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00:18Hey, buddy.
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00:23Hey!
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00:25Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36I'm so happy when I'm surrounded by plants.
00:39They just catch my attention.
00:41Look at these yellow aloe flowers, they're saying look over here,
00:44but the crassula, the crinkly leaves with different shades of green
00:48are capturing my attention,
00:50but together they're leading me to this beautiful feature frangipani.
00:54Gardens, they bring so much joy through their beauty, their produce,
00:59and, of course, their ability to connect people.
01:03We've got gardens on the show this week that do all that and more.
01:07Here's what's in store.
01:11I'm planting for natural temperature control,
01:14to keep our home cool in summer
01:16and let the light and warmth in in winter.
01:19There's no doubt that one of the best ways to warm up
01:21on a freezing winter's day is to do a little bit of gardening work.
01:26It's a great time to edit your garden.
01:28Take a few things out, do a bit of work,
01:30and, of course, get some new plants in the ground.
01:34I'm in Castlemaine in central Victoria,
01:37a small town known for its gold rush history.
01:40And while gold digging may be a thing of the past,
01:44there's plenty of locals now turning their hand
01:47to creating garden gold.
01:49I really love ferns,
01:52and I'm visiting a nursery
01:54that's one of Australia's largest specialist fern nurseries
01:58and meeting the man who knows all about them
02:00and how to grow ferns.
02:08Wouldn't we all love a garden with coastal views?
02:11But wind, salt and sandy soil make coastal sites a real challenge.
02:17Clarence is visiting a garden that embraces these difficult conditions
02:22with clever design and hardy planting.
02:40In all of Sydney, this northern beaches garden
02:42must have one of the best outlooks.
02:44That's Whale Beach just down there,
02:46and it is breathtaking.
02:48But as you can see, the terrain is steep
02:50and is full of very difficult gardening challenges.
02:56Nicola Cameron was given the task
02:58of creating a resilient garden
03:00that would test the limits of any plant or designer.
03:04Well, look at this.
03:05Million dollar location, unbelievable.
03:07But I'm guessing it all comes at a price for the garden?
03:10Absolutely, it's got it all.
03:12It's got erosion, exposure, wind, rain.
03:16We've got a creek bed or a course of water
03:19that runs from the street up the top
03:21and generally a challenging site.
03:25We started working on this project about five years ago
03:27and the brief was keep the view
03:31and make sure that the planting is sculptural, interesting, colourful.
03:37And also it was very much a request of theirs also to sort of have native species
03:45because they could cope with these kind of conditions.
03:53So this part of the garden, you can really get a sense of how challenging the topography is here.
03:57How did you manage such a steep block?
03:59So we couldn't use any built retaining walls.
04:01So we used core logs which are a fibre log
04:05and staked them into the ground
04:08so that they were holding back any erosion that we might have while the garden was young.
04:12And then as the garden grew, the core logs, it just dissolved into the soil.
04:17So it was a really low impact solution for erosion.
04:22This part of the garden, you can really see with the form and the plant choice,
04:27the sculptural elements that are part and parcel of this garden.
04:30This is where we really had to use the plants in a very strange way.
04:34We've toporied these Casuarina green waves and they look fantastic.
04:39They really create that sculptural look.
04:42The foliage is unmistakable.
04:44The old botanists determined that the foliage looked like cassowary feathers.
04:49So Casuarina, cassowary, they're beautiful form though.
04:52I love what you've done here.
04:53I haven't seen them in this shape. They're amazing.
04:55Yeah, they are. They really are.
04:58And they've performed really well.
05:00We were worried that they might sort of outgrow themselves
05:03because obviously a Casuarina is usually a large tree,
05:06but this is a great little cultivar that takes a lot of management.
05:09We regularly prune it probably every six weeks a bit of a light trim
05:13and then every six months we give them a hard prune.
05:21That's a completely different aspect here.
05:23You can really see the form and the small natives doing their work.
05:27You do. We've got quite a range here.
05:29We've got the Wistringer.
05:31We've also got some of the lovely Saltbush, which is always a great plant.
05:36We've got some Banksia, Birthday Candles and some Myoporum,
05:40which is a great little spillover.
05:42And the Carpa Brodus along the edges.
05:45I mean Carpa Brodus, a great coastal plant that holds that ground really nicely.
05:49So there is a really lovely range here.
05:52It works really well.
05:55Is this the Lomandra Katie Bells?
05:57It is the Lomandra Katie Bells.
05:59What we do with them is we cut them back once a year.
06:02So we really cut all the foliage off so they're just a mound.
06:06And then what we see at this time of year is the beautiful flowers coming through.
06:10Often we'll use Lomandra as a strappy foliage,
06:14and you don't think of it as a flowering plant,
06:16but this one looks fantastic.
06:19The yellow in contrast to the green.
06:21It works really well in this garden.
06:27And there's a really nice contrast here with that lime green of the Acacia up against the Casuarina.
06:32Yeah, so I love that little spot.
06:35It's a good little contrast that Casuarina is so hard and it doesn't really move.
06:40But then you've got this light foliage underneath it that just kind of sways in the breeze
06:45and sort of nestles in there quite beautifully.
06:51I really find this plant panel, it's a really smart planting.
06:54The native species that you would find literally on exposed headlands, on the dunes,
07:00they're all here and they're doing quite well.
07:02We've had a great success with it really.
07:05Some of them are trial and error and some things have taken a while to really establish.
07:09The Banksia birthday candles, they've taken three or four years to really get their legs
07:14and sort of get established.
07:17It's an interesting sculpture.
07:19Did you know that whales have the light fingerprints?
07:22They're unique to each whale?
07:24No, that's great. I love that.
07:30Different parts of the garden, they really are quite unique.
07:33This area, you can really see the topography.
07:36In the wet, I'm guessing there's a lot of water coming through here?
07:39There is, yep.
07:40It comes from the street and it comes right down through here.
07:43So this is a really, really wet area, but it's also really dry and hot in the summer.
07:48So we had to really consider what plants we were using because obviously in the summertime
07:53or when it's dry, it gets really hot because it's so exposed.
07:57The owner really loved the irises.
08:00So they were obviously kept and we've got some dinella and different native grasses in there.
08:07It is mass planted, so it slows that water down.
08:10They all are fine with wet feet, but they can also handle dry conditions as well,
08:16which is what has to happen in this area of the garden.
08:19And it also encourages things like frogs and animals to live in those spaces where they feel protected.
08:26And it's a nice wet area for them.
08:29So it's worked well.
08:30The mass planting, you see with the wind, there's a lovely play at work here.
08:34Yes, yep, definitely.
08:36And the architecture of the home is quite bold.
08:39And also the casuarina balls and the sculptures and the rock are really formed.
08:43So to have a bit of breeze and to have a bit of movement in the garden is a really,
08:48it just gives a gentle nature, which is also important.
08:51It makes you feel like you're in a nice place.
09:01Such a tough site, but one thing that I really appreciate is that I feel gardens are art pieces.
09:08This one truly does have form and texture and sculpture and through planting.
09:14It was a joy to design, a challenge to install, and it continues to grow and evolve.
09:20And that's what a garden is.
09:22It's never finished.
09:24It's never complete.
09:25But we love the sculptural elements.
09:27We love the rock that sits here for thousands of years.
09:32And we've managed to integrate that planting in to soften and to create a part of the journey through the garden.
09:39It's a real joy, this garden.
09:50Can I cut the top off my tree to stop it growing?
10:02Well, you can cut the top off the tree and I do this regularly.
10:06I have a range of fruit trees in my garden, which I prune to a certain height, which for me is a safe picking height.
10:14My jackfruit, left to its own devices, would be far too big for a garden.
10:19And I only need to repeat that prune every five years.
10:24And you'll find that with different species, the amount of times you need to repeat the cut will vary.
10:30For a mulberry or a willow, you might have to do that every single year.
10:35Why avoid using sphagnum moss?
10:38If you grow indoor plants, chances are you may have them growing in this.
10:42It's sphagnum moss.
10:43It's a naturally occurring moss that can absorb 20 times its weight in water without getting waterlogged.
10:49It's amazing stuff.
10:51But the problem is it's very slow growing and most of it is wild harvested from Tasmania's alpine wetlands.
10:58These fragile regions can take centuries to regenerate.
11:01They also store vast amounts of carbon.
11:04Harvesting sphagnum moss can contribute to climate change and loss of habitat and biodiversity.
11:10A great alternative is this, coia peat.
11:14It's sustainably produced from coconut husks.
11:17And you can always add perlite to improve drainage if needed.
11:20That way, our indoor plants can thrive while we protect our planet and its ecosystem.
11:25Where do I find garden inspiration?
11:27Well, for me, the number one way is by visiting other gardens.
11:31It doesn't matter what size they are or where they're located, I can always learn something.
11:37It might be information about plants and plant combinations.
11:41It might be ideas on garden design or garden art.
11:44Or practical ideas on how to set up racks in your potting shed.
11:47However, if you can't get there in person, the next best thing is to look to books, the internet or TV for inspiration.
11:55It's deep winter in Lituuta, Tasmania, and berry season may feel like a distant summer dream.
12:09But now is the perfect time to get them in the ground.
12:14My raspberry plants have been on a bit of a slow migration around my patch, just while I play with the garden layout and also while I find the spot that they like best.
12:26First, they were here.
12:29Then, a few years ago, I moved them here.
12:32And today, the journey continues.
12:35As you can see, they're no longer here in the ground because this area is just simply too heavy clay.
12:40So today, they're on the move further down the hill to a new home where hopefully they'll live happily ever after.
12:47I've got a bit of a bed here which is raised and I've gone in, removed all that heavy clay soil and filled it in with the no-dig garden method,
12:57which involves layers of goat and chicken manure, aged wood chips, straw and some blood and bone.
13:04It's ready and perfect for planting.
13:07This is a summer fruiting variety called Chilcotton.
13:11I'm trimming off about a third of the height of the canes and getting rid of the leaves.
13:16When I dug them up for transplanting, I also pruned off last summer's spent fruiting canes.
13:23I'm spacing them out around 30 centimetres apart.
13:28This soil is so soft and fluffy, which is the product of the no-dig garden method.
13:33It's so easy to dig, I don't need any garden tools at all.
13:37I reckon these raspberries are going to love it.
13:40Already in this bed, I've got three berries.
13:43Silvanberry, Tayberry and Youngberry.
13:47Unlike raspberries, which grow upright, these are all ramblers and would take over if I let them.
13:53So I've got just one of each and spaced them several metres apart.
13:58I'll train them over this rio mesh.
14:02They fruit at different times over summer, meaning I'm extending my harvest over months.
14:08Now, I'm hoping this location will be my berries' forever home, but who knows?
14:13Gardens are living, evolving creatures, so we'll take it as it comes.
14:17But in the meantime, I'll gratefully eat any berries they gift me.
14:28Thoughtful planting has been one of the ways that Josh has been able to keep his home cool in summer and warm in winter.
14:35And he's letting us in on some great tips that you can try at your place.
14:48The last few months have seen a few changes in our backyard.
14:51I've had to move some plants to make way for a small extension to our home, which will better suit the needs of our kids.
14:58Both are now in their teens.
15:01The build's just been completed and I'm really happy with the result.
15:04The main windows face east to connect with the garden.
15:08And that means they do cop the morning sun in summer, which can be brutal here in Perth.
15:13So as a temporary measure, I've hung some bamboo blinds to keep that sun from coming in through the windows.
15:19But a longer term solution is needed, both for shade as well as to beautify.
15:25Deciduous plantings are the key.
15:27This ornamental grapevine will eventually cover the extended pergola,
15:32much like this edible grape variety has done, which was planted back in 2013.
15:37And this crepe myrtle will eventually provide excellent shade to this part of the building.
15:43But importantly, they'll both lose their leaves in late autumn, allowing in sunlight when it's needed.
15:50Now, this variety of crepe myrtle is called Twilight Magic.
15:53It's a small variety and it will fill out that space nicely with a little bit of pruning.
15:58But I've also chosen it because of its purple foliage and pink flowers, which will contrast against the pale grey wall of the building beautifully.
16:06The hole I've dug is the same depth as the root ball, but there's loads of space around it, roughly three times the width.
16:16By digging a wider hole, I can improve the soil around the root ball to encourage the roots to grow out, to help the tree establish and become strong and stable.
16:26I'm backfilling with the original sandy soil that came out of the hole, but I've improved it by blending with around 20% soil conditioner and some organic fertiliser.
16:39Gently watering helps to settle the soil and flush out air pockets.
16:46A loop of drip irrigation around the base, and topped off with a layer of mulch to keep the moisture in.
16:55I've got two other larger varieties of crepe myrtle in the garden, which are absolutely thriving in similar conditions, providing good shade.
17:07I can't wait to see this one fill out this space.
17:10Another proven performer in Perth's climate is the ornamental grapevine, so I know this one will be a winner.
17:18I'm preparing the hole with some soil conditioner, a little fertiliser, in goes the plant, backfill and some mulch over the top.
17:31The timber and steel trellis poles for this section of pergola came from the original structure,
17:38which had to be shortened to make room for the new building.
17:42So the whole thing ties together beautifully.
17:46This rope will provide something for the vine's tendrils to hold onto as it climbs up.
17:51By the end of year two, I expect it will be to the top of this pole.
17:54In year three, I'll train it across the timber and onto these steel rod trellises,
17:59where it'll start to provide some shade.
18:01Now, eventually, this rope will go, and the vine will form a nice thick trunk like the one over there.
18:08The main reason for choosing this ornamental grape over another fruiting variety is the burgundy autumn leaf colour that will light this place up.
18:18Utilising deciduous trees and vines for natural shading is a low-energy, low-cost way to keep the heat out during summer.
18:25And with a bit of thought, they can look terrific as well.
18:29Why not put the cooling power of plants to work in your garden?
18:40Things may be a little slower in the garden in winter,
18:43but even in the off-season, there's always room for a bit of tinkering.
18:48Millie's out in a patch and there's plenty to dig into.
18:59Here in central Victoria, we live at quite a high elevation,
19:02which means it is extremely cold in the wintertime.
19:06But it is still a great time to make change in the garden.
19:09Maybe do a bit of editing, removing those things that haven't worked as well as you hoped,
19:14moving some things around and, of course, adding some new plants to play with.
19:22You might remember this little strip on the north side of my house.
19:26Now, I call it the treasure garden because I absolutely adore everything in here.
19:31Of course, it's great. We can see it from the house.
19:34But also, it is such a place for experimenting with lots of plants.
19:39I've jammed them in on the fence line.
19:41I've put them all throughout the ground.
19:43And this time of the year, it's a really important time to pull a few back
19:47to make the most of this little space.
19:52I'm starting with the smoke bush, also known as cottonus.
19:56You can see how vigorous and tall this plant can get.
20:01And that actually happens as a growth response to pruning.
20:04I pruned it at about this point last year and there's two metres of growth up top.
20:08So what I need to do is just clean out some of this twiggy growth
20:11because I don't want it getting me in the eyes while I'm doing this.
20:17And then I'm going to cut it at a similar height.
20:21And what that'll do is, as soon as that warmer weather hits,
20:24it will explode with beautiful burgundy growth all over the place.
20:35You can kind of sculpt a plant by pruning, not just things like roses.
20:39You can do it with this too.
20:41Wherever a bud is pointing, prune above it and it'll shoot in that direction.
20:45The next thing I need to prune is this ornamental grape.
20:56And the cottonus has actually joined it over here.
20:59They're now intertwined.
21:00I didn't intend it, but I completely love the foliage contrast between the two.
21:05So I'm going to prune to support that relationship.
21:07Now that I've cleared the access, my next job is to move some plants from under the cottonus.
21:14These are autumn crocus or colchicums.
21:19And they're a really fantastic little bright purple flower in the autumn time.
21:25But the problem is, now that the garden's built up here, when they flower,
21:28I can't actually see them for all the foliage growth.
21:31So I want to carefully lift these clumps out and move them to another spot.
21:35And they're different to a lot of bulbs in that they have two periods of dormancy.
21:39One in midsummer before those flowers come out in autumn.
21:42And then another one before the leaf growth happens, which has already started here.
21:47So I'm going to carefully dig them up and then I'll move them into a spot that I get a much better view all year round.
21:53They're already shooting away and I'm sure they're going to settle in really quickly to their new spot.
22:06And then in autumn, I'll get beautiful blooms that I can actually see.
22:10But one word of warning.
22:12While they are known as autumn crocus, that's a common name.
22:15And they are not crocus sativus, which is the edible spice.
22:19So just enjoy these in the garden, keep your gloves on and don't put them in a risotto.
22:28One of the things I've always planted for in this garden is to attract birds.
22:33And the eastern spinebills love this grevillea.
22:35So I'm going to add another.
22:38This is a fantastic cultivar of grevillea victoriae, which is really, really cold hardy.
22:44It comes from colder, high altitude areas.
22:47And I reckon it's a bomb proof plant.
22:49It makes a fantastic hedge, but I'm just putting this one in here for the birds.
22:53I've finished doing a little bit of planting around the side, but you can see that the back garden has had a big makeover.
23:15I've actually put down this really durable surface.
23:19It's a recycled concrete mulch, and it's going to keep it really accessible and usable in cold, wet weather.
23:25It does look a little bit stark right now, but that really just is a canvas for so many more plants.
23:35One of the best ways that you can fill a new garden is to propagate plants yourself.
23:41It's really cheap and it can be quite easy.
23:43And the ones that are already succeeding here are obviously a great choice.
23:47I've got this gorgeous little Santolina.
23:49It's a cultivar with this incredible limey green foliage, which matches beautifully well with the tree above when it shoots in spring.
23:57So I've taken some cuttings and I'm going to add more of that plant into the garden.
24:01I reckon that's going to do a beautiful job softening those rocks.
24:15Squiddy likes it too.
24:17One of the most important spots in the garden is this one.
24:21Now you want to see a bit of garden from the house, but I also really want to be able to look through it to see the rest of the garden.
24:27And I chucked this Cassinia in, which is really a shrub, but I've sort of pruned it into being a small tree.
24:35And now it's really at the end of its lifespan.
24:37So it's time to replace it.
24:39What I want to do is establish this permanent planting of Leptospermum brachyandrum, which is a small tree or large shrub.
24:48Got this beautiful silver foliage, which weeps, great bark, just one of my favourite plants.
24:54Over time, this plant will be trained to have pretty much the same form as the Cassinia.
24:59I want those lovely bare stems and then that weeping habit.
25:03But instead of ripping it out now and replacing it, I'm leaving this in place.
25:07It's like a succession planting.
25:09It'll give me a little bit of shade on the windows for one more summer, and then it'll come out.
25:13And this can have the space to grow into a perfect tree.
25:17And to keep the tea tree company with those beautiful silver tones, I'm going to plant a compact form of Spiridium, also known as Dusty Miller.
25:26And this one was named after the legend Edna Walling.
25:29One way to get a lot of colour quickly when you're doing a new planting is to use a beautiful pot.
25:35And this is one of my favourite little treasures.
25:37It's had lots of lives over the years, but it's getting a whole new planting.
25:40I've filled it with a quality potting mix.
25:42It's a native potting mix because that's what I'm going to use to fill it.
25:45Lots of drought tolerant species.
25:47I've got this beautiful Isopogen from WA, some Bulbean Glaucas.
25:51I've got a little inland pig face and some Chrysocephalum.
25:54I'm going to get it potted up.
26:11A little bit of broken brick mulch.
26:13After that, we'll go great guns.
26:18Well, I reckon that is going to be a beautiful burst of colour right at the back door.
26:22Really, you should never be afraid to make change in the garden.
26:25It's one of the great pleasures.
26:27If something's not working, you can move it.
26:29You can remove it completely and you can always add new things.
26:33There are so many ideas and you can always edit.
26:36Well, I reckon I've earned a nice hot drink and I better give all those plants a cool one.
26:40See ya.
26:41Come on, Squinner. Let's go.
26:43Where's your ball?
26:48Still to come on Gardening Australia,
26:51Sophie gives her plants a bit of protection for when the breeze turns blustery.
26:57Jane's exploring a family-run fernery.
27:01And we meet a fine artist helping people fall in love with plants.
27:11Castlemaine in central Victoria is a small town of about 10,000 people, about an hour and a half northwest of Melbourne.
27:24To the local Dja Dja Wurrung people, it's known as upside down country because historic gold mining literally turned the skeletal soils upside down.
27:34But what the area might lack in topsoil is made up in topsoil is made up in top people.
27:44This is a creative, active and community focused bunch who are behind a successful backyard composting scheme called Yimbi, short for Yes In My Backyard.
27:55Mikaela!
27:56Hello! How are you, consta?
27:57Great to meet you!
27:58Tell me about your project.
27:59It's a community composting initiative that was started up in Castlemaine.
28:10And so we have 24 composters at the moment.
28:15Morning, Ken!
28:16And each composter like myself door knocks their neighbourhood and asks the people that aren't composting if they would be happy to put their kitchen scraps in a bucket.
28:31Because we're using a hot composting method, we can take meat, we can take citrus, you know, dairy, all the things that you hear you shouldn't put in compost.
28:41Our compost system will deal with that.
28:46And every week we come around and collect it and take it back to our backyards and there we make an amazing compost using our unique hot composting method.
28:59Yimbi has been collecting and composting since 2020.
29:04Co-founder Lucy Young believes there are many benefits including reducing landfill.
29:10Our capacity at the moment is almost a tonne a week, processing our community's food scraps.
29:18What we can't easily quantify are the connections that are made between people.
29:25The benefits of that come in all sorts of forms.
29:27Volunteer Sarah Newsome was already a composter but joined up as a Yimbi volunteer.
29:36You are up to your knees in compost.
29:39Yeah.
29:40Why did you get involved?
29:41Well, I love gardening, I love growing vegetables but there's not enough soil here for them to thrive and so even though I made compost it wasn't great and there wasn't a lot of it.
29:52So I love doing it, I love getting the compost.
29:55I like now connecting with my community a bit more and getting to know my neighbours, that's been really good.
30:00One of my dreams is to be able to grow good vegetables and enough of them so that I can share them.
30:06Part of Yimbi is offering training to community volunteers that Michaela along with co-founder Joel Meadows run together.
30:15Our workshops are open to the whole community, like we just want to raise the skill level of composting within the entire community.
30:25We don't, you know, we see it as a craft that we don't want to lose.
30:28We need people to compost well and we need things like Yimbi but we also need to make sure those people that are composting are doing it at a top notch level.
30:37So yeah, part of that's just building that skill level in the community.
30:42A specially designed compost bay is key to the process.
30:47Affectionately known as a Beckley Bay, named after Michaela.
30:51With my brother's help I came up with this system where you can just open up your bay.
30:58Yeah.
30:59And then you just, you know, literally take it to next door from where you're turning it and you can pop it back together using the pegs.
31:07So, so you could move it?
31:10Yeah.
31:11It's also got a setting where you can just, when we do our second turn, we turn into the smaller version and you just pop the pegs back in.
31:22So the whole thing is 3.6 metres and it's just like wire mesh covered with shade cloth.
31:31So we have compost bay making sessions and then the composters all go home with their compost and then they can set up wherever they like.
31:39And Sarah's got several different bays around her backyard, all at different stages of our composting process.
31:49For those struggling with some of the physicality of composting, Yimby offers support.
31:55A crew of young folk help to tackle the more physical aspects of composting.
32:01Ed Resic and Connie Adalgo have been involved for nearly a year now.
32:06Now I heard that you guys were here. I didn't realise that you were part of some sort of secret composting cult here.
32:12What's, what's going on with, with Yimby?
32:15It's Jimby.
32:16It's another part of Yimby.
32:18Oh.
32:19It's the workout part.
32:20Oh, so gym as in physical.
32:23As you can see, it's a lot of work here.
32:24Yeah.
32:25So for one person to do this just alone, it's a lot.
32:28So we come around and we do it together.
32:30There's like, you know, three or four of us at a time.
32:32And we come and we make this compost into another pile.
32:36And we do it pretty quickly and we have fun doing it.
32:39We put the outside of the bay in the inside here.
32:43So we make sure to have a whole turn.
32:45So that way, whatever was perhaps cooler on the outside now gets heated up.
32:50Yeah, exactly.
32:51And broken down.
32:52We can also at this point check how the compost is going.
32:55So if there's not enough sticks or too much air or not enough air or too much water, we can work on that now.
33:02We can add more, take away.
33:04We can really just see what's going on.
33:06And we are able to see different yards of our neighbours.
33:09So we see a lot of compost in the area.
33:12So it's pretty cool.
33:14Because we're processing such a large volume of kitchen scraps every week,
33:20we need it to move as fast as possible.
33:22And hot compost is only hot because it's just really an indicator of how happy your microbes are.
33:29And they're reproducing, giving off tiny bits of heat.
33:32And that's bringing up the temperature to above 55 degrees.
33:36We also want to kill the weeds and seeds that we're putting into the compost and not spread them around later on.
33:43And importantly with food, we want it to be too hot for rodents to be able to get in and eat any of that food.
33:50So we'd come along every week and dig down and test.
33:54You can see the steams coming off that.
33:56But then when it cools down, that's when the worm and the fungi come in.
34:01They break down the carbon sources in there.
34:04And this is the best part because this is the finished product and you can see it's just beautiful.
34:15Yes.
34:16Castleman Gold.
34:19It's a way to get to know your community and also to take a tangible sort of direct action on climate change.
34:30It seems really doable, not overwhelming.
34:34But it also commits us to some time spent in our garden and all the benefits of having that time outside with your hands in the soil.
34:45And our composters often comment on how it's kind of like the special time in their week, their composting time.
34:54It is about how we work on those collaborative systems, the decentralised systems.
35:01And I don't know if something like this can work everywhere, but it seems to be working here.
35:07Yeah.
35:08And I love it.
35:09Wind can play havoc in a garden.
35:22Strong winds can break branches or defoliate a plant.
35:25And hot, dry winds strip the moisture out of your plants and the soil.
35:29Fortunately, there are some simple things that you can do if you live in a windy area or if strong winds are forecast.
35:37Planting windbreaks or wind-resistant trees and shrubs can act as a barrier and help to break the force of the wind.
35:43Choosing native plants that will suit your area is a great way to go, like my saltbush hedge.
35:49Remember, the bigger the area you're trying to protect from the wind, the taller your windbreak needs to be.
35:56Solid or slatted fences help to block the wind in your garden.
36:02A sturdy fence creates a wind shadow, reducing the strength of the wind in your garden.
36:08Wooden or metal fences work well.
36:11If you've been caught short and don't have time to build a fence or plant a windbreak, consider temporary windbreak structures like shave cloth, trellis or bamboo screening.
36:22These can be positioned strategically to block the wind without being a permanent fixture.
36:28In the warmer weather, taller plants like sunflowers and tomatoes may need staking to protect them from wind.
36:36Use flexible ties with your stakes because rigid ties like wire can act like a garrote and cause damage to your plant in strong wind.
36:45Consider container gardening for delicate or smaller plants because they can be moved to a sheltered location for windy periods.
36:57Apply a layer of mulch around your plants.
37:00That will help to anchor the soil and prevent it being eroded by the wind.
37:05It'll also help to protect the plant roots and stop moisture being wicked out of the soil by the wind.
37:12Create microclimates in your garden by using walls, rockeries and raised beds.
37:17This can help to give protection to groups of delicate plants.
37:21And as a group, they're more resistant to damage by the wind.
37:30Have you ever imagined paradise?
37:32What would it look like being surrounded by endless green lush foliage with dappled light coming through the canopy
37:40and cool, fresh air to breathe?
37:43Well, guess what?
37:44Jane has found it.
37:51I'm just over an hour northeast from Melbourne in King Lake West,
37:55but I feel like I've entered a rainforest.
37:58But this dense, fern-filled haven is in fact a nursery that specialises in one plant.
38:05And you guessed it, the fern.
38:07And there's certainly lots of them.
38:11The site is set on five acres with one and a half dedicated to the nursery.
38:17It's a family-run business that's both retail and wholesale.
38:21Headed up by Eddie Sablejack.
38:28G'day, Eddie.
38:30Hi, Jane.
38:31Nice to see you.
38:32Nice to meet you.
38:33It's really nice to be here amongst these beautiful ferns.
38:36It's such a natural setting.
38:37Welcome to our wonderland.
38:39It's a wonderland indeed.
38:40How many have you got growing here?
38:42We grow approximately 45 different species,
38:45mostly New Zealand and Australian,
38:47and generally all cold hardy varieties
38:50most growers of ferns will have success with.
38:53That's good.
38:54I'm really looking forward to having a look at all your treasures
38:57and your hardy ones as well.
38:59Let's go.
39:00Okay, good.
39:06Now, what have we got here?
39:07That's quite a tough fern, isn't it?
39:09Well, one of the hardiest of all the ferns we produce
39:12are the Blackenham nudum or the native fishbone water ferns.
39:16Yeah.
39:17A lot of people confuse it with the Boston fern,
39:20which was used heavily in the 70s.
39:23Very common.
39:24By most landscape architects.
39:26How big would it get?
39:27It grows to just under a metre tall.
39:30It's quite different to the Boston in the...
39:33It's a broader, wider leaf.
39:35Even if they die back, they'll re-generate come spring.
39:40Mm.
39:41And you can't not have one in your garden.
39:44And also the mother-shield fern.
39:48Oh, yeah, this one. Yeah.
39:50These are...
39:52Obviously, they're named mother-shields
39:54because they get the little pups on the end of the leaf.
39:56It's cute, isn't it?
39:57So, in the bush, they just grow down like that and touch the soil.
40:00They do, and you always see a whole colony of them.
40:02Yeah.
40:03Let's go and have a look at these tree ferns.
40:06Yeah.
40:12Here we have one of my favourites,
40:15the Cypher Cunningham.
40:17It's a slender tree fern.
40:19It's one of the rare ferns that grows both in Australia and New Zealand.
40:22Is that right?
40:23True to its name, it's a very slender trunk,
40:26even though it can get up to maybe 20 feet tall.
40:29And it grows quite quickly?
40:31Roughly three inches a year.
40:32Wow.
40:33As opposed to the one you're standing next to.
40:35Yes.
40:36Which is the Sonia Antarctica, or soft tree fern.
40:39Yeah.
40:40They generally grow an inch a year.
40:42I love it.
40:43And then you've got this sort of mossy stuff growing up.
40:45It looks beautiful.
40:4670-odd years old, and it's the pride of our little walk-through garden here.
40:51Yeah.
40:52Now, there's an old adage that you put a cup of sugar
40:55down the centre of the tree ferns.
40:57Well, that's rubbish, isn't it?
40:59We always ask which sugar fairies live out in the bush.
41:03Yeah.
41:04So sugar really is not doing much good anyway.
41:06It's just bringing probably flies and insects
41:09that you really don't want in there.
41:10No.
41:11So we don't recommend it.
41:12It can create problems with scale
41:14but you don't really want to get in your fern
41:16because you'll never get rid of it.
41:17Water's the key.
41:18The more water, the better.
41:20And the happier to plant.
41:22Now, there's another thing we've got to solve.
41:25Another way of planting them is, I've always said,
41:28plant them deeper so that they don't wobble around.
41:31We recommend 200ml in the ground,
41:34a stake at the back where you won't see it for six months.
41:38In that time, the roots have redeveloped
41:41and that fern will not fall over.
41:43You can have that final height that you purchased
41:46in the beginning for your garden.
41:51Why did you get specially interested in ferns though?
41:54I'm a qualified fitter and turner.
41:56And like they're saying in life,
41:58you bump into the right person,
42:00steers you in a totally opposite direction.
42:02And before we knew it, we were shaking hands on purchasing
42:06this property 30 years ago.
42:08Wow.
42:09And the rest is history.
42:11Fantastic.
42:16Wowee.
42:17It really is a wonderland of,
42:18these are the small Dixonias, aren't they?
42:20Gorgeous.
42:21They make a gorgeous understory.
42:23Yeah.
42:24But you've also got a great collection of New Zealand tree birds.
42:27We do.
42:28We grow five of the New Zealand species that you can grow.
42:32Wow.
42:33The New Zealand blacks.
42:34That's the one that really is eye-catching, isn't it?
42:36Wow.
42:37Extremely eye-catching.
42:38Very sought after.
42:40Probably one of the quickest of all the tree ferns to grow.
42:44I love the way it just fans out like that.
42:47It's beautiful.
42:48It does.
42:51While ferns aren't that difficult to look after,
42:54they are more difficult to propagate, especially on a commercial scale.
42:58With no seeds or flowers, they reproduce via spores.
43:04Come on in, Jane.
43:06Wowee.
43:07This is pretty amazing.
43:08This is where they stay for the first six months.
43:11Ooh.
43:12They look good.
43:14Gee whiz.
43:15We source our tube stock from two specialist propagators based in Tassie.
43:20Here's an example of one of the rarer ferns that we grow.
43:23Yeah.
43:24It's called the upside-down fern.
43:26Wow.
43:27It comes in a tray of 48 cells.
43:29Yeah.
43:30That's one individual plantlet.
43:32Look at that.
43:33Wow.
43:34That's the next stage.
43:35That's three months from a plug.
43:38Six months later.
43:41We pop it up into a six.
43:43Oh, I can see why it's called the upside-down fern.
43:45Upside-down fern because the rib is on top of the leaf.
43:49Oh, that's amazing.
43:50And the underside looks like a normal...
43:52Yes.
43:53...top of a plant.
43:54Isn't that beautiful?
43:55And it will stay like that for its life?
43:56For its life.
43:57How tall does it get?
43:58It gets to about half a metre high.
43:59Inside or outside?
44:00This one can be inside, preferably outside.
44:04Yeah.
44:05So it's a medium-growing ground fern.
44:08And then we have a few more unusual, hard-to-get varieties, which we'll only have...
44:12Oh, come on.
44:13Show me some of those.
44:15There.
44:16Let's have a little look for an unusual one.
44:19This is one of our not-common ferns.
44:23It's called a dwarfsicle.
44:26Oh, that's nice, isn't it?
44:27It comes up with beautiful rosy-red new growth in spring.
44:32And it only gets to about 30 centimetres in length, in leaf.
44:37It's just one of those dainty ferns that you don't regularly see.
44:41So it just keeps getting thicker, sort of round like that.
44:43That's nice, isn't it?
44:44Clumper.
44:45Great.
44:46Tell me, what sort of medium are they growing in?
44:48We make our own medium.
44:51So basically six mil composted bark.
44:54Mix that with tree fern fibre and a bit of yay ripper pebbles, we call them.
45:00So 16 mil type of...
45:02Quite chunky, it looks.
45:03Chunky.
45:04That opens the mix up, which is what ferns love.
45:07The tree fern fibre adds a bit of acidity, plus we always call it our secret ingredient.
45:13Because everything grows in tree fern fibre.
45:16So we've stuck with that formula for 20 years now.
45:23Eddie's self-acknowledged right-hand man and production team member is daughter Amber,
45:29who's worked at the nursery for about a decade.
45:32Alongside co-worker Kristy, they make up the production team with the occasional help from Eddie's granddaughter,
45:39six-year-old Riley.
45:41Another batch of mix.
45:45Oi.
45:47That looks good.
45:48Wow.
45:49Now you're potting up some beautiful looking maidenhair ferns.
45:53Yes.
45:54Adiantum Fritz Luth.
45:55Oh, they're good.
45:56Yeah.
45:57Now make a good indoor plant.
45:58Out of the very few ferns that you should have inside, this is the one.
46:01Yeah, these are great ones.
46:02We have other maidenhairs that go in the garden, but these ones are good for indoors.
46:06Yeah.
46:07Now I just saw you putting a little bit of special stuff halfway down.
46:11Yep.
46:12What's that?
46:13Stinky chicken poo.
46:14Oh.
46:15Beautiful.
46:16Perfect.
46:17Goes in every single pot.
46:18Do people know about cutting them back when they look a bit tatty?
46:21Some people know.
46:23Not a lot of people do.
46:24It kind of scares them a little bit to get rid of all the foliage, but cut them back.
46:28We always just, when we're potting them like this, we always take off those little bits
46:32that don't look very good.
46:33Yeah.
46:34What's it like working with family, with your dad and mum?
46:38It's pretty good.
46:39So it gives me long lunch and buy me pies sometimes.
46:41Ha!
46:45Why do you love them?
46:46We just find they give you a sense of stress relief.
46:50Yeah.
46:51Calmness.
46:52It just gives us joy.
46:54It is our income, but on the other hand it's our pleasure and we just love producing ferns.
47:04Our next story is with an artist and nature lover who uses plants as a narrator with the
47:18ultimate goal of getting everyone to fall in love with the great outdoors.
47:23Now that is my kind of goal.
47:25Enjoy.
47:26I think the most beautiful exhibits, of course, are plants.
47:42And I love to actually allow them sometimes in my work to become the exhibits like portraits
47:49of them or theatres of trees.
47:55I'm Janet Lawrence and I'm an artist working in Sydney.
47:59And this is my Sydney studio in Chippendale, which is a space I love and I've had for 25 years.
48:11I have very varied approaches to how I bring my work to audiences.
48:16You know, I have a gallery way.
48:18I have museums doing big installations.
48:21I have big outdoor environmental pieces.
48:24But all of them are about bringing and immersing a viewer, an audience into the experience of nature.
48:35I guess my main garden started at the bottom of the house where we lived in East Balmain, where I just wanted to create this kind of seemingly natural headland environment.
48:51And I just began planting specifically native headland plants.
48:57Within a couple of years, I had this astonishingly verdant headland that I started to learn so much from.
49:08Visually, I just engage with plants and love them for what they are and what they are, of course, in our lives.
49:17As individuals, each one, what they offer you is extraordinary.
49:26This is all my residue from my elixir labs.
49:30And it started with the idea of involving ourselves with plants that we can actually imbibe.
49:38What I'm wanting with this is the associated story of the plant, but as well as that, the taste of the plant.
49:46To think about that actual biochemical being of the plant.
49:51Obviously, these were herbal plants that we can make into little tiny elixirs.
49:59Just recently, I had an elixir lab in the Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains, a most beautiful place.
50:05And I had it in an old milking shed, which was a beautiful juxtaposition of the glassy, reflective lab with cows all around watching in.
50:18And people would file across to come and taste the elixirs and I had three attendants in white coats who would offer the elixirs and tell people about these plants and address the fact that they were just growing in this garden nearby.
50:37And the story of these plants and what medicinal uses they'd been used for.
50:43We brewed most of them because they had to be rapidly made.
50:47We had bronze fennel.
50:49And of course, we had things like chamomile and heart seeds.
50:52No one had really kind of tasted them, just them, not made into a tea or mixed with anything else.
51:01And it is superb, really, to experience the plant itself.
51:05So all my gardening feeds into my work immensely.
51:12First of all, I'm always photographing it.
51:14I'm often drawing it and scribbling notes about it and things like that.
51:19And a lot of this material actually becomes my work.
51:25From sort of tree portraits, almost like this work from the Tarkine.
51:30And then looking at different aspects of plants, just like the leaves.
51:35And of course, I've done a lot with roots, showing the roots of plants.
51:41I think the most important thing we can be doing is planting forests.
51:45We need to garden the planet.
51:47Gardening is the most important activity, I think.
51:51Years ago, I decided to go down to Tarkine Forest,
51:56only to find that not only are they deforesting these giant, giant trees,
52:03but they are also mining there.
52:05So I think that the works are kind of bringing attention to the wonder of this amazing place.
52:13And the Tarkine is one of the most important temperate rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere.
52:17Indigenous peoples always recognised how the stars were connected to the earth through their trees.
52:28Their cultures understood the importance of trees to link and make holistic our world.
52:36And I feel that very strongly myself.
52:40Look at this giant eucalyptus regnans in the Tarkine Forest.
52:45How they're tallest flowering gum trees in the world.
52:49And they're reaching right up into the sky.
52:52They create rain systems, of course.
52:55And then their roots, of course, go deep down into the earth.
52:58It's an amazing connection between sky and earth.
53:01My works are urging us to look at these incredible places and bring attention to them,
53:15and the importance for saving them.
53:18I'm wanting people to just fall in love with plants.
53:21Ready to turn that inspiration into action?
53:36Time to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.
53:40Here's your jobs for the weekend.
53:41In cool climates, it's the perfect time to plant bare-rooted fruit trees and roses while the plants are dormant.
53:54Sow snow peas now for a sweet spring harvest in about six to eight weeks' time.
54:01Why not try a tomacia?
54:03A high-performing native shrub that goes well in a cottage garden and will even grow under gum trees.
54:11In warm temperate areas, it's a good time to plant rhubarb or lift, divide and share your own clumps.
54:19Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants such as mulberries, roses and grapes.
54:25Simply snip off a 15cm long cutting a bit thicker than a pencil and stick it in a pot or in the ground.
54:33Take some time and get out in the bush to see the wild flowers.
54:37For an idea of how to plant cool season colour in your garden.
54:43In the subtropics, build a teepee and plant some climbing beans.
54:48Wellington wonder is a variety that can take the heat.
54:52Winter flowering camellias are in bloom.
54:55Cultivars of Camellia japonica like a shady spot, while Camellia sasanqua will take more sun.
55:01Stop feeding roses to encourage a winter slowdown, so they're ready for pruning in late July.
55:10Tropical gardeners have so many choices for veggies to grow now.
55:15Make the most of the many options.
55:17Try anything from artichokes to zucchini.
55:19Consider a hedge of heliconia or crab's claw.
55:25Different varieties can grow from one to four metres tall.
55:29And their stunning pendulous flower would brighten any garden.
55:33Kapok, Cocklasperm and Fraserae are flowering, which is a sign that freshwater crocodiles are laying their eggs.
55:41In arid zones, plant a vine now to provide shade when the hot season hits.
55:48A grapevine will also offer some summer fruit.
55:51Aloes are awesome for winter colour.
55:54But avoid the candelabra aloe, aloe arborescens, which can be a weed in warmer areas.
56:00Try growing a turkey bush, also known as Calitrix extipulata, or Manbarnda.
56:10This small shrub has papery pink flowers from May to August and has many traditional uses.
56:17Have fun out there this weekend, gardeners.
56:20And don't forget, you can always catch up on Miss GA episodes on iview anytime.
56:31Well, I hope you've enjoyed this week's show.
56:35And whether your garden is big, small or in between, now's the time to get out there and get amongst it.
56:43There's so much to love and learn when you're surrounded by plants.
56:48Here's what we've got for you next week.
56:52I'm on the Sunshine Coast at an annual Indigenous cultural celebration of the amazing and iconic bunya tree.
56:59And the incredible nuts it produces.
57:03We head to Dubbo to visit a nursery growing plants and skills for the local community.
57:08And I'm visiting the Beelieu Regional Park in the southern suburbs of Perth to learn about the Noongar six seasons.
57:15This actually would be a source of food that you would be eating around this time.
57:19And then you'd be moving through country and then moving on to the next season.
57:22Jive Challenge
57:26Jive Challenge
57:28Councilies
57:29Jive Challenge
57:32ESE
57:33clapper