional custodians themselves. You know, I took four years to complete
57:15my studies, but a custodian's education starts from birth, you know, and just continues on.
57:33That's all the native plants we could squeeze in for this week. I hope it's inspired you to find
57:40room for some more at your place. There's always a bit of space. And look, if you want some more
57:46native plant specials, contact us on our socials. We'll be back next week with something for everyone,
57:53from veggie patch know-how to stunning designer gardens. Here's what's in store.
58:01I've come to beautiful Bruni Island of Tasmania's south east coast to visit a market gardener who's
58:07created a thriving veggie patch. I'm at the home of an internet sensation. You could call him a plant
58:14influencer, whose passion for growing tropical plants on vertical poles has shot him to worldwide
58:21popularity. And I'm visiting a property where the lay of the land has made the unexpected possible.
58:28A tropical garden in the Perth hills.
58:37Get to the back of the city in many areas.
58:43Link in my view.
58:51Copy that.