Gardening Australia 2024 episode 22
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Oh
00:30Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36We have got everything you need this week to ignite your fires of inspiration.
00:42I can't wait to rip into it.
00:45Here's what's in store.
00:48I'm visiting wild and beautiful Bruny Island off Tasmania's south east coast to take a
00:54look at some of the vital work being done to try to protect some of Australia's most
00:58vulnerable bird species.
01:01If you love cooking with bay leaves, I'll show you how to make a mini laurel that you
01:04can display in your kitchen or gift to your foodie friends.
01:07Are you down in the dumps because the garden at your rental home is nothing more than a
01:12small, shady, rather barren, uninspiring place?
01:16Well chin up because I've got the garden for you.
01:20And we meet a man with a passion for an ancient horticultural skill.
01:34In the foothills of the Great Dividing Range lies Victorian spa town, Daylesford, nestled
01:40in the shadow of the extinct volcano known as Wombat Hill, is a small, densely packed
01:47nursery.
01:48Meet Lou McLaughlin, a plant-obsessed, design-focused gardener and the owner of the nursery.
01:55My true love has always been nurseries and because I also love sourcing good stock, sourcing
02:01good stock and then displaying it and putting it together so people walk in and go, wow.
02:06Lou's nursery only gives us the smallest hint into her garden aesthetic because the big
02:11picture lies 20 minutes up the road in a place called Mollingham where Lou's garden
02:17creativity has been let loose.
02:21This is the home garden of Lou and wife Deb and it's a garden that any avid gardener could
02:27draw ideas and inspiration from.
02:33Wow.
02:34Is there a word that can sort of explain how you feel when you come to a garden and you
02:40just, there's mystery and you want to look around and it draws you in.
02:46Couldn't stop.
02:47Everywhere I look, there's just, I think it's water features and the feature plant and the
02:53bench and who's this?
02:55I actually haven't named her but one of my closest friends hand carved her out of wood
03:00and I just love her.
03:02Wow.
03:03These sculptures and the birds and the bird's nest and the little bird hide there and then
03:10another turn and how big is it?
03:15It's four acres.
03:16Wow.
03:17Now.
03:18We think we've probably gardened three acres.
03:21We're exhausted.
03:23When did it all begin?
03:25It started about seven years ago and.
03:27This in seven years?
03:28Yes, yeah.
03:29Get out.
03:30Literally this was an open paddock seven years ago so we had no mature trees to work with
03:35so much to my wife's disappointment I didn't plan anything.
03:39I've heard the term called a slow creep, once you start you literally can't stop.
03:43As you do things in your garden, one idea always leads to another.
03:47One thing we did plan though was the paths first and the hedges and then the beds were
03:52all left in.
03:53That was fun.
03:54It was sort of like having the cake and then icing it.
03:58Looking at this suddenly like the path is leading me around and these splashes of colour.
04:05I started with that ace of vitifolium which I love.
04:08See the colour tones in that?
04:09You've got bronze with green.
04:11And with this burgundy here I let these two sort of set the tone because I love playing
04:15with foliage and colour.
04:16So putting the cistus in with the orange looks great with the ace of which is the burgundy
04:21and then pick up the burgundy over here with the leucodendrons.
04:24Just all the colours kind of intermix but I kind of like the garden to jump out.
04:29And it's interesting because then you've got this strong vista but then there's this
04:45urn and you've got the gazebo but then over here I can see the little bird hut and there's
04:51the cow and over there there's another path leading somewhere.
04:56There's so much that you've placed.
04:59Where do you begin to set that up?
05:02Well I don't really have a method as much as I will stand and look and just get a feeling
05:08for something like a feeling that that's going to work that I just know it will and I love
05:12that flexibility in the garden and it's always movement and you know a garden never stays
05:17the same.
05:18This is an expansive garden and you've got lots of space but looking around there's so
05:26many good plant combinations that people could use in much smaller spaces.
05:32Yes the irises for instance they work really well with the aquilegias and I've let the
05:36aquilegias naturalise and I love that.
05:39So this was really bare in winter and suddenly within one month bang it all came up.
05:44But you know I think gardening really is just planting your favourite things.
05:49I don't like working to recipes, question myself occasionally but I think no go with
05:54what I like and what feels good.
06:02So when we come out of the trees into the sunny position this is one of my favourite
06:06plants I've got black sambuca which sounds like a cocktail.
06:11It's actually an elderberry and it masses the pink flowers and I've cut that back really
06:14hard this season.
06:16If I let this go for instance this could get to three to four metres and that would crowd
06:20out that and that so it's really important to cut things back hard.
06:23Maybe this I do every three years or so so I get that nice step of height I can appreciate
06:28the colours and you need some breathing space around the plants as well.
06:32But from these exotic combinations my eyes are drawn to waratahs here in the Victorian
06:39Highlands.
06:40Yes, our climate is really similar to the Blue Mountains, it's cold, they get frost.
06:44They've done really well here I think mainly because we've got such well-drained soil here.
06:48They can tolerate cold but not necessarily wet cold roots through winter.
06:52So they've been a real surprise for us, we love them.
06:59Walking in here I mean this could be someone's entire garden.
07:03Well Costa we are so blessed, we've got the space where we could play with everything.
07:11Wow, you emerged from behind the pitosperm hedge and the house space to this very different
07:19area.
07:20What was the plan here?
07:21Well I had to learn Costa, gardening at such a large scale like this to work with vistas
07:26and so we flanked the beds with the pencil pines and then that leads your eye down the
07:32mountains there and we have cows in the paddock next door and then also doing borders of cotton
07:37lavender.
07:38From the grey blue of your lavender you've chosen this rich lime green of the leucadendrons
07:45as that border.
07:46Yes, and what I also like is that they flower in winter so it gives us something else seasonally
07:51to look at through winter because there's a lot of perennials that die down.
07:59Hedges play an important role in defining the garden beds as well as providing some
08:04protection from the winds.
08:06But like all things in a garden, they do take some looking after.
08:10I've got to be honest about hedging, some days it's lovely and some days you're halfway
08:14through it and you look ahead and you see moles more and you go, oh, especially in the
08:18heat.
08:19The finished product is well worth it, it's really, really satisfying when they're all
08:23clipped.
08:24Now Lou, I've got an eye for good levels and I reckon this is perfect but what's your secret
08:34to getting it so good?
08:37Well once you've got it to the required height, I actually use the bulk of the hedge itself
08:42to lean the hedge clippers on.
08:44So it takes the hedge clippers weight and I turn it on a slight angle and that gives
08:48me a really sharp cut and I go along by eye but that'll guide me there but I'll trim the
08:53sides but I always go back about three or four paces every few minutes and I just check
08:58the perspective.
09:01After spending a day wandering around, I was keen to get Deb's perspective on the place.
09:07And what's it been like as a team piecing this together and growing such an incredible
09:14space?
09:15It's, it has been, that's the right word, incredible.
09:18It's been, I never in a million years would have thought that I would be sitting on 4.2
09:22acres with a wife, three greyhounds and a garden like this, never in a million years.
09:29What does the garden mean to both of you?
09:32Well to me it's a creation of what we've created together, I think it's our energies coming
09:37together and the love that we've got for each other is expressed in the garden.
09:42Lou being the horticulturalist and the creative person that she is has laid it all out and
09:47chosen the plants but it has been a combined creation in, Lou says how do you think about
09:52this and I'll go yes, no and sometimes I'll get my way and sometimes I won't.
10:01In a garden this scale, it has at times, it's frightened me, it got bigger than I thought
10:06it ever would and I just follow an intuitive feeling, there's no set rules with gardening,
10:11if you like a plant and you think that goes with that, well you try it and down the track
10:14it works, if it doesn't, that's what I love about the garden, it's not something that's
10:18ever done, that's it, dusted.
10:21It's an ongoing process for home gardens and gardens at this scale, you just never stop
10:25learning ever.
10:34What is a caterpill?
10:36The term caterpill refers to reduced leaves that don't develop into fully functioning
10:41photosynthetic leaves.
10:43They can be protective or storage apparatuses and come in many forms, such as cotyledons
10:50on young seedlings, leaf scales on corms or bulbs, bracts on flowers or leaf buds.
10:59They can be transient or persistent, a good example is the papery sheaths on the stems
11:05of philodendrons, just like this one.
11:09Can I get native fish to put in my pond?
11:12Well they can be hard to find, it's not as common to find good quality native fish that
11:18are hardy for backyard ponds in local aquarium shops, but it can be done.
11:22I myself track down southern pygmy perch for my bathtub pond, they do a fantastic job keeping
11:29the mozzies down and keeping the water really clear.
11:32And what I would recommend is if you want some native fish is to actually contact the
11:36local native fish association, they'll have volunteer members who'll be able to direct
11:41you to any aquariums that might locally stock them or they might even help you source some
11:46yourself.
11:47Why is melistoma referred to as blue tongue when the flowers are purple or pink?
11:53Well there's only one species of melistoma that's native to Australia and about 70 exotic
11:59melistoma species.
12:01The local native species, melistoma athenae, is a beautiful purple or pink flower and it
12:06will form a blue fruit and if you eat that blue fruit your tongue will go blue, thus
12:12blue tongue.
12:13Now it will grow on the east coast in moist well-drained soil and it will be a great addition
12:19to your garden if you can get hold of one of these, but again there's only one native
12:23species.
12:29Now Hannah's taken a trip to a precious part of Tasmania where she's uncovered important
12:35conservation work with some fine feathered friends.
12:59This is wild and wonderful Bruny Island of Tasmania's southeast coast.
13:04It's home to dramatic landscapes like this but also it's an important refuge for some
13:09of Australia's most vulnerable bird species.
13:16All 12 of Tasmania's endemic birds can be spotted here on Bruny Island, including several
13:21endangered species whose numbers have been dwindling alarmingly, so I've come to a private
13:27nature reserve to try to catch a glimpse of some of these rare birds and learn what's
13:31being done here on the island to try to protect them.
13:36Conservationist and biologist Dr Tonya Cochran runs the Inala Conservation Reserve in South
13:41Bruny.
13:42So Tonya, how many birds do you have here at Inala?
13:47There's about nearly 100 species of birds here and they include 12 special species which
13:53are endemic to Tasmania, so they're only found in Tasmania and nowhere else in the world
13:57and we have them all on the property.
13:59Incredible.
14:00One of them is a very special bird called the 40-spotted pardalote.
14:04It's on the endangered list and Bruny Island is very special for this species because half
14:09the total known population is found just on Bruny Island.
14:14Far out.
14:15They're little birds and they're awfully big trees so what we need to do is get up into
14:21the canopy so that we can get a close view of them.
14:23Yeah, the closer the better.
14:26I think 40-spotted pardalotes have always been rare.
14:30So as we've gone along and cleared and as climate change has affected the distribution
14:35of this species, they've been dragged along with it and they're in quite a bit of trouble
14:40at the moment.
14:41They're around, you can hear them.
14:44Here's one coming in now.
14:46Just have a look there.
14:47Put your binoculars on him.
14:49They're tiny.
14:50Yeah.
14:51They're one of the, actually one of the smallest birds in Australia.
14:54Oh, yep, that makes sense.
14:56Yeah.
14:57Very specialist birds.
14:59There's 12 birds when I originally bought the place and I think there's probably well
15:06over 50, 60 birds here now, which is a big colony for 40-spotted pardalotes considering
15:12there's only about 1,500 in the whole world.
15:16They're totally reliant on this one species of eucalypt for their survival.
15:21So this is Eucalyptus viminalis or manna gum.
15:25In Tasmania, we call it white gum.
15:28They're going round picking through the leaves, vacuuming through the leaves with that little
15:33hooked beak of theirs to get lerps, which are those sugary secretions produced by those
15:39sap-sucking insects, the psyllids.
15:42Another thing they eat is manna, which is that sugary substance that's produced by the
15:46leaves.
15:47It hardens and crystallises.
15:49It looks like little white cauliflowers.
15:55Swift parrot is another one.
16:02It's a critically endangered species and I've been working with that.
16:06There's been a lot of clearing of their preferred species like blue gums over the years.
16:13So it's a bit of a race against time.
16:15So we're madly planting.
16:17We're trying to work out species that come to maturity quicker, especially with the swift
16:24parrot.
16:25It's a really important thing.
16:26So we've got to get these species in the ground.
16:29We've got to get them growing and flowering so that we can continue on.
16:33So yeah.
16:34No time to waste.
16:35No time to waste at all.
16:38Tonya farmed cattle when she first came to Bruny Island in the early 1990s.
16:43She's since bought more than 600 hectares of farmland and set about planting habitat
16:48for local birds and animals.
16:52When you first got here, how vegetated was the land?
16:55These were all open paddocks.
16:57There was a few big viminalas here, but all of these that we see around us have been planted
17:03by me.
17:04I've been here for 36 years now.
17:06Yeah, pretty much planting the whole time.
17:08Yeah, I know.
17:09I know.
17:10I can't help myself.
17:11One of the aims of this place is to get it back to a natural setting.
17:15So revegetation is crucial.
17:18Natural revegetation is one thing, but also to supplement that with replanting.
17:24I think conservation underpins everything that we do here.
17:28I just don't want anything to go extinct on my watch.
17:31You alright there?
17:32I'm alright.
17:33With a focus on threatened and declining woodland species, Inala grows about 500 assorted eucalypts
17:40each year.
17:41What are we looking at here?
17:43These are little baby viminalas grown on the property from seed collected on the property.
17:48Some of them have still got their little cotyledons and we plant them out very young so they get
17:53a good root on them and then they fire away.
17:58So these become useful to 40 spots at about five years of age.
18:03They use them at least for takeaways.
18:05So they'll come in and glean over the leaves.
18:07They won't be any good for nesting hollows till about a hundred or more years.
18:12So it's a long term piece of work.
18:15Absolutely.
18:16But that's surprisingly quick in terms of providing some food for them.
18:19That's really impressive.
18:20That's right.
18:21They grow up being eucs.
18:22They grow up really quickly, get tall really quickly.
18:26We have 40 spots that are breeding here, but the young have to disperse somewhere.
18:31And so we're getting adjoining landowners to plant in their properties so that we can
18:35spread the population further.
18:38So these will go around Bruny Island in an island wide project.
18:42Fantastic.
18:43Yeah, we're all part of the jigsaw puzzle.
18:45We are.
18:46Yes.
18:47And what's going on over here, Tonya?
18:48So these ones we're growing for the swift parrot.
18:50This is a different thing again.
18:52This one's a blue gum and these ones are black gum or Eucalyptus ovata and globulus.
18:58Trouble is with them, they take a long time to grow and flower and we don't have that
19:03much time.
19:04So we predicted that within maybe the next 15 years that swift parrots might become extinct.
19:09So it's no good having a tree that might flower in 20 years.
19:12So that's where these ones come in.
19:14So adding more diversity into your plant choices.
19:18Yeah.
19:19And the most important things, things that grow and flower quickly.
19:22So this is Eucalyptus ficifolia, the flowering gum from Western Australia.
19:27It flowers really quickly.
19:29And the other thing is just a beautiful plant.
19:31So this is something that people might want to grow in their backyard, beautiful plant
19:35and it might help a swift parrot, you never know.
19:38And they come in dwarf varieties.
19:40They do.
19:41So they can be quite compact.
19:42They do.
19:43And then we've got a Eucalyptus leucoxyland and they are already producing flowers in
19:48about six, seven years.
19:50So we've got one in the garden here that has flowered and kept something like 12 swift
19:56parrots alive over one summer.
19:59Look at the honey eaters in here.
20:01Yeah, look at the honey eaters.
20:02Up here.
20:03Where are they?
20:04Up here somewhere.
20:05Oh, just over here somewhere.
20:06Tonya's been working with other ecologists, including Dr Andrew Hingston, to help fast
20:10track tree planting and increase safe nesting sites at Inala.
20:15Yeah, so this is a stand of Eucalyptus viminalis, which is providing lots of foraging habitat
20:21for 40 spotted pardalotes.
20:22Beautiful.
20:23And it's not providing nesting habitat because the trees are only about 35 years old.
20:29So that's where this comes in.
20:30This is a nest box for 40 spotted pardalotes, a little spot in here where they can have
20:36their nest.
20:37It's got a little baffle here to stop the wind from going through and to stop arms of
20:42possums reaching in and grabbing them.
20:44And what we've done with these this year is to reduce the whole size.
20:48So this is only 24 millimetres now.
20:51It's a tight fit for a 40 spotted pardalote.
20:55Tree mountains can't get in here at all.
20:57And strayated pardalotes find it really difficult.
21:00So this is helping 40 spotted pardalotes.
21:02It's helping them to retain occupancy of these boxes rather than being kicked out by these
21:08other birds.
21:09I love the low tech solutions, like they're just, you know, anyone can do them, you know?
21:14Yeah.
21:15Perfect.
21:16Love it.
21:17It's all got to be very, very simple.
21:18Yeah.
21:20I just think it's just amazing when you plant something and an endangered species starts
21:27using it.
21:28I mean, how cool is that?
21:29It's just...
21:30The coolest.
21:31Yeah, I know.
21:32It is.
21:33I reckon, I reckon it is.
21:34What gives you hope in the world?
21:36Oh, look, I just think the resilience of nature.
21:40I feel like I've done something, you know, instead of lying in bed at night worrying about
21:47the future, I've done something.
21:49And that's what I'm hoping to instill in kids of today.
21:54You know, that's the legacy I hope to leave with this property, that it's in a better
21:58state than when I first got it, that it's protected long term, and it's of use for amazing
22:05number of species forever.
22:08I figure, look, I can't save the world, but I can have a crack at things that I'm capable
22:12of doing.
22:20How can I use bamboo in the garden?
22:22Well, bamboo is a plant that I can't live without.
22:25It's a wonderful accent feature in the garden, and the shoots are delicious and nourishing.
22:32The leaves, well, they make a fantastic mulch, and if your compost heap gets smelly and wet,
22:38you can put loads of bamboo leaves in there, and it'll sweeten the mix.
22:43Bamboo leaves are rich in silicon, and so if you put that into the soil, then the plants
22:48that derive the silicon from it grow stronger and tougher cells.
22:52It's an all-round winner.
22:54And there's one other thing that I really like to do.
22:57If you've got a plant that needs to be sun-hardened, you can create a shade canopy by using these
23:03cut leaves.
23:05The leaves drop off bit by bit over a period of days, and that slowly increases the amount
23:13of sun reaching the plant underneath.
23:15It sun-hardens them naturally, and at the end, you've got bamboo canes which you can
23:20use, and that's another vital use.
23:23I use bamboo canes for supports for my most vigorous vines.
23:31Oh, there's nothing like using herbs from your garden when cooking at home.
23:39It lifts whatever food you prepare.
23:42Tammy's got a clever way of making sure that one of her favourite herbs is always on hand.
23:54Mediterranean bay trees, like this one, are pretty tough plants.
23:59They're suitable as screens, topiary, or just happen in a pot.
24:04Bay leaves are an essential herb in the kitchen.
24:06They bring a subtle depth of flavour to soups, curries, roasts, and sauces.
24:12If you've got a bay tree, then you'll know they have endless leaves.
24:15And today, I'm going to use some to show you how to make a simple mini laurel that you
24:19can display in the kitchen or gift to your foodie friends.
24:23Here's what you need to make it.
24:25Craft wire, needle-nose pliers, a bunch of bay leaves, jute string, and some kind of
24:34circular vessel, like a jar.
24:38I'm using a glass jar, but you can use anything that's circular, and that's just to help give
24:42the wire its shape.
24:44So wrap it around, and then cut that off.
24:52And just use your pliers to make a little bend at one end so the leaves don't slide off.
24:59And then you can start threading.
25:01And I'd say aim to thread at the same spot for each leaf.
25:04It's going to be slightly different because some leaves are big, some are small.
25:07Now you don't need to thread them on one by one.
25:10We'd be here all day.
25:11You can take a bunch and carefully thread it through.
25:16Take care not to poke yourself.
25:20If you haven't heard the word laurel before, it's a type of circular wreath made out of
25:24leaves and branches.
25:26In ancient Greece, they used to wear it on their heads, and it was a symbol of victory.
25:30You may have heard the saying, resting on one's laurels.
25:33Well, this is where it came from.
25:36Once you're at the end, then you can use your pliers to create a loop on one end, and then
25:44use the other end to hook around it.
25:48And then finish it off with a length of jute.
25:52That's looking great.
25:53Now, all you need to do is pop it in a warm place, and the leaves will dry in about a
25:57week.
25:59It'll look gorgeous in the kitchen.
26:01And hey, it'll be handy whenever you need a leaf for cooking.
26:04Of all the seasonal flowers in a winter garden, the humble Helleborus are some of the most
26:20generous.
26:21They're the ideal plants to grow under deciduous trees, where they make the most of seasonal
26:25winter light and rainfall.
26:30As Mediterranean survivors, they know how to hang in there through the hottest and driest
26:35months.
26:36The spectacular display of winter flowers lasts for months.
26:40The spent blooms holding as much interest as the fresh, and they make long-lasting cut
26:45flowers.
26:48The green-flowered Helleborus argutifolia is a great plant, with dark green foliage
26:53with deeply toothed edges and bright green sprays of flowers.
26:57Green is a great colour for unifying plantings in the garden, because green goes with everything.
27:03Greys, burgundies, blues and other greens, they all work well.
27:10One of the other great green species, with a stinking reputation, is Helleborus fetidus,
27:16the species name literally meaning fetid.
27:19While the crushed foliage stinks, the plant does not.
27:23It's got a lovely, tall and elegant form.
27:28The most common and adaptable species is named Orientalis, but they come from Greece and
27:32Turkey to the Caucasus, which gives you a clue as to how tough they are.
27:39After the flowers finish in late spring, the plants produce a fresh flush of foliage, which
27:43persists throughout the warmer weather.
27:46By late summer, though, it's looking a bit tatty, and it's best removed to make way for
27:51the new flowers.
27:52You can either do it by hand with a pair of secateurs, or if you get your timing right,
27:57you can even use a whippersnipper to cut it down almost to the ground.
28:04Over time, happy Hellebores will self-seed gently, producing seedlings with different
28:12colours and markings on the flowers.
28:14If you get a particularly good seedling with characteristics that you like, mark it when
28:21it's in bloom.
28:23Then when it finishes flowering, in late spring or in autumn, you can dig it up and divide
28:27it and get more plants.
28:29A sea of nearly any plant is a joy, but a sea of Hellebores, heaven.
28:35Still to come on Gardening Australia, Hannah's finding out how the next generation of Bruny
28:44Islanders are protecting their environment to help save an endangered bird.
28:52Summer really gets a bit frosty, and we meet a man with a passion for an ancient horticultural
29:00skill.
29:07The power of a garden to transform a space, any space, can't be overstated.
29:14Even a single potted plant can change the whole vibe.
29:19This weekend's next story is with a landscape architect who's using plants to completely
29:25change the outlook of a challenging rental garden.
29:29Today, I'm taking you on a trip 18 kilometres northeast of Melbourne to the leafy suburb
29:40of Briar Hill.
29:42To reach our destination, we need to head up the driveway, past the other units and
29:47up to this front door.
29:54Meet landscape architect and playground designer, Elliot Summers, his partner in crime Alex
30:01and their children, Oliver, 17, Millie, 14 and Henry, 11.
30:10The family moved into this four bedroom unit eight years ago, with no idea how long they
30:15were staying.
30:17And for a growing family of five, that's a tight fit.
30:21And for a plant lover like Elliot, the lack of space provided limited opportunities.
30:26But where there's a will, it's fairly compact, isn't it?
30:31Yeah, it's not huge.
30:32It's not a lot of room, got to kind of make it work as best we can.
30:35And there was literally nothing here when you first came.
30:38Basically, yes.
30:39So there was decking and gravel, mulch, the existing trees and a few lamandra sort of
30:45scattered about the place.
30:47So we swapped this area every six months just to deal with the changing sun.
30:52Because that's a real problem, isn't it?
30:54It's huge.
30:55Yeah, because we're south facing, nothing's going to last the whole year round in here
30:57because it's going to get cooked in the summer or nothing in the winter.
31:01So every six months, all the shade stuff comes out from under the trees and goes up against
31:06the wall.
31:07Yeah.
31:08And all the sun loving stuff gets shoved away on the western wall out of the way for six
31:11months.
31:12Yeah.
31:13And then in six months time, it's a surprise when it all comes back.
31:15As long as you don't mind lifting and lumping, that's all right.
31:17Well, it's only twice a year.
31:19Yes, that's true.
31:20I mean, every year we try something different on the wall as well.
31:29It's a real Melbourne wintry old day, raining cats and dogs.
31:34But that's nice looking out there.
31:36Well, because we've got this fantastic frame here with these great big windows and the
31:41same coming out of the master bedroom as well, so you're looking straight out onto this garden
31:47space here and then onto this wall as well.
31:49No matter where you're standing, there's always this impact of the garden coming back at you.
31:54Now, your renting, how different does that make, from your point of view, does it make
32:00building a garden?
32:01Well, renting, you have a permanent sense of impermanence.
32:05You keep waiting for that point where you're going to have to move again.
32:09So you keep everything in pots and you really don't want to invest heavily in sort of, you
32:13know, the whole garden area because all you're really doing is just putting money into somebody
32:17else's investment.
32:19Because they're all in pots and whatever, and I really wanted to have the effect of
32:25looking out on an actual garden rather than just a collection of pots.
32:29Pots are expensive.
32:32Nice pots, that is.
32:33So most of the stuff that's in the garden around the pond, they're all in just either
32:36black pots or they're epiphytes, so they don't require pots, which is where the bromeliads
32:40are fantastic because anywhere in between, you just stuff them into the gaps and they'll
32:44just happily sit there.
32:45And one of them is flowering beautifully at the moment, these lovely little red things
32:50with purple centres, it's gorgeous.
32:54So what do you do with your work?
32:56Well, the bulk of our work is mostly play spaces, so some public play spaces, some schools.
33:04With designing play spaces, it's really important that you have so much more than just play
33:08equipment.
33:09And you've got to have plants in there as much as you can, and yes, kids are going to
33:12throttle them, of course they're going to do this.
33:14What kids do, that's why you stuff it full of plants because then some of them will make
33:19it.
33:20Again, they associate these spaces of play and fun and joy with these plants being there.
33:28If you have just a big enough garden area and the right kind of plants so that in a
33:32few years' time, and they're large enough, the kids are going to get underneath them
33:36and the kids are going to make their own spaces underneath them and start moving through and
33:40making tunnels and all those sorts of things.
33:42It becomes more about using their imagination and being in that space, but you've got to
33:46provide the opportunity for that to happen organically.
33:50The research points to the fact that this is what kids need.
33:55My kids, for example, haven't shown a particular interest in gardening or getting into plants
34:00and all that kind of thing.
34:01But I feel that by having them grow up with this being around them, they're going to have
34:06an expectation of this is what I want from open space, this is what I want from my outside.
34:12So when they move on to find their own places, they'll notice the absence, if it's not there,
34:19and then do something about it.
34:21Oh, thank you very much, I need that, that's lovely.
34:28So as you can see, having a rental place with a very small garden should be no barrier at
34:34all to having a lush garden that the whole family can enjoy.
34:40Even when they're on their phones.
34:50Let's head back to stunning Bruny Island, where Hannah's learning how students at Australia's
34:55southernmost school are helping to save an endangered bird.
35:06Earlier in the show, I met two ecologists who are working to protect endangered Tasmanian
35:11birds with their revegetation work here on Bruny Island.
35:17Education is the key.
35:19I'm visiting the southernmost school in Australia to hear from a group of Bruny Island youngsters
35:24on the importance of protecting our precious environment to help save an endangered bird.
35:34It's a busy morning at the Bruny Island District School.
35:39We've got a very special day today, so we're going to spend some time in the classroom
35:42and then we're going to go down to Pardalope Patch, but we've got a very special guest
35:46who's joining us today, and it's Hannah from Gardening Australia, can you say good morning
35:50to Hannah?
35:51Good morning, Hannah.
35:52Hello, I'm so excited for spending time with you and to see your beautiful Pardalope Patch
35:59I've been hearing so much about.
36:03This group of Grade 1 students is proud to show me their classroom, where they're learning
36:07about bird conservation with teacher Claire Boost.
36:09Oh, so Hannah, we usually start the day with a little song, and we wondered if you might
36:13like to join us in our circle.
36:15I would love to.
36:16Great, excellent.
36:17Okay, stand up everybody.
36:18Care for country, care for country, caretakers of this land.
36:26These kids are part of the tight-knit Bruny Island community, which has a permanent population
36:31of only about 1,000 people.
36:34Together we stand, hand in hand.
36:39Now the book is called Little Spot on Bruny Island.
36:45A little bird with lots of spots lives in the trees on Bruny Island.
36:49His name is Little Spot.
36:53On Bruny Island we're really fortunate because the children here are already very connected
36:58to nature, just because of where they live and the lifestyle that they already have.
37:02So they already know a lot, they spend a lot of time in the bush.
37:06Now we have learnt so much about the 40-spotted pardalote.
37:12Can you put your hand up if you can remember a fact about the 40-spotted pardalote?
37:18The 40-spotted pardalotes have a hooked beak.
37:22And why do they have a hooked beak, Hooley?
37:23So they can get in the manna.
37:25So they can scratch away at the bark, can't they?
37:28And then they can get at the manna, which is the main thing that they eat.
37:32So what's happened to the white gums on Bruny Island, and actually all over Tasmania?
37:36They're getting cut down.
37:39They have been cut down, so there aren't as many as there used to be, are there?
37:42We need to plant some more.
37:44OK, let's go to our tables.
37:46Your books, you have to find your book on your table.
37:48The other great thing about getting the young kids involved in conservation is that then
37:55they take it on and teach their parents.
37:57If their kids say to them, don't cut down that tree, or don't drive on that bit of the
38:01beach, they're going to listen to their kids, aren't they?
38:04So it's great that education just filters into the community, and hopefully it keeps growing.
38:11It's time to go to Pardalote Patch, which has turned into an outdoor classroom for all
38:16sorts of subjects.
38:17Pop your hat on.
38:18Is it working?
38:21It's working.
38:23Oh, big muscles.
38:24Ready?
38:25One, two, three, lift.
38:26Oh, nice.
38:27Now remember, we all stay together, don't run off ahead.
38:34So, we need to water our trees, don't we?
38:40And these trees are only young, so we need to give them a little helping hand.
38:43So we've brought our watering cans down to do our watering today.
38:46How does that sound?
38:48Great.
38:49Good.
38:50Good.
38:52We've got our science lessons when we get out the magnifying glasses and we can go and
38:56look up close to things and investigate things.
38:59We've been able to do some maths where we measure the trees, and then we can come back
39:02in a month and see how much they've grown.
39:05They love to bring their books down here and do their reading down here, and of course
39:08drawing.
39:10So they're learning about all different birds, and we can look at the life cycles of birds
39:13and all that science as well.
39:15It's beautifully integrated, brings so many different threads of education in.
39:18Absolutely.
39:19In a really holistic way.
39:21And in a meaningful way for them too.
39:22Meaningful way.
39:23Yeah.
39:24Yeah.
39:25And it's fun.
39:26Yeah.
39:27And it's nice to be outside.
39:28So these trees were planted about 12 years ago by Bruny Island school students, and they're
39:32a mixture of eucalyptus species, so the idea was to increase the habitat for our native
39:36critters.
39:37And it was a natural progression to then come and plant some eucalyptus feminalis when the
39:42children learnt about the plight of the 40-spotted pardalote.
39:45What a gorgeous legacy to add to, but also to continue for potentially more people to
39:50come and more students to plant trees.
39:52Absolutely.
39:53And I think, because the children have learnt that these trees have got a long way to go,
39:56it might take 100 years before they develop hollows for the critters to nest in.
40:01So they can watch them grow as they grow, so it's pretty exciting.
40:06I think it's also fantastic to introduce the concept of long-term thinking, multi-generational
40:11thinking, because a lot of us won't be here to see these trees mature, but it's still
40:15worthwhile doing.
40:17Absolutely.
40:18The school's pardalote program is supported by the Inala Conservation Reserve, which has
40:23helped the students to plant more mannigans here.
40:26Dr Tonya Cochrane is thrilled younger generations are learning about Fruni Island's threatened
40:32species and how to help protect them.
40:36I figure I won't be around forever, so the kids are our future.
40:40It's really important to pass on that knowledge and to set things up for the long term.
40:48How big do you think this tree's going to grow?
40:51Maybe taller than that.
40:52Do you think it's going to be as big as me?
40:54Bigger than you.
40:55Bigger than me.
40:56Bigger than these trees, maybe.
40:57So exciting.
40:58The little kids are so full of wonder and awe still.
41:08They don't take on the heavy side of things yet, which I'm really glad.
41:11So they are more excited about being able to act and do something, which they're really
41:16positive all the time.
41:17We can plant trees and we can look after the Fortiespotter pardalates and other species
41:21too.
41:22Yeah, and I think it's really important.
41:23We can be so aware of the problems and dwell on them a lot.
41:27And I think it's important to be aware of those problems, but dwell on the solutions
41:30and throw our energy in that department.
41:33And that's what children are so good at that, aren't they?
41:36They're not jaded until much later, so it's really great.
41:39I love working with the little ones because they're so much fun as well.
41:48Do I need to fear frost?
41:51Well, the truth is it is a really unforgiving element in the garden, particularly if you're
41:55not prepared.
41:56When I first moved to a really cold climate, I lost about 30 or 40% of my really reliable
42:01plants.
42:02They just couldn't cope.
42:03But there are great species that will.
42:05They're adapted to it, both in the ornamental garden and also in the veggie patch.
42:09In fact, some vegetables, carrots included, are made sweeter by that cold weather.
42:14They produce an antifreeze in their cells to stop them freezing solid, which is a type
42:18of sugar, and that actually makes them sweeter.
42:21There's a range of veggies like that.
42:23The frost can also be really useful in cleaning up overwintering pests.
42:27So a lot of gardeners in warmer climates really would like the occasional frost.
42:31And it can also help to break up heavy soil.
42:34But the most important thing to know about gardening in the frost is to be prepared.
42:38On a sunny, clear day, you're much more likely to end up with a cold, frosty night.
42:43So cover things up, move them into a sheltered area, and you can have your frosts and enjoy
42:49the results too.
42:55Why does the water from my sprinklers turn all the surfaces it touches a reddy brown?
43:01Well, if you travel around Perth, you'll often notice that on fences and pathways,
43:06you'll see a reddy brown stain.
43:08Now, that's because a number of areas around Perth contain large amounts of iron in the
43:13groundwater, and when this is pulled to the surface via a garden bore and the dissolved
43:19iron mixes with oxygen, it oxidises and becomes that rusty colour, and hence ending up all
43:25over the surfaces around it where the sprinklers fall.
43:28So there are some products you can buy to remove these stains, and you can also get
43:32specialist filtration systems to remove the iron from the water, but they are expensive.
43:44Whether it's a whole garden or a single plant over a lifetime, one of the best things about
43:49gardening is the chance to shape things over time.
43:53Our next story is with a gardener who's worked with his collection for decades, and all is
43:59not what it first seems.
44:06When I was younger, I loved climbing trees.
44:09To climb up that tree and see all those branches and sit up there and watch the birds and everything,
44:14it was so much enjoyment.
44:16We'd make a little, like, cubby, so it became part of the whole concept of what a tree is
44:21to me.
44:22A Japanese master told me, you've got to look up in the tree, and if you feel that you would
44:28love to climb it, like a little boy, you want to climb it, then you're actually winning.
44:32Because the whole thing of bonsai is it's got to look like it's not touched by man.
44:37If it doesn't look natural, you've lost the plot.
44:52I get up at six o'clock, I'll open the door and I'll come out and there's just birds singing
44:57and it's a real nice feeling to come out.
45:00There's a little stream that comes down that side, and there's a stream that comes down
45:04this side, so I'm actually like on a little island all to myself.
45:21My name is James Miller.
45:22I've been doing bonsai for 50 years.
45:25I'm a horticulturist and an operations manager.
45:28I've been retired now for about 10 years.
45:31My grandchildren and my bonsais are my life at the moment, so I don't have anything else
45:38to worry about.
45:39So I wake up and do bonsais and go to sleep and dream of them.
45:47This is a rare forest fig.
45:49I call him the old man.
45:51He's one of my favourites, I must admit.
45:54This came from South Africa with me.
45:56When I was working on a race course, this little fellow was growing under the eaves
46:02of one of our houses for our staff, but it was right up into the eaves and it was actually
46:07pushing the tiles of the roof up.
46:09This part went up like nine feet, so we had to take it out.
46:14So I made a bonsai out of it.
46:16You want to save trees that are dug out and you don't want them to go to the dump.
46:20And some of them, straight away you will see it's got character that you can use into a bonsai.
46:25I always say I've got a league of nations with my bonsai because wherever I worked,
46:30I brought trees home from those areas, so they're all here.
46:33So there's Australian, South African, Fijian, Hawaiian.
46:37It's like a photograph album for me.
46:39I can remember where I got them all.
46:42I was born in South Africa.
46:44My parents are from Scotland.
46:46We moved down to the coast.
46:48I started working as a lifeguard in holiday seasons because you could make a little bit
46:52of pocket money.
46:53I started doing gardens on the beaches and then I trained as a horticulturist because
46:58I realised that I had the eye for it, but as far as plants and things were, I had no
47:02idea what I was doing.
47:05When we first started bonsaiing, we would try and grow all these fancy things they had
47:09in Japan and that, you know, like maples.
47:11And they just were so hard to keep alive in our climate.
47:15So I've sort of specialised in figs.
47:17I've got about 20 varieties here.
47:20These are figs and even these little guys are figs.
47:23This is the willow leaf fig.
47:25It was my very first bonsai in Australia.
47:28I found it in a nursery, a little cutting, and I was so excited.
47:32I took it and I was going around Australia in a camper van.
47:35So it actually came with me for two years in the camper van and so he's been around
47:40Australia the whole way from Cooktown to Broome, so he's seen everything.
47:46And all the ones that you'll see in my collection that I've grown from cuttings comes from this
47:50original one.
48:01When I immigrated, I knew that I'd had to find a place with that same climate for my
48:06trees that I was going to bring across.
48:08And I came to the Sunshine Coast.
48:10So it was almost like finding home again, the same climate.
48:13I thought, well, this is it, you know, and my daughter was happy here too.
48:16So we just made it our home.
48:22This is from South Africa.
48:24It's very special to me.
48:25It's one of my first, it's a bronze paperbark.
48:28It's nothing to do with the Australian paperbark, totally different species.
48:33This is in at 60, 70 year old now.
48:35So that's why it's so special.
48:37You know, when you come from another country and you want to bring trees, you hear these
48:41stories that everything dies in quarantine.
48:44I've brought in three sets of trees through the quarantine system and I've never lost
48:49one.
48:50In my collection, there's no purchased bonsais.
48:53Yamaguchi means collecting from the nature.
48:56So that's the way it was started.
48:59The Chinese would go up into the mountains and see this old tree with what they call
49:04chi.
49:05So it's got power and a vigorous life in it.
49:08And they would bring them home and they would get one of their wife's beautiful pots and
49:13drill a hole in it and put it into their courtyard.
49:16And that's how bonsai started basically.
49:18So that's the ultimate really.
49:21And that's what I like to do.
49:22I've bought species, like little cuttings of unusual plants, but I just don't want to
49:28buy someone else's bonsai because bonsai is art and horticulture.
49:34That's what gives me the pleasure of doing them.
49:37When I'm working my trees, I just disappear into them and the birds and the water and
49:42everything just makes you feel really relaxed and you keep on looking at it and turning
49:46it around and seeing which is the best shape.
49:49And when I'm alone with my bonsai, sometimes I even look back and say, gee, how did I create
49:53that?
49:54This is a fig from Hawaii.
49:57This particular one was growing through into the roof of a house.
50:01So we had to remove it.
50:03I had no idea of making it into a bonsai at that stage.
50:07It's the biggest I've got.
50:09We've got that idea that bonsai is small, but bonsai actually means tree in a tray.
50:14So they can be any size, eight foot even.
50:18This is a Sheffalera.
50:20There's two varieties.
50:22One is indigenous to Australia, but it's got a huge leaf so it doesn't make a bonsai.
50:28This is the small leaf one.
50:30In Hawaii, they call it the octopus plot.
50:32So if I just take my branch off, you can see that it looks like a bit of an octopus.
50:37And also they call it an umbrella tree.
50:39Umbrella.
50:41You can actually see my grandkids are involved here.
50:43My granddaughter's little contribution.
50:46I've got three grandchildren and I've been involved with the grandkids from day one.
50:52This area here is my grandkids' little bonsai area.
50:55This one and this one belongs to the nine-year-old and this is a six-year-old.
51:01My granddaughter actually works on my trees.
51:04It's good for my heart to have the grandkids loving what I've really loved.
51:08I've done it now for over 45 years, so it's a big part of my life.
51:14And it's part of their life now too.
51:16I do have local trees and most of them are bougainvilleas.
51:20People plant them as hedges or in the garden and they take over.
51:24So people get rid of them.
51:25So when you can get stock that's locally, like these guys, they don't even know they've
51:30been moved.
51:31They just keep growing.
51:33And that's a nice thing about bougainvilleas too, very hardy.
51:36This here we call a sacrifice branch, which is really just to thicken the lower part.
51:41And if I take this whole piece off, which can become cuttings if you really want to.
51:46So when you cut that off then all this energy that's coming through here is automatically
51:51going to go into this one and start pushing it out.
51:54So you'll do this again and again and again until it's nice and thick.
51:58So you can imagine like in a few years' time it'll be just covered in flowers.
52:03It's so important.
52:04Well, like every one of them I can give you a story.
52:07In my mind I can actually see where it was.
52:10This is a natal fig.
52:12I collected this in a park on the coast in South Africa where I used to live.
52:18And they grow everywhere there.
52:20So when I look at this, I can remember that park I used to play in as a youngster.
52:25It's really been a lovely tree to look after.
52:30One of the reasons I like to collect bonsais is that you can pass them on in China and
52:35Japan that there's like five generations have looked after a bonsai.
52:42I really would love obviously for my grandkids to grow these figs because I believe they're
52:47going to be like 800 years old I reckon they can grow.
52:51I think they're going to last a long, long time.
52:56I know that story has got you itching to pick up your secateurs and I'm reading you loud
53:14and clear.
53:15So here's your list of jobs for the weekend.
53:20In cool climates, it's the perfect time to plant bare-rooted fruit trees and roses while
53:29the plants are dormant.
53:31So snow peas now for a sweet spring harvest in about six to eight weeks time.
53:38Why not try a Tamacia, a high performing native shrub that goes well in a cottage garden and
53:44will even grow under gum trees.
53:48In warm temperate areas, it's a good time to plant rhubarb or lift, divide and share
53:54your own clumps.
53:57Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants such as mulberries, roses and grapes.
54:02Simply snip off a 15 centimetre long cutting a bit thicker than a pencil and stick it in
54:08a pot or in the ground.
54:11Take some time and get out in the bush to see the wildflowers for an idea of how to
54:16plant cool season colour in your garden.
54:20In the subtropics, build a tipi and plant some climbing beans.
54:25Wellington wonder is a variety that can take the heat.
54:29Winter flowering camellias are in bloom.
54:32Cultivars of Camellia japonica like a shady spot while Camellia sassanqua will take more
54:39sun.
54:40Stop feeding roses to encourage a winter slowdown so they're ready for pruning in late July.
54:47Tropical gardeners have so many choices for veggies to grow now.
54:52Make the most of the many options.
54:54Try anything from artichokes to zucchini.
54:58Consider a hedge of Heliconia or crab's claw.
55:02Different varieties can grow from one to four metres tall and their stunning pendulous flower
55:08would brighten any garden.
55:11On top of Cocculospermum fraseri are flowering, which is a sign that freshwater crocodiles
55:17are laying their eggs.
55:20In arid zones, plant a vine now to provide shade when the hot season hits.
55:25A grapevine will also offer some summer fruit.
55:29Aloes are awesome for winter colour, but avoid the candelabra aloe, aloe arborescens, which
55:36can be a weed in warmer areas.
55:40Try growing a turkey bush, also known as Colitrix extipulata or Munburnda.
55:48This small shrub has papery pink flowers from May to August and has many traditional uses.
55:56Have fun out there this weekend, gardeners, and don't forget, you can always catch up
56:00on Miss GA episodes on iview anytime.
56:10Well, that's a wrap, folks, but before we go, I have a little bit of a favour to ask.
56:16Gardening Australia is humbled to have been nominated for a Logie Award and we would really
56:22love your vote.
56:25Let's show the whole country how important gardening is.
56:29Our website has all the details.
56:32We can't do it without your help.
56:35Now, I also want to let you know that we'll be taking our winter break from next Friday,
56:40but there's lots of fantastic garden content for you while we're busy restocking the Gardening
56:46Australia shelves.
56:48Join Alan, Titchmarsh and the crew for a brand new series of Love Your Garden while we're
56:53away.
56:54I've always believed that when life is full of uncertainty, the perfect place to escape
57:00to is a garden.
57:03No matter the size, these precious patches of green have the power to heal and restore.
57:10Which is why, for me, our gardens are more important than ever.
57:16And you don't have to miss us too much.
57:18You can watch episodes you missed on ABC iview, visit our information-packed website where
57:24you can sign up for our free weekly newsletter, join in our socials via Facebook and Instagram,
57:30and check out our YouTube channel.
57:33So dive in, and it'll be like we were never away.
57:36We'll be back in the spring.
57:38So until then, happy gardening.