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  • 6 weeks ago
Gardening Australia 2025 Episode 25
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00:00WHOOP!
00:06Hey!
00:20Hey, buddy.
00:30Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36It's the end of the week and that means one thing, gardening time.
00:41We've got all the stories you need to reset, reconnect with the natural world
00:46and prepare yourself for a full weekend getting stuck into it.
00:51Here's what's coming up.
00:55If you're wanting a bounty from your fruit trees,
00:58now is the time to set them up for success.
01:02I'm visiting the mind-blowing Melbourne orchid spectacular.
01:06It's an absolute celebration of one of the biggest plant families on the planet.
01:12I'm going to show you how to divide and repot a rare butterfly hippiastrum,
01:16creating more plants for your patch or to share with friends.
01:19And I'm dropping in to meet a home gardener who for the past 30 years
01:24has been creating a colourful and textural garden,
01:28a palette from which to draw inspiration for her art practice.
01:39Today, I'm checking out a couple of gardens that are really quite different in size and style.
01:45But the central idea is the same.
01:47Take a beautiful landscape and recreate it in a garden using some of the best native plants.
02:01My first stop is this stunner in the Sydney suburb of Northbridge.
02:06And while this place might seem like a million miles from the hustle and bustle,
02:11I'm less than 10km from the CBD.
02:14You can almost feel the climate change, can't you, as you come under the fronds.
02:18Lindsay Walters is the brains behind this leafy homely haven.
02:23Designed and planted from scratch, work started on this garden over 10 years ago.
02:28We wanted to recreate the landscape that was across the bay and we wanted to recreate that here.
02:42And we didn't want boundaries, we wanted to just flow into the bush either side.
02:46That was pretty much the brief.
02:54How did you go about building up the layers once you started?
02:58This was all weeds.
03:00It just completely covered the whole block.
03:02A lot of the weeds and things, we actually chopped them off,
03:04but kept the roots so we didn't get great leaching and runoff.
03:08We really needed to bind the soil because it's such a sloping site.
03:12So we got the grasses and things like Normandra and Dianella,
03:15and then they bound the soil.
03:18And then we were able to start developing it from there.
03:21Next step was to get some tree ferns in.
03:24So the Cyatheas, which are a local endemic species,
03:27and they're fast growers, so they grew up quickly.
03:30And they gave us the height and they also gave us the coverage.
03:34They'll take full sun.
03:36So they gave us some shade below.
03:38It felt like we were actually part of the landscape then.
03:41So once we got that shade, we were able to do things like
03:44Blechtum ferns and birds' nest ferns.
03:47When we got some Dixonias in, then the Dixonia tree fern,
03:51that doesn't handle that hot sun.
03:56Now we're up close to the beautiful Angophoras.
04:15I love these trees.
04:16Yeah, they're beautiful, aren't they?
04:26What principles and design ideas do you think gardeners
04:29could take away from what you've done here?
04:31I think that the main principle here is depth.
04:34So it's got a rock face, and then it drops in a sheer drop,
04:38and that's a really steep slope.
04:40And that area's small.
04:41So what we've done is we've planted in the foreground,
04:45and then you're looking through something,
04:47so we've got that vertical presence.
04:49So looking through those trees is way more important
04:52than actually hitting the view straight away.
04:54It's more interesting and it gives us more depth.
04:57And then plant selection, I mean,
04:58that's really been the key design centrepiece, hasn't it?
05:03It has, and the plant selection, the plants do it themselves.
05:07To mirror the bushland from across the waterway,
05:10and put that idea here so that the plants really are local,
05:14endemic where we could.
05:16They're literally family. They know how to hang out together.
05:18That's for sure. That's for sure.
05:25Lindsay and I are now leaving Northbridge
05:27and visiting a garden on another scale entirely,
05:31in Sydney's southeastern suburbs.
05:40Lindsay's design for this front garden draws inspiration
05:46from a different landscape, combining exotics with native plants.
05:51So this is the place. This is the one.
05:53Oh, yeah. The owner is Pete Hannigan.
05:55The design we wanted after a visit to Japan
05:58was to have a Japanese-style garden.
06:03We wanted to tweak it to the Australian style
06:05and introduce things like xanthorias,
06:07and it's just worked perfectly.
06:09It's a shrunken-down landscape,
06:11so it's a mini-scape of a big scene,
06:14and we've put it into a really small space.
06:16We wanted it to be playful and engaging
06:19and delight the neighbourhood, I think.
06:20I've wanted to do this from the time I got here.
06:24Just get down and feel this sclerampus
06:28and actually give it a hug.
06:30Oh, that's so nice.
06:33It's so soft. You want to hug it.
06:35You're like everyone.
06:36Everyone who comes past wants to do exactly the same thing.
06:39Really? And often do.
06:42Work on the garden started less than a year ago.
06:45It's a small space,
06:46and we didn't want it to be too complicated or complex.
06:49So it's all mounded.
06:50It's got the big boulders in it,
06:52and at the back then we've got the stand of birches there,
06:56and that is like a forest at the back of the mini-landscape.
07:00So what sort of similarities of design do you see here
07:05when you compare that to the Northbridge garden?
07:08I think if you look at the two gardens,
07:10the real similarity again is achieving depth.
07:14This is tricky space to achieve the depth because it's so tiny.
07:17So to get the depth again,
07:19we've got the planting in the forefront of the grass trees.
07:23We're looking through that to the next element,
07:25to the next element and to the next element.
07:28And then we're using the boulders and the mounds in the back
07:32to give us that depth at the back.
07:34It's not a lot of plants, but your eye gets caught and it weaves you through.
07:39Oh, I'm pleased you noticed that, yeah.
07:42And all the time you've got that movement in the middle of the water.
07:50Pete loves everything about the design of the front garden.
07:54Japanese gardens I find really serene,
07:56and we've got that feel completely.
07:59And there's natives in there that I hadn't come across before,
08:01and we've used in there like the gudenia and the native daisy.
08:05We've got a Mount Spurgeon pine in there,
08:07which is a particularly unusual tree from far north Queensland,
08:10and a really soft foliage,
08:12and you can have that contrasting against fescue.
08:14You know, plants that you wouldn't think about putting together
08:16and they just work beautifully.
08:18And I love how you've taken some of the plants here
08:21and then created this garden spine down the middle of the driveway.
08:26And the plants look amazing here.
08:27You can still park and get around and...
08:30It fully functions normal.
08:31We've transitioned from Japanese to good Aussie garden.
08:34And why would you want concrete when you can have this?
08:36The recycled timber driveway leads to the backyard,
08:40where Pete is growing his love of trees.
08:43Whoa! Look at this!
08:45It's so different to the front yard,
08:47but I feel like this is where you get to express your inner arborist.
08:51I've loved letting my tree imagination go wild here, Costa.
08:55A lot less planning went on out here.
08:57It's just one of every tree that I love.
08:59And a bottle tree.
09:00I mean, it's so nice to see something like that in a backyard.
09:04Yeah, exactly right.
09:05Can't be afraid of just trying different things,
09:07but you can get it in and it works.
09:16Today, I've had the privilege of visiting two gardens
09:19with very different personalities.
09:23But both are growing a range of Australian native plants
09:27worthy of a prime-time slot.
09:40Do carnivorous plants flower?
09:42Yes. Carnivores may be different in terms of what they eat,
09:46but they're still flowering plants and reproduced by seeds.
09:51Their flowers can take several years to develop,
09:54and they come in a range of colours.
09:56And typically, they're held on slender stems quite high above the foliage.
10:01That's so the carnivorous plant doesn't accidentally eat its pollinator.
10:06What are the tiny, white, fluffy-looking insects
10:09that are on some of my plants?
10:12They are actually little sap-sucking insects,
10:15and they collect in colonies up and down the really young stems
10:19of your plants in spring and summer.
10:21The sap is rising, they're sucking on that sap,
10:24and they really multiply quite quickly.
10:26The best thing to do is to give good ventilation to your plants,
10:30perhaps prune back a little bit where you see them most commonly.
10:34And also, I would use a horticultural oil on them.
10:37You'll find that they'll go away during the hot season, though.
10:41What exactly is blood and bone fertiliser?
10:43Well, this might sound a bit wild, but as the name suggests,
10:47blood and bone is made from by-products of the livestock industry.
10:51That's right.
10:52Dried blood, crushed bones, and sometimes even cow manure,
10:56all processed into a handy powder or pellet.
10:58It's packed with essential macronutrients, making it a superfood for most plants and soil types.
11:04And whether you're feeding flowers, veggies or trees, they will love the boost.
11:09That said, it's definitely not for everyone, particularly if you're a vegan.
11:14So keep that in mind.
11:15Now, it's a fantastic all-rounder feed that makes for a healthier, happier garden.
11:20So keep that in mind.
11:25Chamomile flowers have been used as an edible and medicinal herb for potentially thousands of years.
11:31It's one of the more common herbal teas, drunk for its soothing, calming properties.
11:36There are quite a few plants with the common name of chamomile, but there are two main species,
11:43Roman and German. Both are popular to plant. So what's the difference?
11:49Roman chamomile, chamomile and nobile, is a perennial that spreads with creeping roots
11:54to form a low mat. This is the one grown as a lawn substitute, but for low use areas only.
12:00You can also grow it as a ground cover or trailing down a rockery.
12:04It's great interspersed with other spreading herbs like thymes and marjorams for a fragrant
12:09foliage treat. German chamomile, machicaria chamomile, is an annual and has a much taller,
12:16looser form. It'll grow up to 60 centimetres. And while both flowers can be used in tea,
12:21these ones taste heaps better. You can also use the flowers as garnishes or in potpourri.
12:28Now, I have let this one get real leggy, but you can prevent this from happening by regular
12:33pruning with some secateurs or shearers and that'll keep it really compact and bushy.
12:38Both are reasonably frost free, as long as they have plenty of sun,
12:41are kept moist in hot periods and have decent drainage.
12:54Left to their own devices, some fruit trees will offer up a decent harvest each year.
12:59But if you follow the seasonal care plan, you'll give your trees the best chance to reward you with
13:06bumper crops. And it's now in the cooler months when your loppers and secateurs can do some important
13:13work. The branches of this satsuma plum tree are bare at the moment, so it's a good opportunity to
13:20have a close look and make changes where needed. I'm looking for where branches are overlapping or
13:27crowded. Removing the congestion will allow better sunlight penetration and air circulation within the
13:34canopy when the tree leafs up. And the result is better fruit. Removing the top branches is a sensible
13:42move. There's no point in the tree focusing energy in producing fruit that will be out of your reach.
13:48Be aware of the fruiting habit of the tree you're pruning. This plum flowers and therefore fruits
13:56off second year wood. So I want to make sure that I don't remove too many fruit bearing stems.
14:04But this dwarf mulberry fruits off new wood, so it's a bit more forgiving. You can see I've already
14:09gone pretty hard on this one. To take it back to the main structure and remove congestion. And the new
14:16shoots as well as the flowers that will become fruit are coming on nicely. Yum!
14:26I've also pruned back this kumquat hard.
14:31It's a special case. I relocated this tree from another part of the garden during what should have
14:36been mild conditions. But it was unseasonally hot for several weeks. The tree got really stressed and it
14:43died back. So I've pruned it back to where it's reshooting. Now thankfully so far there's no shoots
14:49coming from beneath the graft and that's a really positive sign and suggests that this should re-establish
14:55and be a success.
14:58Another task on the to-do list is to clear out weeds beneath trees that are prone to fruit fly,
15:04like this tree guava. Make sure there's no old fruit on the ground to reduce the chance of reinfestation.
15:12If you find some, bag it and bin it. Fruit trees are only as successful as their pollinators,
15:21so whatever we can do to attract more of them to the garden is a good thing. I've got three low-growing
15:27flowering shrubs here, the perennial, and they're absolute bee magnets. Euryops, salvia and ageratum.
15:40Most fruit trees, especially citrus, are heavy feeders, so fertilising ahead of spring growth
15:46is a must. Applying pelletised fertiliser now gives it time to break down and release the nutrients
15:53so the plants can make the most of it. And finally mulch to help keep the soil cool and moist during
16:00the hot months ahead. A 50 to 75 millimetre thick layer of lupin mulch will do the job nicely.
16:10This is just another instance where gardening can teach us a life lesson. Any success enjoyed out here
16:17can be traced back to the work put in weeks and months prior. I'm looking forward to enjoying the
16:22fruits of my labour come spring and summer. What is it about orchids? All that beauty seems to ignite
16:36a real fervour in those people who collect them. Well, Millie's checking out a show in Melbourne
16:42that takes this obsession to the next level.
16:53It's impossible not to be amazed by plants any time, but when you are at the biggest orchid show
17:00in the southern hemisphere, it is absolutely fantastic. It is such a diverse and beautiful
17:07plant family. And the people that grow these plants are just as amazing. So come and meet a few with me.
17:19There have been around 28,000 species of orchid described, which have broken into about 850 genera.
17:28For the orchid obsessive, there is so much to choose from.
17:31I've just gone to orchids recently. My auntie got me into them a couple of years ago and I thought,
17:37why not? Right. I can see the way your eyes are going a little bit wide, that you might be on this
17:42one-way pathway of orchid obsession, right? Yes. Once you start, you just keep going. Unreal.
17:48What is it do you think about orchids that brings so many people here? They are easy to grow. And also the
17:54flower, they last very long, not like the other flowers. It can last like two to three months.
17:59We just thought, oh, everything, yeah, every flower is so beautiful.
18:09Michael Coker of the Orchid Society's Council of Victoria has been growing orchids since he was
18:15eight years old. Orchids come from all over the planet. Yeah, well, every continent except Antarctica.
18:21And you're right in terms of climates from absolutely freezing conditions to boiling hot.
18:26So you've got to be very careful what orchid you think about purchasing. But I think if you get the
18:30fundamental conditions for growing orchids correct, you can grow a lot more than you think. I like
18:36growing particularly Pathypedalums, which are the slipper orchids. Pathypedalums are the Asian slipper
18:40orchids. Phragmapediums are the American slipper orchids. What is it about orchid people? I think a lot of
18:47orchid people are fairly obsessed with the hobby. And there's nothing wrong with that. I certainly are
18:51particularly obsessed by it. And there is such variety in orchids in terms of colours, shapes,
18:57sizes, flowering seasons, climatic conditions, even the foliage of some of them is really attractive,
19:04that there is always going to be something new and different that you can add to your collection.
19:08Because 28,000 species, you can't have all of them. Hundreds of thousands of hybrids, you can't
19:13have all of them either. And with all the breeding going on, there will always be new and interesting
19:17things and challenging things that people can add to their collections. Now Millie, this is one of
19:23my favourite plants in the show here. I've had this for about 12 years. It's Cilogyny usatana,
19:29comes from South East Asia. And the most interesting thing about it is that on the flower stems,
19:34you'll see the zigzags on them. And each one of those little nodes is a previous flower. It's about
19:40one flower per month on each stem. So it's a beautiful looking plant, very sculptural. And even the
19:46flowers themselves have that lovely dark labellum, which I think is certainly one of the nicest of
19:51the Cilogenes. It's so incredible. I've seen Cilogenes before, but always with flowers up amongst the foliage.
20:00And this is the Paphiopetalum, am I saying it right? Yes, you are absolutely right.
20:05They're unbelievable, really. I mean, the size of that flower is almost the size of a hand, isn't it?
20:10Absolutely, yes. They've been breeding these since the late 1890s, and they've got generation upon
20:15generation upon generation, and they're getting up to ones that actually don't resemble the underlying
20:19species at all. Right, it's like dogs. They end up looking quite amazing. Well,
20:24bulldogs is the other name for this type of Paphiopetalum. It is. That makes complete sense.
20:29The bulldog of the orchid world. I love it. Absolutely.
20:33And while the exotics grab the limelight, there are also many native Australian orchids,
20:38including these gorgeous epiphytes, grown by Fran Byrne Dimos.
20:44I like to grow the dendocs, the bridal veils, because they're easy.
20:49So, dendocs, I love the way that we get all of these little shortenings. Dendrobiums?
20:54Dendrobium, docrilia. And docrilias. So, they're some of the epiphytic
20:58kind of tree-dwelling species? Yes. Coastal. You'll see them down at sea level,
21:03and they occur anywhere from southern New South Wales all the way up north to Cape York.
21:09I can see, as well as these amazing epiphytic orchids, there's also lots of those terrestrial
21:14ones, but they're harder to grow. They're a lot harder to grow. They need to be repotted every
21:18couple of years. They need to microlyse of fungi to help them flower. That's something I prefer to
21:24go visit in the wild. They're hard work. Right. So, if you want to have a go at some
21:29Australian native orchids, look up. Yeah, look up. And you'll see these.
21:34They're gorgeous. Yeah, give one a go. They don't take up that much room.
21:37Give one a go. You'll end up with a hundred. A thousand.
21:53The colour of this, it is an absolute outrage. You think so? Yeah.
21:57Clive Halls grows rare, cool-climate Mazdivalia orchids at his nursery in Victoria's Yarra Valley.
22:04Have you seen these before? I've seen a handful before, but not this variety of colour. Yeah.
22:09This variety here is bred from one called Macapichu. That comes from up in the Andes.
22:14So, they're a high-altitude orchid. Does that mean they can take cooler temperatures? Yeah, it does.
22:19They grow very well in Victoria, Tasmania. Not so happy when you get them up into a warmer climate.
22:24But generally speaking, they're quite an adaptable little plant.
22:28And what is it that you personally love about them? I mean, you went in looking for something
22:33as a nurseryman that was a bit different, but it's gone past that, hasn't it?
22:37Yes, it has. Yeah. Orchids are definitely a bit of a disease anyway. Once you catch it, you've caught it.
22:43How long have you been breeding orchids?
22:44Well, I started growing orchids when I was 16. I'm 77. Wow.
22:51When you breed Mazdivalias, you've got no idea really what you're going to get. You cross this red one
22:56with a yellow one, and you don't get orange ones. You get a whole mix of colours. And you actually can
23:03produce this colour one. Now, what do you think of that, Millie? That is quite incredible. Do you like it?
23:09It's lovely. Would you like me to name it after you? This one's looking for a name. It's looking
23:14for a name. It's looking for a name. I only have the parents there on that label. So, um, Millie Ross,
23:20we'd name this Mazdivalia after you. Wow. That is, that's quite humbling, I've got to say.
23:27We've had lots of purples, oranges, but this colour with this sort of blush pink,
23:32the little bit of a stripe up the middle is something completely different. And you're something
23:36completely different. The orchid that might make you blush. Wow. I'll take that. Thank you, Clive.
23:42Thank you. That's very lovely.
23:51Oh, wow. Oh, wow.
23:55It's incredible. Margaret Thomas is one of the judges tasked with choosing the best
24:00of the bunch. This is extremely special. This is the grand champion of the whole show.
24:06Of the whole show. Yeah. Out of all the orchids, all well done, beautifully presented,
24:11but this one is the grand champion.
24:15It makes you get goosebumps, I think. It competes against all the others.
24:19All the others, all the genera as well, not just cymbidiums. And its name, Karaki Glowing,
24:25it absolutely is glowing. That's correct. So good name, good choice. The colour contrast,
24:30I think it's just fabulous. The red with the yellow knocks it off. I think it's beautiful,
24:33absolutely beautiful. Why do you keep coming back to orchid shows? Like, what is it about orchids for you?
24:39I just love them. They make me feel good. I've got something to do every day.
24:44Yeah, they just give you a life balance, I think, too, as well. Yeah, they really do. I think they're
24:49lovely. And I just, I'd be lost without them. I really would be lost without them. Yeah.
25:07What an absolute treat to spend a day amongst such passionate plant people. There's no
25:14doubt that orchids are completely intoxicating. Whether it's these beautiful big flowering stems,
25:19those gorgeous little natives, or this Mazdavillia millii, they are all truly unique.
25:44I'm going to show you how to divide and repot a rare butterfly Hippiastrum,
25:50creating more plants for your patch or to share with friends. Hippiastrum is a genus in the family
25:56Amarilla daisy, with around 90 species and more than 600 hybrids. It's native to tropical regions in
26:02Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. Hippiastrum is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant with large,
26:09trumpet-shaped flowers featuring a variety of patterns. They're closely related to the popular
26:15Belladonna lilies, or Amaryllis. Hippies are happiest when they're planted high, and their
26:21bulb necks protrude above the surface of the soil, soaking up the sunshine. They make excellent
26:26potted plants for sunny spots. This is the evergreen butterfly Hippiastrum. And while it's a bulb,
26:33it's also an endangered epiphytic species, which was first discovered in 1997, growing in trees in
26:39southern Brazil. This gorgeous plant is a highly sought-after addition to any collection, but it's
26:45rarely found in nurseries, which makes it a wonderful gift for plant-loving friends. Eye-catching large
26:51blooms sit proudly on tall stems, like butterflies, and their pale green petals feature stunning stripes
26:56of deep maroon. This evergreen butterfly Hippiastrum is bursting out of its pot, so it's time to divide
27:03the bulbs and make new plants. Carefully remove the Hippiastrum from its pot. Gently pull away some of
27:11the potting media so that you can see what you're dealing with. You can see here the roots are matted,
27:16and the potting media is spent. It's dry, and it needs refreshing. This one is currently in flower and
27:23bud, so dividing it now means I can give the new plants to my friends in flower. But you can also
27:28divide these plants when they're finished flowering. Examine the large mother bulb at the centre and the
27:35smaller offsets, or daughter bulbs, surrounding it. These offsets are what we want to separate for new
27:41plants. Gently pry and wriggle the offsets away from the parent bulb, but be careful not to damage the
27:47attachment. An old bread knife is ideal for this task because it has a serrated edge to tackle
27:53tougher roots. Be gentle so you don't damage the bulbs. As you separate each offset, untangle any
28:02roots that may be intertwined. If necessary, you can trim the roots slightly to make potting up easier.
28:11I'm potting each offset into individual terracotta pots, and I'm using a chunky free draining potting
28:16mix which is ideal for epiphytes as they prefer a well-drained environment.
28:21And this scoop trowel is handy for moving large amounts of soil,
28:24which is helpful when you're potting or transplanting.
28:32You can use this technique with any hippiastrum or amaryllis,
28:35and although daffodils and jonquils aren't related,
28:38they will benefit from dividing using the same method.
28:43And as rare as this plant is, it's surprisingly vigorous and easy to look after.
28:48It thrives in full sun and loves an annual hit of fertiliser.
28:53After potting, water each bulb to help settle the roots and promote healthy growth.
28:58Now that you've successfully divided your hippie, you'll have several new plants on hand.
29:04Sharing these unique butterfly blooms with friends is a wonderful way to share the joy
29:09of gardening.
29:10Still to come on Gardening Australia, Sophie keeps her olives on the straight and narrow.
29:18Clarence goes west.
29:19And we meet a dedicated duo of cacti and succulent growers.
29:33I don't know about you, but kicking back in a garden,
29:37indulging in a little artistic expression sounds like a pretty good way to spend your spare time.
29:44Well, Gerry's meeting up with a gardener who's knocking it out of the park.
29:48I'm in Mitchelton, a suburb in north-western Brisbane.
29:58It's home to artist Kerry Hardy, where for the past 30 years, she's been adding vibrant colour
30:05and rich texture to her garden to draw inspiration.
30:09I love purple, I must say. Oh look at this, we have purple, we have purple, we have purple. I just,
30:19yeah I know, I know. I love colour and I just love looking out and seeing colour.
30:26You have a lot of seasonal colour in your garden as well. Yes, waiting for things to flower in spring.
30:32So in winter, I will put lots of pots around with colour in them, just to make it feel nice and
30:38and just for for me to enjoy myself really. And all in eye-catching locations, they're quite
30:45strategic. I think it's the art eye. I'm putting a bowl of yellow flowers, you know, I've got my blue
30:52plates, you know, they're complementary colours on the colour wheel. There's a crossover, isn't there,
30:56between art and the garden. This has been your home for 30 years. Yes, we moved here when my oldest
31:06sun wasn't even one. So right at the beginning when you bought the place, was there a garden
31:12here at all? No, there was nothing. And there was a mango tree, there was a Queensland nut tree,
31:19a locut tree and that was it for the backyard. And in the front yard there was one tree and that was
31:26a tipicina. So the house being very symmetrical, I decided that if there's a tipicina on one side,
31:33there'll be a tipicina on the other side. So I've kind of done the gardens in that way,
31:37with the symmetry of the house at the front. Kerry's character Queenslander sits on an 800 square
31:45metre block, much of that dedicated to the garden, which features winding paths and rambling garden beds
31:52plants and art. I've tried to create little garden rooms by hanging some of my pottery plates. You
32:00can just come and sit in any space and feel like you're in another room of the house. I am loving my
32:07blue sage at the moment because I know it's about to burst into flower and I've created walls of it,
32:16which is really nice. And my wisteria, I think. What a lovely spot for a wisteria. Oh, it's beautiful,
32:23Gerry. In winter, it lets the warmth of the sun in and you've got the blue sky. In a few weeks time,
32:30it starts to get the little puffs for the flowers. And then by summer, all the foliage is giving us a
32:35beautiful shady area. Well, it's a lovely spot to sit down and smell the bloom. Oh, it sure is.
32:40And of course, the flowers. Hardy and easy to propagate cottage filler plants like geraniums,
32:51salvias and pentas all contribute to the overall high colour scheme. You've got a lot of coleus,
33:00coleus caninus all around the garden. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Which, thank you, Gerry,
33:06for telling me what it really is. I've got a cutting from a lady at Stanthorpe 25 years ago.
33:16It has been one of the most robust plants in the garden. If ever I want to fill a hole,
33:22I just take a few pieces off and stick them in the ground because it's easy to pull out if you don't
33:27want it as well. Kerry started out as a potter 35 years ago and creativity runs in the family. Your
33:36family's artwork is incorporated in the garden around the pool area. Yes. So I handmade all the
33:44tiles that would go in between the terracotta pavers and we all painted a few tiles and they're still
33:50a lovely memory of that time. But she discovered the joy of watercolours five years ago by chance.
33:58My mum was very creative. She did watercolour painting for over 70 years. She wanted to do a
34:06workshop. And I said, look, well, I'm happy to keep you company. And I absolutely loved it. And I've
34:11never looked back. I won't go on a holiday without a palette, a brush roll and some paper. If I've got
34:20half an hour before I need to go out anywhere, there I am doing a painting of what I've seen that day.
34:25I just love it. And there's one tree here which holds a special place in Kerry's heart.
34:32Over 20 years ago, I did lose my husband and a group of friends presented me with a jacaranda.
34:39And now from every room in the house, I can see that tree. And it's now leaving a beautiful carpet,
34:46purple, of course, my favourite colour. In October, the first year we had it, I thought it was
34:52significant because he only had three flowers on it and I had three children. And I thought,
34:56oh, that was a bit special, you know. After Kerry fell in love with painting,
35:04she left her day job of 42 years and committed to running watercolour classes in her beloved garden
35:12for the public six days a week. They all say that coming here to the garden, it just transports
35:19them to another place. They just find it really relaxing to be painting in this environment.
35:26Often people will walk down the path with a handful of cuttings from the garden on their way home.
35:32I think they've all got my common plants here. Every student's probably got them growing in their garden now.
35:43I probably always do a bit of a roam of the garden before I go into my art studio every day,
35:49just to see what's happening, what's changed since yesterday.
35:53You've managed to incorporate your professional work into your life and this home here. It's quite a feat.
36:01Oh, I'm so lucky. I really am, you know. Oh, I'm going to cry now. I do feel so lucky.
36:10It's, yeah, to be able to share your love of art with people and bring people together, it's very good.
36:19The olive is a declared weed in South Australia, but you can grow them in the home garden.
36:35Because they are so suited to our Mediterranean-like climate, they can self-seed and thrive in natural
36:42ecosystems and even more so in disturbed areas such as paddocks. They compete with native shrub
36:49and trees and in olive groves. You'll often find the understory is bare of ground covers and grasses
36:56and this can lead to soil erosion. Feral olive populations are boosted by garden and landscape
37:03plantings of olives because their seeds are spread by animals like birds, possums and rats.
37:09But there are a few things you can do to stop their spread and the first is to eat them. Harvest them as
37:16soon as they are ripe or earlier if you want firm green ones. Use wildlife friendly netting to stop
37:23the fruit from being taken. You can also trim your plants to keep them compact which also makes them
37:28easier to harvest. In this case, I'm pruning this olive to be a topiary so I'm going to keep it where I can
37:35manage it. There are also more compact cultivars and some that are sterile and don't fruit at all.
37:42Finally, make sure that you pick up and bin any fallen fruit so that the olive doesn't become a weedy problem.
37:55Seriously, who hasn't looked at those stunning vistas of West Australian wildflowers
38:01and thought, I want a piece of that at my place? Well, Clarence is here to make those dreams come true.
38:11There is nothing more awe-inspiring for gardeners than the Western Australian wildflower season.
38:17Ephemeral beauty as far as the eye can see, stretching to the horizon. WA wildflowers are
38:23renowned for their vibrant colours and unique flower forms. Feather tops, daisies, pea flowers and
38:29fairy rings. They love hot, arid desert conditions and grow in rusty red sand. But if you can't make
38:36it to WA, why not create a pot for your place? Growing these wildflowers in gardens in the eastern states
38:45with higher humidity, higher rainfall and heavier soils can present some challenges. But they are
38:51well suited to growing in pots, which can recreate their desert home by controlling water levels and
38:57preventing over-watering. I'm going to create a wildflower combo, a burst of the West's natural
39:03beauty which will also attract pollinators like birds and butterflies to your garden.
39:08Start by selecting a suitable pot. Now it should be at least 50 centimetres wide. You don't have to buy
39:16a new one. Have a look around to see if there's anything you can recycle at your place. It is
39:21important that whatever you choose will drain well. This old tub is a great match for this bushland
39:28setting and the rusted out bottom will provide added drainage. You'll also need a native potting mix.
39:38And as desert wildflowers love sandy soil, I'm adding horticultural sand to the mix.
39:43Perlite or vermiculite will work just as well and it will improve drainage even more. I generally use a 50-50 mix.
39:53And now to the wildflowers themselves. I have an absolute smorgasbord at my fingertips. I am so happy.
40:00This is Mullamulla. It's a native perennial that grows in truly harsh conditions.
40:05And although it's only short-lived, it produces absolutely stunning blooms.
40:11It's a fleshy type plant that contains a huge amount of moisture. This variety is called
40:16Tailotus matilda, which features feathery lilac purple flowers on long strong stems.
40:22Removing spent flowers will encourage a new flush of growth.
40:25Now a WA perennial that needs no introduction is kangaroo paw. But did you know that dwarf paws
40:36grow better in pots? This pink kangaroo paw, called pearl, is super short with branching stems.
40:43Profuse bird-attracting flowers put on a brilliant show and are outstanding in a pot.
40:49Now when these flowers are spent, just remove the flower stem and the leaf fan close to the ground.
40:54You'll be rewarded with a bunch more blooms. Bear in mind these dwarf varieties don't last forever.
41:00So in a couple of years you will need to replace them. A close relative of the kangaroo paw is the genus
41:06Conostylus. It's a perennial herb with grass-like leaves, underground rhizomes. It's also known as the coneflower.
41:13All species are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. This one is Conostylus settergera,
41:21lemon lights, and it loves dry summers and a sunny spot. Their diminutive size can often get lost in
41:27a garden, so it's better to showcase them in pots. This is Bractiantha bractiata, the paper daisy.
41:34Flowers best in a sunny spot and it loves good drainage.
41:37Now every pot needs a spillover, something to soften the edges. Now these aren't from WA,
41:44but they will do the job nicely. A bit of contrast with the colour and they'll make it really pop.
41:50This Brachyscombe Hybrid is Magenta Bliss. Its fine foliage is versatile and adaptable,
41:56and it flowers most of the year. To encourage new flowers and extend their life expectancy,
42:01shear them back to half their size after flowering.
42:04Once you've planted out your pot, place it in full sun somewhere front and centre where you can admire
42:11the blooms and water in well. Then water sparingly and apply a controlled release fertilizer for native
42:17flowers once a year. In a few weeks, these plants will fill out the pot. Tip pruning finished flowers
42:24will ensure further flushes and a longer life expectancy. This colourful combo should last a few
42:30years at the very least. Check it out. The rusty old tub turned into a beautiful pot of Western Australian
42:38wildflowers that will bring joy to both you and your pollinators.
42:52one-who's, and a day before the pug went through to warm up and dry the lotion.
43:04onesia
43:07andame
43:10pan
44:10Some plant passions consume entire families and can span generations.
44:22When that happens, you can end up with a plant collection that's grown over decades,
44:28giving you the time to appreciate the full potential some plants have.
44:33Hamilton's Wilder Cacti is in a little hamlet called Landilo, approximately 50 kilometres
44:57from Sydney, and we're at the foot of the Blue Mountains, head west.
45:06These are looking good, Mum.
45:08Yeah, they are looking good, considering they've been sitting in the sun.
45:11Where are you going to put those?
45:12My name is Kim Hamilton.
45:15I run the nursery.
45:16I do just about everything.
45:19Kim is my daughter.
45:21Back down a little bit.
45:23Some of those might go here.
45:25I'm April Hamilton.
45:27I'm basically retired.
45:30Other than that, I just help Kim as much as I possibly can.
45:34Oh, a little packy.
45:38The main things we've grown here over the years is cactus and succulents.
45:42We are, and we were, a real family business.
45:53Mum and Dad started it in the backyard of a normal house block in Fairfield West.
45:59In 1973, we built a nine-by-six glass house, went out the next weekend and filled it up
46:08with a two-inch pot of cactus and succulents.
46:14So from then, that glass house just kept growing.
46:18Each time we moved, it got bigger.
46:22Mum and Dad worked together for all of their life, basically, until Dad passed away.
46:28My husband, Kevin, he was very much involved, and we ran the nursery together.
46:35He got cancer.
46:38And I lost him.
46:40So, yes, that's my darling husband.
46:45We were married for 57 years.
46:51I do have a few plants that remind me of Dad, that he grew from seed.
46:57A couple of those plants are in the genus Copiapoa, which are native of Chile in the Atacama Desert.
47:05But lovely plants, very old plants.
47:09Cacti have spines and succulents have thorns.
47:18They use this to help catch water.
47:21These are also defence modifications to stop animals from eating the plants.
47:28I can't remember them ever telling us not to touch spiky plants.
47:31I think we learnt that along the way.
47:35You know, kids learn really quick.
47:40If you love them, you don't mind getting spines in your fingers.
47:44If you hate them, that's the one thing you hate the most.
47:48Cactis and succulents like a lot of light.
47:55It doesn't necessarily have to be full sun.
48:00In some cases, it's probably better not to be in the fall, particularly afternoon sun.
48:09Some cacti have hair.
48:12This is because they grow at altitude and they can be covered in snow during winter.
48:18And they need insulation from the cool weather.
48:22And others have hair because they need insulation from the heat.
48:26Lithops are a succulent plant where they grow in their natural habitat.
48:35They grow amongst other rocks.
48:38And because of the way they grow, when it's hot, they pull themselves down into the ground.
48:45So a common name for lithops is living stones.
48:50They're amazing.
48:51We have grown a lot of these over the years in the nursery.
48:58This plant has flowered.
49:01It's a fairly old plant, as you can see by the size of it.
49:05Now, these are seed pods.
49:08Where they grow in their own habitat, the rain hits the seed pod and washes the seed out.
49:15Out of each flower, you might get up to, I'm guessing, about 100 seed.
49:22So we've never really stopped to count them.
49:26They're too tiny.
49:28Kevin, my husband, he wouldn't sow seed on a windy day because half of it would finish up in Penrith.
49:34So he used to be very careful on the day that he was sowing particularly lithops seed.
49:43Make sure it's dry.
49:45You can see it's moving on the plate.
49:48This is the mix.
49:49It's very open and very free-draining.
49:53That needs a little bit of moisture.
49:55And probably anything from one week to about a month, we'll have some little babies popping up in there.
50:12I can still remember my first cactus, which was an astrophytum.
50:19I still have it.
50:20It doesn't look real good.
50:22It's had a hard life.
50:23It's, I mean, it's 50 years old.
50:27It's an astrophytum myriac stigma.
50:31Though I've had this since I was seven years old.
50:34You certainly wouldn't put it in any cactus shows.
50:36It wouldn't win.
50:37Although it might win Ugliest Survivor.
50:39We used to have a category in the show called Ugliest Survivor.
50:43But other than that, it still flowers for me.
50:47Yeah, it does well.
50:48Oh, I've got Kim around all the time, who I am very proud of.
50:55Okay, so we need to chop this.
50:57I need to get the saw in.
50:58She's done a lot for the nursery.
51:02She's done a lot for the Cactus Society.
51:05She's done a lot for the Royal Horticulture Society.
51:10She's a qualified judge for them.
51:13The people you meet, I think that's more, to me, that's a hell of a lot more than sometimes the plants.
51:20The lifelong friends I've made for collecting cacti, it's just unbelievable.
51:25Look at the spines coming on that.
51:28You can really tell.
51:29You've done these well.
51:31I've propagated a lot of that this year.
51:33So I'm very pleased with this Mertillo cactus monstrous variegated plant.
51:38My goodness, that has done well.
51:40That's looking good.
51:40Yes, very weird.
51:42Ian Hay is a friend of ours.
51:46When I originally heard of him, he lived in Canberra.
51:50And he would bring up a carload of plants for the cactus shows and would scoop all the prizes.
51:58He lives in Woolloomooloo and can't physically have his plants there.
52:04So he has a collection out here.
52:06Oh, it's lovely to see the noto cactus flowering.
52:09Always showy.
52:10Yes, they're fabulous, aren't they?
52:11Yeah, always.
52:13Yes, I love to cross-pollinate them and get some seed.
52:16I love it here.
52:17I've always collected the most colourful plants that I can get.
52:22And I collect every genus I can get my hands on.
52:26We actually share a lot of knowledge together.
52:31It's just amazing what you can learn.
52:34They're finding new species every day.
52:47Guess what?
53:00Your jobs for the weekend are here and raring to go.
53:04Time to roll up your sleeves.
53:05Cool temperate gardeners, it's time to soak carrots into light, fluffy, well-prepared soil.
53:17Sow seeds direct or use seed tape and you'll be chomping on baby carrots from October.
53:23Spring bulbs like daffodils and jonquils have begun flowering, so pick a few to enjoy inside.
53:30Add a little apple cider vinegar to the vase to prolong the life of your cut flowers.
53:36Bearing masses of bright purple pea-shaped flowers now is Hardenbergia violaceae.
53:42This tough native climber loves full sun and well-drained soil and is just perfect for hiding fences.
53:48Warm temperate gardeners find a glass house, hothouse or warm windowsill and sow early tomato seeds.
53:58Best varieties to plant now are KY1, Roma, Apollo and Rouge de Marmont.
54:04Sure, it's still winter, but now's the time to plant summer and autumn flowering bulbs and tubers
54:10like cannas, dahlias, liliums, hippiastrum, tuberose and norenes.
54:16To promote a spring flush, remove spent blooms on azaleas and camellias as new growth buds occur
54:24behind the flowers.
54:26Follow this with a feed of azalea and camellia fertiliser.
54:30In the subtropics, show summer flowering shrubs some love with a prune.
54:35Pruning and shaping a boutalon, bohenia and ratchia now will promote fab floriferous growth
54:41and a stunning summer show.
54:43Rejuvenate dull daylilies.
54:46Grab a garden fork, gently lift clumps from the ground, tease roots and split the clumps.
54:52Replant into prepared soil and they'll bounce away as the weather warms.
54:57If you dream of homegrown watermelon to enjoy over summer, find a sunny spot and sow seeds
55:03now into compost-rich soil.
55:06These marvellous melons take a while, but they're well worth the wait.
55:09In tropical gardens, tomato harvesting is in full swing and if you find yourself with
55:15a glut, why not look at making some pickles, preserves, sauces and semi-dried snacks from
55:22your homegrown goodies.
55:23It's time to make way for summer crops.
55:26Continue to strip spent winter veggies from garden beds as they start to lose vigour or
55:32bolt to seed and pop them into the compost.
55:36As you strip out beds, do a pH test, adding garden lime to beds that have a pH of less than
55:427 and gypsum to beds that have a pH of over 7.
55:46Arid gardeners get spring crops like leeks, spring onions and peas into the ground.
55:53Ensure soil is cultivated with some compost added and keep an eye out for pesky slugs and
55:58snails.
56:00For some spring and summer colour, why not plant some awesome annuals?
56:04Petunias and vincas are good to go now, as are marigolds, a colourful companion in the
56:09veggie patch.
56:11Mangolin, eucalyptus miniata and mandajek, grevillea teritifolia are flowering now, signifying
56:18the cool, dry, working season for the Kunwinjuku people of western Arnhem Land.
56:25Get out there this weekend, gardeners.
56:27There's so much to do at this time of the year.
56:30Need even more inspiration?
56:32Head to the GA YouTube channel for tons of tips and tricks.
56:39Well, that's it for this week.
56:44While I make room for the view, here's what you can look forward to next time.
56:51I'm going to take a clapped out old barbecue and turn it into one of the most useful things
56:56for the garden.
56:57It's easy and it's fun.
56:59Drought and water shortages are problems for a lot of gardeners.
57:03One solution is greywater reuse.
57:05I'll show you how to do it effectively and responsibly.
57:09And Hannah's going to show you her simple solution for putting the brakes on a slippery slope.
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