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Gardening Australia 2025 Episode 34
Transcript
00:00Hey!
00:06Hi!
00:12Ooh!
00:17Hey!
00:19Ooh.
00:20Hey, buddy.
00:22Hey!
00:23Hey!
00:30Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36Spring is in full flight and so are we.
00:40We've got everything you need to get motivated, inspired and ready to get stuck into the garden.
00:47Here's what's coming up.
00:50I'm going to introduce you to a crafty crop that you'll be surprised to see thriving in the subtropics.
00:57I've got a creative technique to enable you to cultivate even more plants, like epiphytes, that grow without soil.
01:05I'm meeting a couple with a passion for plants that has quite literally been handed down through the generations.
01:11And we meet an artist crafting her own personal sanctuary.
01:16I'm on Dharawal country in Grays Point, a small suburb about 30 kilometres south of Sydney.
01:32It's bordered by the Hacking River and the Royal National Park.
01:36It's an area of outstanding beauty, covering diverse ecosystems from open grasslands to coastal heathlands to temperate rainforests.
01:48Today I'm on the northern edge of what was the first declared national park in Australia.
01:54And I'm here to visit a garden cultivated to echo its temperate rainforest surrounds.
02:00Jim, this is absolutely spectacular.
02:09I love this landscape.
02:11It's a beautiful spot.
02:13The day we decided to get married, we got in the car and aimlessly drove south and actually ended up here.
02:17And we finally bought here and stayed.
02:19We love it.
02:20I can see why.
02:21The Angofras, my favourite tree, they just frame it perfectly.
02:28Yep.
02:29Well, as I said, one of the ideas I have about the garden is to sort of have a series of rooms and corridors and windows.
02:33So as you look out, you can see through various windows where the view is, you know, the river and the forest.
02:39And that just gives it a, you know, an extra feel, I think.
02:41So what was it like when you first came here?
02:44Well, it was very different, Costa, and why don't we go have a look?
02:47Yeah, I'd love to.
02:48When Jim and his wife Vicky moved to this 750 square metre property 32 years ago, the garden was unkempt and the sloping backyard was covered in one of the worst weeds of national significance, thriving under the canopy of existing Sydney red gums.
03:10The whole area here was thickly covered with lantana, you know, eight, ten metres high in places.
03:17And I decided it obviously had to go.
03:20I mean, we didn't know where the property entered for starters.
03:22So with an axe in one hand, a machete in the other and a saw in my third hand, I dived down off the cliff and I progressively cut it all away.
03:30And despite the doomsday predictions, it didn't come back.
03:34Good job.
03:35Yeah.
03:35So after we'd cleared the lantana, some of the first plants to come back were what I thought were odd little ferns.
03:43And we didn't really get to see exactly what they were because the local deer population would mow them down.
03:49We eventually kept the deer out by putting a fence up and the ferns turned out not to be little, but these things.
03:55So the big Saithia cooperi tree ferns, and of course some of them are, you know, ten metres high.
04:00They are huge.
04:01Yeah, this one here must be 20 metres.
04:04Yeah, absolutely.
04:05They're gorgeous.
04:05The canopy is spectacular.
04:10When you look at the pattern of the tree fern fronds, it has that repetition, that fractal of nature.
04:18And it's really relaxing to see that.
04:21I'm happy you noticed that costume because it fits in with my T-shirt with the great Mandelbrot who was important in developing the idea of fractal mathematics.
04:29So mathematics is everywhere, but it's certainly up there in the tree canopy, isn't it?
04:32It's amazing.
04:33I mean, they're crucial for making the microclimate down here, and it's changing.
04:37As they get bigger and taller and, you know, denser, the whole climate is changing.
04:43What were some of the other things you found as you cleared the land?
04:47One was a series of rockfalls, like the rocks behind us.
04:50So the whole area is literally several layers of sandstone.
04:54So that gave us a way of sort of surveying it, and I was able to work out where the paths would go.
05:00The only tree, literally, that was here now, that was here when I moved the lantana, was the New South Wales Christmas porch just behind us there.
05:09How have you managed to keep the weeds down to establish the garden?
05:15I always have this thing, what lands on the forest floor stays on the forest floor.
05:19We don't go buying packs of mulch.
05:21We get our own, but I guess a combination of the natural shading of the trees as they grew and the natural mulching keeps the weeds down.
05:30It behaves like a forest should behave.
05:33Mulch also keeps moisture in the soil, reducing the need to water.
05:38But Jim has installed misting jet sprays in parts of the garden to keep the more tender rainforest plants happy.
05:46So what trees have you added along the way?
05:48There's a big banksia integrafolia.
05:51That's the third generation of a tree that was in my dear mum's place where she still lived.
05:55I brought that down in a little pot, but that's now, goodness knows, 20 metres high.
05:59It's huge, always in flower.
06:00There's some acacias I put in, but not too many.
06:04The odd tea tree I put in, but mostly what's here has grown on its own.
06:09You know, the native palms, the native ferns, even the sandpaper fig over there,
06:13which is the dominant tree now in the area, was all not my doing, quite frankly, but very appreciated also.
06:21So, Jim, how long have you been a gardener?
06:25Costa, I think it goes back forever.
06:28I think I probably came out of the womb with a plant in my hand.
06:31But certainly there are photos of me in my very young childhood standing next to a little gardening plot that my parents gave me,
06:39and very proudly with my few little petunias and things, and I remember it fondly.
06:43Jim's a professor of medicine at Wollongong University and a renal physician based at Wollongong Hospital.
06:50I'm a big fan of science.
06:52I mean, you know, what do I do in my spare time?
06:55I'm a doctor.
06:55I look after patients with kidney disease, which I love doing, but I am a very big fan of nature.
07:00I'm a fan of science and chemistry, and if you really want a chemistry set and a science set to keep you, you know,
07:07forever mesmerised and enthralled, this is it.
07:10You know, you can't go past a natural setting like this.
07:13I actually adore watching how it works.
07:16You know, it's my joy.
07:20Closer to the house, where the land is much flatter, Jim has planted a mix of sun-loving exotics and natives,
07:27including cacti, proteas, wisteria, arbutalon and more.
07:35But Jim's absolute favourite are orchids.
07:39So one of the things I've done here is, being a really very keen orchid enthusiast,
07:46I've made a point of putting some dendrobium hybrids on this large rock here, this large sandstone boulder.
07:53The orchids are basically taken very well, and you can see the roots growing fairly aggressively over them,
07:57and they're stuck there, and they flower as they are.
07:59Jim's method for mounting an orchid on a sandstone rock is dead simple.
08:07You need a few tools.
08:08You need a hammer, some masonry nails, some thin wire, and of course, perhaps the most important ingredient, an orchid.
08:16We splay the roots, remove much of the medium.
08:20We place it on the rock.
08:23I'm just using some thin wire to secure the orchid.
08:26Attach to each of the nails across the root ball in the middle of the plant.
08:33Just place a bit of leaf mulch around the base of the plant, largely for aesthetics, and that's it.
08:38So when did you get involved with orchids?
08:43Do you know, I think I was probably about 15.
08:45I was mesmerised by these plants that looked, in some regards, like straggly bits of nothing,
08:49but had these unbelievably gorgeous, smelly flowers on them.
08:52And one of the things about orchids is once you get hooked, it's a disease that's incurable.
08:57And you're stuck with it lifelong, but you can do worse.
09:01And that's coming from a doctor saying that it's incurable.
09:03But it's a good disease to have and not be cured from, so probably the only one.
09:08For many of us, it would be an absolute dream to call a bush setting like this home.
09:15But Jim's doing things we all can do.
09:18Caring for country, creating a biodiverse garden for all creatures to thrive,
09:23and most of all, reaping the benefits of surrounding yourself with nature.
09:30And later in the program, Jim's showing me another one of his favourite parts of the garden,
09:36his shade house.
09:38Is it good or bad to water the leaves of plants?
09:49Well, an old wives' tale used to say that if you water the plant on a really hot day,
09:55those drops of water on the leaves would actually act like a magnifying glass and burn them.
10:00But that is not true.
10:01It's not unsafe, but it can encourage a lot of disease problems on different species,
10:07particularly food crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins.
10:11They all suffer fungal problems on the leaves if you water them.
10:15So water the ground, get that nice and deep where the roots are, that's where the plant needs it.
10:20And you're much less likely to have any other problems that can be caused by watering the leaves.
10:25Will pest oil control citrus leaf miner?
10:29By itself, it won't.
10:30I'll tell you why.
10:31Citrus leaf miner is a little grub that gets under the surface of the leaf and it causes these squiggly lines, the leaf to distort and it can stunt the growth of a plant.
10:41So if you were to spray this with a pest oil, which acts by smothering a pest and suffocating it, you won't actually get contact with the grub because it's protected by the surface of the leaf.
10:51So what you have to do is prune off all of the damaged material and bin it.
10:56Then you spray the pest oil over the surface so any new growth is just slightly covered with the oil.
11:02And that deters the night flying moth from laying her eggs and reinfecting the plant.
11:08How can I control garlic rust?
11:11Garlic rust is a fungal airborne disease that'll rip through your garlic crop and other alliums like chives, leeks and onions.
11:19It'll first show up on the lower side of the leaf as a yellow or white splotch, quickly followed by orange rusty bumps.
11:26The way to manage it is to remove those leaves as quickly as possible and bin them.
11:30Keep harvesting those impacted leaves throughout the season, nursing it through to harvest day where you'll still get a decent yield.
11:36Importantly, never compost these impacted leaves because you'll spread that disease and source a fresh batch of clothes for planting next season.
11:45So you can grow healthy, beautiful garlic.
11:48When you're growing vegetables, you'll find that size doesn't matter.
11:56You can grow them in anything.
11:59I've used a tube stock crate in which to grow some carrots.
12:03It's not that deep.
12:04It's only about 10 centimetres deep.
12:06I've sown a taste of France.
12:08They're called Paris Market carrots.
12:11And it was about eight to ten weeks ago, so they're looking pretty good.
12:14They're so cute, little round ones.
12:16And they're really tasty.
12:17So these are nigh-on ready for harvesting.
12:23They're good.
12:24They're really good.
12:28Oh, look at that.
12:31Isn't that amazing?
12:33From that tiny container, no depth at all, and you've got all that.
12:37Now's the time to start off a new crop of carrots.
12:40And they're a cool season crop.
12:42So you could try them along with peas or coriander or salad greens, pea shoots, those kind of things.
12:49And in summer, the hotter season, you could try basil and chives.
12:53So here we go.
12:54Once you've harvested all these carrots, that potty mix can still be used if you revitalise it with a bit of fertiliser and compost.
13:04And then that whole thing, you can go and re-sow whatever you want into that area there.
13:09I've used this tube stock holder.
13:11It's a beauty because it's got drainage holes.
13:14And I've used a liner in there just so that the water collects a little bit but still drains through.
13:19You could use cardboard or layers of newspaper as long as the potting mix doesn't fall through and that there's plenty of drainage.
13:27And just by putting in lots of potting mix, fresh potting mix.
13:31Right, level that out and you'll find that even though the potting mix is in there, it's really light.
13:40So that's no problem at all.
13:42And it's time to sow the carrots.
13:44You can sow them either by scattering or put them into straight lines.
13:51But in this case, I'm just going to scatter the seeds.
13:53Cover them up really lightly with a little bit of potting mix and then just tamp them down so that they're actually in contact with that potting mix.
14:07So put them in a sunny spot and as the seedlings start to grow, just thin them out ever so slightly because they do need a bit of room to move and keep them well watered.
14:22It's a shallow container, so you do need to keep them well watered and you have a go at it because growing your own vegetables, even on a small scale, is so rewarding.
14:32And if you get a crop like that, you can virtually forget about going to the green grocer.
14:44After a hard day's gardening in the sun, there's nothing better than a refreshing drink.
14:50But what if you could grow your own, on tap?
14:54Well, Gerry's brewing a story in Brisbane you're going to want a taste of.
15:06I'm in Cleveland, a coastal spot 25 kilometres south of Brisbane on Moreton Bay.
15:13It's home to a farm producing a crop you'll be surprised to see thriving in the subtropics.
15:21Hops are the female flowers of the hop plant Humulus lupulus.
15:26The plant itself is a perennial herbaceous vine which grows up to 10 metres tall that produces fragrant flowers, essential for brewing beer.
15:36And hops are not just used for brewing, they can be used as a flavouring agent for things like vinegars and marinades, they've even been used in traditional medicine.
15:48This farmlet is the passion project of lifelong friends, Steve Mitchell and Andrew Carson.
15:56The idea of farming hops was born in 2017 in Steve's garden.
16:03That was in my front yard at Bulimba, an American Cascade, which is one of these and this plant is from that original plant.
16:10One of our mates brewed a beer with it, we thought that was pretty cool and we wanted to go bigger and started expanding from there.
16:16Native to Europe, Serbia, northern Iran and Morocco, hops are traditionally farmed in cool climates with long spring summer day lengths.
16:28And the plants use a decrease in day length to stop growing and start flowering.
16:34In Brisbane, our longest day lengths in summer are around 13 ¾ hours of sunlight.
16:40The ideal conditions are 16 and a half hours.
16:43If they don't get that 16 hours, they will start to flower, the plant won't reach its full growth and we'll get inconsistent harvests.
16:53So how did you get around that problem?
16:55We had a brewer who told us that they experimented with lighting in South Africa where the day lengths weren't long enough.
17:01That was literally a lightbulb moment for the pair.
17:04And the farmlet now boasts rows of healthy vines that tower six metres in the air, suspended on wire trellises, punctuated by lightbulbs, hung from above to extend the subtropical twilight.
17:19That changed everything for us.
17:20We could control when they flowered, we could make the plants bigger and obviously our yields went up too.
17:26I love the fact that you're using natural fibre to support the hops.
17:31It's called coia fibre, so it's made from coconut plants.
17:37Hops are a climber and they need something to grow up.
17:40So we've made six metre trellis, three metre spacing in between the rows.
17:44When the plants wake up in spring, we put strings beside each plant in the field.
17:50We tie it from the top of the trellis and then when the plants start growing, we poke it into the ground beside each plant and then we train the vine up the string.
17:59It always goes clockwise and it's the same northern hemisphere or southern hemisphere.
18:04So once we do that, that's the end.
18:07It'll just take off and hopefully grow about six inches every night.
18:11So how easy would it be for a home gardener to grow hops and have you got any advice?
18:17I think anyone could grow hops.
18:20For a backyard grower, like I would suggest just a good amount of compost and some simple fertiliser because they grow so quickly in such a short period, they're very hungry for nutrients.
18:32So they need a lot of nitrogen to grow vegetatively and then for flowering, a bit more potassium.
18:38And full sun?
18:39100% full sun.
18:42They can grow against the side of a house, so in partial shade, but they grow best in full sun.
18:48Indeed, the vigorous growth of the hop vine can quickly outpace unsuspecting gardeners.
18:54So it's not recommended to try growing it unless you're willing to invest the time to keep it from overtaking your entire garden.
19:02And the height it can reach also means access for maintenance could be a problem.
19:09So what are you growing and why?
19:13We grow a number of American bred varieties.
19:17Cascade, Centennial.
19:19Brewers really like those for brewing pale ales.
19:22We're growing a number of Australian varieties as well.
19:25So Red Earth, Krakenup, Victoria.
19:28But there's one new variety the pair is particularly excited about.
19:32We've recently imported Vista, which has been developed by the American Agricultural Department.
19:38It grows vigorously, quite big.
19:41It grows well in a range of climates.
19:43So it yields a lot and it's meant to be drought tolerant and somewhat disease resistant.
19:48So it's got a lot of factors going for it.
19:51The cones that we've got off the first plant, they really seem a lot oilier and better smells.
19:58More passion fruit, more citrus.
19:59There's a lot more coming through them.
20:01But that's probably what you're going to get with a hop variety that's developed in the last three years
20:05compared to all the other ones that we've got that have been developed 20, 30, 40 years ago.
20:11So it's a more modern hop.
20:12So why is it you grow so many different varieties?
20:15Different hops are suited to different beers.
20:17We've got ones with different alpha acids or bitterness and ones with different fruitiness and oil content as well.
20:24The oil is more about the flavour and the acids are more about the bitterness.
20:28You can sort of match what sort of beer you want to make with whatever hop you want to use.
20:32So that's perfect for craft brewers.
20:35Yeah, that's right.
20:36The craft brewers like a combination of different hops and we can provide that because they all seem to mature at the same time by using the lights.
20:45So we can give the brewers whatever they like.
20:50When the plants are all grown up, the lights are turned off.
20:54And the change in day length means within seven weeks, the plants have produced cones and are ready to harvest.
21:02So when do you know they're ready?
21:04Well, the cone goes papery, so it loses moisture and the breaks will brown off a little bit around the side
21:12and the loophole inside will turn a bright yellow.
21:16You'll be able to roll them in your hands, the oil will come out and you'll get that smell.
21:20So the stickier and oilier, the better.
21:24Unfortunately, recent weather events have had an impact on this season's harvests and yields are down.
21:34Anyone that knows hops and looks at this paddock at the moment will say,
21:37that's not such a great looking field.
21:41The pair are harvesting early, cutting the vines down wholesale and feeding them through their three-stage harvester.
21:54How big would the average brewery order be?
22:06A small brew of 200 litres might require a couple of kilos.
22:09The bigger ones, we've gone all the way up to 70 or 80 kilos of fresh hops.
22:14Local microbrewery owner, Stuart Martin, has been using hilltop hops for the past eight years.
22:24Big bags.
22:25Happy brewing.
22:27Incredibly, the shelf life of fresh hops is under 24 hours.
22:32We really try and get the guys to pick the hops first thing in the morning and then I'll be here to pick them up,
22:40drive them straight back to the brewery and in they go within a couple of hours of picking.
22:43To see this process, I'm visiting Stuart's microbrewery in Wilston on Brisbane's north side.
22:54So we have four key products that go into beer.
22:58Water, barley or sugar, yeast and then hops.
23:03They are the four ingredients that must be in the product to be able to call it beer.
23:07What we do is we boil it up and we add the hops and then finally we add the yeast,
23:14which then eats the sugar and a by-product that processes alcohol.
23:20So today we're brewing the QPA, Queensland Pale Ale.
23:24Every year the QPA is brewed once a year and we celebrate the fact that the atmospheric conditions,
23:31the soil conditions, the temperature, the sunlight, they're all different every year.
23:36So we celebrate that natural variance in ingredients and we call it paddock to pint.
23:45And I'm taking a moment to grab a pint straight off the tap.
23:50Cheers.
23:51Purely for research purposes, of course.
23:56Back at the farmlet, despite their successful efforts to date,
24:01Steve and Andrew are cautious about any plans to scale up their efforts.
24:05We both have day jobs, so we do this in our spare time on weekends.
24:11It gets a little bit trickier during harvest where it's every day for two or three weeks solid.
24:17But generally it's weekend work.
24:18It's also very nice going home after harvesting in your car and all your clothes just reek of hop resin.
24:25So it'd be fair to say you're hooked on hops.
24:27Yeah, sadly we're hooked on hops, yes.
24:38I was wondering, have you expanded your indoor plant collection over the last few years?
24:44Well, Tammy's here with a creative way of growing more outside the pot.
24:49It'll rock your world.
24:50So many gardeners turn to nature to inspire our own personal potter jungles,
24:58with plants filling every room in the house and dripping from every available outdoor space.
25:03But when it comes to real jungles, plants don't just grow in the soil.
25:07They grow absolutely everywhere, as epiphytes on trees and lithophytes on rocks.
25:12And I'm going to show you how to cultivate a little rocking plant inspiration at yours.
25:19You need to start with a specific kind of stone called lava rock.
25:22Other types of rock won't work because they won't stay consistently damp.
25:26And this also has lots of little crevices for the roots to anchor in.
25:30It's a fine porous volcanic rock,
25:33with holes small enough to wick the water from the surface below up to the plant.
25:38Lava rock can be a little tricky to find,
25:40but aquarium supply stores typically carry it for aquascaping.
25:43Or sometimes, your local landscape yard will carry it in bulk as an inorganic mulch.
25:48If your lava rock has a flat base, you're in luck,
25:51and you can just position it on your saucer, ready for planting.
25:55If not, you may need to glue it to ensure it stays stable and upright.
25:59You can also use a glass vase and sit the rock in the bottom of that.
26:04There are a range of species that can be cultivated this way.
26:07Plants to try include ferns, aroids, ficus, and certain orchids.
26:12The main unifying factor in finding suitable species is that they're epiphytes,
26:17which means they grow without soil.
26:20The example we have is a Heptoplyrum cultivar.
26:23Outdoors, these can grow metres tall,
26:25but this treatment has bonsai'd it,
26:27and the effect is a small tree clinging to a damp, rocky outcrop.
26:31You can see the roots trailing over the rock and spilling down into the water dish below.
26:37The one we're going to build today is using another epiphyte,
26:40a cultivar of Epipremium panadum, Cebu blue.
26:44In nature, this aroid is adapted to climbing and scrambling over surfaces
26:49and putting down roots from nodes wherever it finds moisture and a foothold,
26:54so it is well-suited.
26:55Starting with a small plant means it's easier to manipulate at this early stage,
27:00rather than trying to retrofit a larger plant into a condition it's not used to.
27:05Wash the soil from the roots completely,
27:07so you can see exactly what you're working with.
27:10Soil left stuck to the roots can lead to rotting,
27:13so try to remove as much as possible.
27:16Inspect the root system and cut away anything that is damaged.
27:19I'm dividing this plant and using two smaller sections for my living rock.
27:27Spread the remaining roots over your rock and find a natural fit,
27:31like an octopus on coral.
27:33Look for a position where the roots will easily contact the stone.
27:37Once you're happy, carefully wind some string or fishing line
27:40to hold the plant gently but firmly in place.
27:42Sit your rocking little plant in the saucer and backfill with pebbles or a little gravel.
27:55The pebbles help slow the evaporation of water from the saucer,
27:59meaning you should have to top it up less frequently.
28:04Water the entire display, soaking the rock and the plant, plus fill the saucer.
28:08You may need to remove a few excess leaves
28:13to ensure the plant doesn't dehydrate before the roots re-establish.
28:17Place in a spot with bright indirect light.
28:20Over the next few weeks to months, watch the plant closely
28:22and fill up the saucer every few days.
28:25As a porous rock, it will draw moisture up to the plant,
28:28but you will need to mist it regularly as the roots adhere to the stone.
28:32Initially, the plant will take some time to acclimatise,
28:35with a few roots or leaves dying back,
28:37but after a few months, you will see some new shoot and leaf growth.
28:41Remember to keep the pebbles and the lava rock wet.
28:44Without soil, there isn't much wriggle room
28:46in how long the plant will survive without water.
28:49Over time, you might get some white mineral buildup
28:52on the rock and the dish.
28:53This is likely a buildup of salt from fertilisers.
28:56Don't worry, it's harmless,
28:57and can be cleaned with an old toothbrush and some warm water.
29:01Once it's fully attached, you can remove the fishing line
29:03and enjoy your rocking little display.
29:08There's no doubt we all love plants,
29:10in nature, in our gardens, and pretty much anywhere else.
29:14And there's no end to the creative ways to cultivate them.
29:18Still to come on Gardening Australia,
29:20we hang around with a pair of plant collectors.
29:24Hannah stops to drop her compost pot
29:28and we meet an artist creating her own world.
29:40As well as all the work Dr Jim's put
29:43into his stunning Graze Point temperate rainforest garden,
29:47there's more to see.
29:50So, Kostra, if I could just invite you
29:52into my little greenhouse here.
29:54Whoa!
29:55Hidden away at the opposite end of Jim's place
29:57is his pride and joy,
29:59his shade house.
30:01This is like a cubby house.
30:04Your playroom in here, it's packed.
30:06It sure is.
30:06It's my happy place and I spend a lot of time in here.
30:09We've got a lot of, guess what, more orchids,
30:12bromeliads, pitcher plants
30:14and anything else you can think of, really.
30:16And it's here that his beloved orchid collection
30:19really has a chance to shine.
30:21You know, I've devoted a lot of gardening time
30:24to growing orchids, but, no, it's been great fun
30:26and they're doing well.
30:29This space is enclosed with mesh
30:32which lets the breeze through
30:33and keeps it well ventilated.
30:35And the plants get watered by misting jets
30:38attached under the benches
30:40connected to a rainwater tank.
30:42It's also where Jim's three native green tree frogs live.
30:4921-year-old brothers, Ollie and Greeny.
30:5221?
30:5221.
30:53No way.
30:54We know they were 21
30:55because we actually raised them from tadpoles
30:56that were found in a swimming pool up the road.
30:58So they're native Latoria corulio green tree frogs.
31:02About four years ago,
31:02we were kindly gifted a female frog
31:04which we called Frida.
31:05So Frida, Ollie and Greeny are the caretakers of the greenhouse.
31:10We don't use fertiliser, we don't use insecticides
31:12and we rely on the frogs to move around and eat the insects.
31:14And they do.
31:15And I suppose they turn what they eat into fertiliser.
31:20There's a cricket there.
31:22And I think Frida's going to get here.
31:24Just watch this, watch this.
31:25Watch this.
31:27Uni!
31:28We do actually supplement their diet every week.
31:30I give them a few live crickets just to keep them happy.
31:33But they find food here.
31:35And like many a proud parent,
31:38Jim loves sharing their special moments with the world.
31:41Is it true that they've got their own social media following?
31:45A huge social media following.
31:47Thousands.
31:48I'm not kidding.
31:49Thousands of people around the world follow my dear frogs.
31:51I sometimes wonder whether they know that.
31:54I suspect they probably do.
31:56People kept saying,
31:57why don't you write a children's book?
31:58I did.
31:58I wrote a rhyming children's book about their lives in the greenhouse.
32:03It's called The Adventures of Ollie the Rain Gauge Frog.
32:05The reason the rain gauge comes into it
32:07is that four times in Ollie's 21 years,
32:09he's hibernated in the little rain gauge here
32:11and he submerges himself in the water for four months
32:14and doesn't move.
32:15And that's now distributed around the world
32:18in various libraries and what have you.
32:19So what other frogs have you got in the garden?
32:22There's a lot of other frogs.
32:24Marsh frogs, the Perrins tree frog is everywhere.
32:27And the Perrins just love the Bromeliads.
32:29You know, we've got a lot of ponds around the place that they love
32:31and I suppose there's a lot of natives that grow around the ponds
32:34as well as Bromeliads and they seem to be happy.
32:44One of the ponds is home to Jim's short-necked turtle, Murray.
32:48You've got to call him.
32:50Murray!
32:50Who was rescued from a busy road by wildlife volunteers.
32:55Murray was taken to a vet and the vet gave them to us
32:57because we have a reptile licence and, you know,
33:00people know we keep turtles.
33:02They're rather extraordinary creatures.
33:04If you want lunch, stick your head out of the water, all right?
33:07OK, lunch it is.
33:09Because of Jim's reptile-keeping licence,
33:12he's often approached to take in rescued animals.
33:15So the idea of a healthy wildlife as an indicator of a healthy garden,
33:21that's pretty much true for your garden?
33:23Oh, absolutely.
33:24Costa, I suppose what I really like most
33:27is to see how the whole system works together.
33:29So, you know, we're all interested in the plants,
33:31we're all gardens, we love our plants,
33:33but plants are only part of the story.
33:34There's a lot more to it, and particularly animals.
33:36Jim believes in letting nature do its thing
33:42and not interfering all the time,
33:44except when it's necessary,
33:46like cleaning out a lantana infestation.
33:50But I just adore watching how things grow
33:52and how things interact without us fiddling with it.
33:55That's the joy, you know, watching life do its thing, basically.
33:59MUSIC PLAYS
34:01We use the canna lily in our gardens
34:09to give us a tropical feel,
34:11with its spires of fluorescent flowers.
34:13Now, it grows from underground rhizomes,
34:16which become a problem when dumped as garden waste.
34:19The canna lily is prolific
34:21around south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales,
34:24where it loves the climate.
34:26My suggestion, as an alternative, is the cordyline.
34:29There are various species,
34:31but generally, they're upright,
34:33with long, strappy leaves
34:35and spikes of purple-pink flowers.
34:38I think they have the feel of the tropics
34:39whenever I see them.
34:41Well, what about?
34:43Pattersonia occidentalis.
34:45It's a strappy leaf perennial
34:46with masses of purple flowers.
34:49It grows from an underground rhizome,
34:52making it just as resilient as the canna lily,
34:54but far less an environmental threat.
34:59There's a certain type of person
35:05that becomes a plant collector.
35:08It takes a real commitment and focus
35:11and a little bit of obsession.
35:14Actually, I reckon a lot of obsession.
35:18When a couple share that passion,
35:20well, it's a beautiful thing.
35:23Here's Josh with more.
35:24There's something comforting
35:30about a rambling cottage garden,
35:33but all of these delightful combinations
35:35of spring colour and WA native plantings
35:38are not the reason I'm here today.
35:41Tucked away on this 1.2 hectare property
35:4530 kilometres north of Perth
35:47is a collection of plants
35:48that has been generations in the making.
35:51Hoyas and epiphytic cacti.
35:57Too many to count.
35:58Keeping them thriving has been a labour of love
36:01for Irene Daniels and her husband, Kevin.
36:04Hello, I found you in this amazing garden.
36:07How are you both?
36:07Oh, very good, thank you.
36:08My grandfather, Stan Hardy,
36:11he was a passionate cactus collector.
36:14He had the biggest collection in Australia at one point.
36:17And then my dad decided to specialise in epiphytic cacti
36:21when my grandpa gave him some cuttings to start with.
36:24So my dad had a huge collection of epiphytic cacti,
36:26mainly epiphyliums and slumbergiras.
36:28And then the Hoyas became more popular.
36:30So when my dad was getting sicker and sicker,
36:34he needed to pass his collection on
36:36because he couldn't look after all of it.
36:38So we brought it here.
36:39And since he's passed away the last two years,
36:42yeah, we have it all here and we look after it.
36:44And how many species do you have?
36:46Probably a couple of hundred species.
36:48Yeah, easily.
36:56Another prize-winning plan.
36:59It must have been quite an exercise to move the collections.
37:02Fortunately, in June of 21,
37:04we spoke to Rex, Irene's father,
37:07about continuing the legacy of this little part here we built.
37:11All using the same metal that we dismantled
37:14from the shade house at Dad's house.
37:15And then we finished building the front of the shade house.
37:19We got him here and you could see the shade house built.
37:22And then sadly, he passed away in January of 22.
37:25And that's when all the hard work started.
37:28A lot of trailer loads of plants came over here.
37:30And then we found this was full to capacity and overflowing
37:33as we had to build more shade houses.
37:35So it's been quite a journey, Josh.
37:39They are a rainforest-type epiphytic plant.
37:42So a lot of humidity.
37:44But once again, not too much water
37:46because Hoyas in particular,
37:48they suffer from root rot,
37:49so they can't have wet feet.
37:52Sometimes you're better off actually
37:54just wetting the ground floor of the shade house,
37:56especially when it's hot.
37:57And sometimes just spraying the plants
37:59so that they're not getting drowned
38:01where the roots actually are.
38:02And some liquid fertiliser
38:04and granulated fertiliser,
38:07like probably once a year.
38:09The Hoyas come from all over the world.
38:11So when they end up in Australia,
38:14they do need to be kept in specific locations
38:17to help them thrive.
38:18So in these sorts of conditions where it's warm,
38:21in this environment, in this shade house,
38:23just with standard shade cloth,
38:24with the right watering, the humidity,
38:26they grow really, really well.
38:28But in winter in particular,
38:31we need to look after them more carefully.
38:33So we have a little hothouse here
38:34where we'll move a lot of the plants
38:35and they survive and they're very happily.
38:37Sometimes we'll add a heater
38:38and maybe a warm growth light.
38:41And then a lot of the smaller ones
38:42that you'll see in here,
38:43we actually take inside the house.
38:45Otherwise, they won't survive.
38:46With such an extensive collection of Hoyas,
38:49do you have some standout favourites?
38:51Oh, yes.
38:52Well, probably for sentimental reasons,
38:53it's the Lois and Drusiana.
38:55Also, it's pretty impressive
38:56because it's called the dinner plate Hoya.
38:58So its leaves are huge
39:00and it's got peduncles.
39:02And you can tell how old it is
39:03by how long the peduncle is
39:05because each time a Hoya
39:06will actually flower on the previous one.
39:08And so the really long peduncles,
39:11you can tell it's a really old plant.
39:12And my dad's had that one for a long time.
39:15I remember always being at his house
39:16and seeing it.
39:17So it's special because of that reason.
39:20And then of the other extreme,
39:22I like the really small leafed ones.
39:24So like there's a chook,
39:25is a really nice one
39:26that Kevin's made into a nice ball.
39:28And then I love the twisted ones like this,
39:32which is called Indian rope.
39:33And you can get them inside variegated
39:35and outside variegated as well.
39:37So they're so unusual.
39:39Cinnamon folia has a beautiful flower
39:41because it's like a green
39:42with a maroon in the centre.
39:44So that's a really stunning flower, that one.
39:46A lot of the australis,
39:48they just smell so beautiful.
39:50So it's the fragrance rather than the look.
39:52Carnoses and the pubicalyx,
39:54they're like Hawaiian purples and purple hybrids.
39:58They generally always have a large white flower
40:01with pink middles.
40:02And often these plants have a lot of flowers,
40:05whereas some of the other hoyas
40:06will just have one or two or three at a time,
40:08depending on the age of the plant.
40:09So the ones that are prolific, I just love.
40:14The collection of epiphytic cacti
40:17may not be as extensive as the hoyas,
40:19but it's no less impressive.
40:20Look at the colour of this bloom.
40:26What's this one called?
40:27This is Liberty Glow.
40:28It's a little bit past its best now,
40:30but it's a beautiful orange,
40:32very bright pink in the middle.
40:33Do the flowers last?
40:35Not for as long as what we'd like them to last.
40:38Probably only a couple of days.
40:40And what other standouts do you have?
40:41I love Clown.
40:43That's a beautiful one with pink and purple and white.
40:47And also Snow Leopard.
40:48So Snow Leopard has a pink bud,
40:50and when it opens, it's white inside.
40:52So I love Snow Leopard.
40:53Are the conditions that these plants need
40:55similar to the hoyas?
40:56Yes, so rainforest conditions.
40:58They probably could do with a little bit more sun,
41:01as long as it's not direct sun,
41:03perhaps in the morning when it's not as hot.
41:06But they do flower better
41:07if they've had a little bit of sun.
41:08How much work is involved in potting
41:10and repotting all of these plants?
41:12I know we're looking at epips now,
41:14but particularly the hoyas,
41:15they do need a really good free-draining mix.
41:18So I actually really love mixing up all the potting mix.
41:21They require a lot of orchid bark
41:23and the vermiculite
41:26and a little bit of premium potting mix.
41:28We even actually sprinkle a bit of cinnamon
41:29through our potting mix.
41:30That actually helps to stop fungal diseases from happening.
41:34So, yeah, for both plants,
41:35they need to be free-draining
41:37so they don't get root rot.
41:39And how often do you have to repot?
41:41Hoyas like to be root-bound,
41:43so they can stay in a small pot
41:44for probably a year or two, I would say.
41:47And sometimes when we repot them,
41:49they are completely root-bound, Josh.
41:50There's hardly any dirt left in them.
41:52They go into a bigger pot
41:53and then they will continue to thrive.
41:56Epips, I think they need to be potted a bit more regularly.
41:59Well, sometimes they force you to repot them
42:01because they all seem to grow out one side
42:03and the whole basket of the pot falls over.
42:06So you sort of want to repot it and realign it.
42:09Depending on how much you cut the leaves to propagate from.
42:16Usually about August,
42:18you're just cutting the leaves
42:20from a leaf that's at least 12 months old,
42:22not from something that's recently flowered.
42:25And let it callous over for a little while,
42:28like a few days,
42:29and then put it into some free-draining potting mix.
42:33Don't over-water it to start with
42:35and keep it warm.
42:37Hoyas are slightly different.
42:38They don't need to be callous.
42:40They can just be cut.
42:41Normally we dunk them in honey.
42:42They don't actually need a root hormone
42:44and are straight into the soil.
42:46And they get wet straight away
42:48and have to be continually wet
42:49until the roots actually develop.
42:51And that might take a month to two.
42:55My grandfather founded the Cacti Study Group.
42:58So I remember as a little girl
43:00going to visit my grandpa's shade house.
43:03And then my dad,
43:04he founded the Epiphytic Cacti and Hoyas Society
43:06with another man.
43:07So he was the first vice president.
43:09And I've been involved in the society as well.
43:12And I'm currently the president now.
43:14This is the epigram,
43:15which is the journal of our Epiphytic Cacti and Hoyas Society.
43:19And in our special 35th year,
43:21mum was honoured as being the cover girl,
43:23which was quite recently.
43:24She was into therapeutias,
43:25so that's why she's photographed on the cover.
43:28She's nearly 90.
43:29So this is gorgeous.
43:32It's been wonderful to be able to take all the plants on board, Josh,
43:35and just embrace them.
43:36I think we've just followed your dad's journey
43:38all these years, haven't we?
43:41There's the saying that eventually
43:42we all become a little bit like our parents.
43:46Do you think this is a case of that?
43:48Possibly.
43:50Yes.
43:51Definitely.
43:52I now understand where dad's passion came from
43:56and why he would spend so much time on them.
43:58And I have so many photos of dad with the same plants
44:02and enjoying the same plants now that I do.
44:05And so when I look at that flower,
44:07you know, in the photo,
44:09and I can see the same plant with the same flower,
44:11that really makes me feel close to dad.
44:26I'm pretty crazy for compost
44:28and love spreading it all over my garden.
44:32But what if you haven't got space for a compost bin
44:34or you're a bit nervous about getting the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio
44:38just right?
44:39Well, there's always an option and a way to compost,
44:43and it might just be the dig-and-drop method.
44:46All you need is access to a garden,
44:49food scraps,
44:50and something to dig with.
44:53You can compost all your fruit and vegetable scraps,
44:56plus things like brown paper bags.
44:58But in order to keep away animals like rodents and foxes,
45:01don't include any seafood or meat scraps.
45:07Then get digging.
45:09But it needn't be onerous.
45:11If you're lucky,
45:12you'll have nice, friable, loamy soil,
45:14which is easy to dig,
45:16so go to around 35 centimetres deep.
45:18If you have heavy clay soil like mine,
45:20just take it easy
45:21and dig to around 25 centimetres deep.
45:24Scraps buried deeper than 25 centimetres in clay
45:27will likely get too compacted
45:29and not get enough oxygen to decompose.
45:35Ollie's going to help as well,
45:37you good boy.
45:38Now, when it comes time to work out
45:40how wide to make your hole,
45:41you only need to go slightly wider
45:43than your spade or your shovel.
45:45Of course, when you're digging,
45:46take care of your back
45:47and go nice and slow and steady.
45:49The only thing left to do now
45:50is to pop the food scraps in.
45:54You can push them down a little bit
45:59and cover them up.
46:08Just pack it in nice and tight
46:09and the earthworms and the soil microbes
46:12will already be munching into those food scraps.
46:15Loving it!
46:16And if you need to,
46:17you can pop a marker on top
46:19so you don't forget where you put your food scraps,
46:21which means you can come back later on
46:22and plant one of your favourite plants
46:25and it will love you for it.
46:27This simple dig and bury method
46:29is a great way to get your start
46:31in the wonderful world of composting.
46:34So get digging
46:35and you'll soon be on your way
46:36to becoming a compost star.
46:38You know, one of the things I love about gardening
46:48is you can create your own little world.
46:51Our next story is with a gardener
46:53who's combined her garden with her art
46:56to build something bursting at the seams
46:59with creativity.
47:00Every time we come home,
47:08I say, oh, this is so beautiful
47:11and how lucky we are to live here.
47:13The house and the garden,
47:15both are a sanctuary.
47:18I'm Claudia Rubenstein.
47:20I live in Melbourne
47:22in the inner eastern suburbs
47:24and I'm a visual artist.
47:31We've lived in this house for 16 years
47:33and it's undergone a few changes in that time.
47:37The boys have left school
47:38and left the house
47:39and it's just Craig and I,
47:41but it's really not just Craig and I.
47:44We have a lot of family friends
47:45and the two guest rooms are usually occupied.
47:48My favourite part of the garden
47:51is this portal that you come through
47:54to leave everything behind
47:57but be very present in this area.
48:04The garden is my muse
48:06because most of my paintings
48:09have got botanical foliage
48:12and I need a reference point
48:13and there's so much to see in the garden here.
48:16I'm very fortunate
48:18to be surrounded by so much of it.
48:21I've added a lot of pieces to the garden,
48:24mushrooms and little statues
48:27and there's a little dragon in the front.
48:29When I see something that speaks to me,
48:32I like to include it somehow into the house,
48:35into the story of the house and garden.
48:38I grew up on an acreage in Canada.
48:41My childhood involved being sent outside to play,
48:44collected tadpoles from a pond
48:47and created little worlds
48:49out in the garden and in the forest
48:52which encroached on the back of our property.
48:56And it had a lot of birch trees.
49:00They've always been a favourite tree
49:01and they make me think of Canada.
49:04And I've drawn and painted them
49:08as long as I can remember.
49:11I have dedicated studios to my creative life
49:15and one is the painting room
49:18where I paint in acrylic.
49:21I used to paint in oil
49:22but the process of washing out the brushes
49:24was very, very time-consuming
49:26and as my Parkinson's advanced,
49:28I found I just couldn't do both,
49:30paint and maintain the brushes.
49:32I have painted fairytale-type stories
49:37and stories that I've imagined.
49:40When I graduated high school,
49:43what I wanted is to be an artist.
49:45My father said,
49:46no, you need to learn to sew curtains
49:48or do something practical.
49:50So I thought nursing would be the best bet for me.
49:53And I'm glad I did because I learned a skill.
49:56It was enjoyable when I did it
49:57and I met my husband.
50:00So, win-win.
50:05And whenever I had days off,
50:06what did I do?
50:07Paint.
50:10My house is covered from floor to ceiling
50:15with ornament, decor and stories.
50:18It's a collection of stories of our life.
50:21I pick up little things
50:23and write a song about them,
50:26tell a story about them,
50:27do a painting about them.
50:29And throughout that theme
50:31is botanica,
50:33is foliage,
50:34is blossoms and leaves
50:37and the garden.
50:38Going down the side of the garden,
50:45you get this sort of tunnel effect
50:47with all the trees
50:47and it's just a beautiful walk
50:49coming all the way down.
50:51Then you come around
50:52to the rest of the house
50:55and the next main feature
50:57would be my son Oli's room.
51:00And he has a memorial garden planted
51:03because we lost him three years ago.
51:06And I built him a piano garden
51:11because he was a great pianist,
51:14a great pianist
51:14and he loved to play the piano.
51:30When we go through Oli's area,
51:33I wanted to create
51:33two stained glass panel windows
51:35that you couldn't see in or out
51:37but just allowed the light in
51:38and it's just a place
51:40to go for a private conversation
51:43where nobody sees you.
51:45It's a lovely hedge
51:46and you're shielded
51:48so it's a nice spot to be.
51:50It is my home,
51:52it is my sanctuary
51:53and I just love to surround myself
51:55by the things that I love.
51:58And what I love to do
51:59is create little worlds.
52:00The forest room was created
52:05after we lost Oli.
52:10This room is a very special room
52:12and special project.
52:15The room needed to be made new
52:17and what I wanted to do
52:19is give it a really beautiful feeling
52:23of awe and wonder when you come in.
52:25I took a painting
52:27and had it transformed to wallpaper
52:30and professionally installed
52:31and that painting was a forest scene.
52:34So lots of blues and greens
52:37and paintings of the garden and nature
52:40and also a few whimsical images as well.
52:44But it was meant to be a place
52:49where Oli left his earthly troubles behind
52:54and is at peace.
52:56I find I'm not thinking so much of Oli
52:58because that room has given me
53:01some closure in a way
53:04by creating something beautiful.
53:07Spending time in any green environment
53:13is shown to just calm us all down
53:17and it's no different for me.
53:21And I feel I've been blessed in life
53:24and privileged to be able to create,
53:27have a loving partner
53:29who is supportive of that
53:31and bring joy to the world, I hope.
53:37In cool areas,
53:48take cuttings of corrier
53:49and start a new hedge.
53:51Select soft stems
53:52that will bounce back when flexed,
53:55then pop into rooting gel
53:56and an aerated potting mix.
53:59Tip prune banksias to keep them bushy
54:01and remove dead flowers and branches.
54:04Take care to retain most of the old wood.
54:07That's where they'll flower next year.
54:10Delicata squash grows groovy skins
54:12and a creamy flesh that is sweet when cooked.
54:17Sow seeds directly into aged compost
54:19about a metre apart and then mulch.
54:23In warm temperate areas,
54:25brighten up the baskets
54:26by planting calibracoa.
54:29These colourful petunia cousins
54:31love free-draining soil in a sunny spot.
54:34Plant passion fruit in pairs
54:36one metre apart to aid pollination.
54:39Build up a mound of rich, loose soil,
54:42plant with a layer of mulch
54:43and give them something to climb up.
54:46Hardy heavey shrubs are in bloom
54:48and will appreciate their yearly dose of compost.
54:52Trim back by about a third after flowering
54:55to maintain their compact form.
54:57In subtropical areas,
55:00marigolds are blooming for the festival of lights.
55:04These companion plants attract plenty of pollinators.
55:08Celebrate these garden heroes by planting more.
55:11Flying foxes are out and about
55:13and having babies.
55:15Why not plant some flowering gums
55:17to provide food for future generations?
55:21Okra is a reliable summer crop
55:23and loves the heat.
55:25Sow seeds and knuckle deep
55:27in composted soils in full sun.
55:30Use stakes to keep them sturdy
55:32and protect from winds.
55:35In tropical areas,
55:37strappy natives such as lomandra
55:39can deal with water inundation
55:41as well as droughts.
55:43They'll stabilise a soggy spot
55:45and provide a source of food and habitat.
55:48Get down to your specialist nursery
55:50and grow a vanilla pod vine.
55:53This climbing orchid is ready for its yearly trim
55:56and grows well from cuttings planted now.
56:00Divide bromeliads and spread the love.
56:03Snip pups from the mother plant
56:05and pot into orchid bark.
56:07Or take advantage of their epiphytic nature
56:10and mount on a tree.
56:13In arid areas,
56:14geraniums are drought-hardy
56:16and will bloom right through summer
56:18with regular water.
56:19Water in the morning once a week
56:22and let soil dry out in between.
56:25Pomegranate flowers are out
56:27and attracting pollinators.
56:29Ensure the flower's fruit
56:30by transferring pollen
56:32with a small paintbrush
56:33early in the morning.
56:35Plant these rosemary cuttings
56:37into moist, free-draining propagation mix
56:40to keep the memory alive.
56:43Go on, gardeners,
56:44get out there
56:45and give the garden some love.
56:47For more ideas on what to do next,
56:50sign up for our newsletter
56:52via our website.
57:00Well, we're moving on for another week,
57:02but we've got plenty lined up for next time.
57:06Here's what's coming your way.
57:07I'm going to introduce you
57:11to some shady characters,
57:13plants that love to take centre stage
57:15in the shady corners of your garden.
57:18I'm visiting an elegant show garden
57:20with marvellous memories
57:22for the family
57:22who set it all up
57:24more than five decades ago.
57:26And I'm going to show you
57:28a few simple ways
57:29to keep rodents
57:30out of the garden.
57:31SIGCE
57:32END
57:32SIGCE
57:33INVESTIGATION
57:33END
57:34FORGET
57:34END
57:36END
57:36BTON
57:37END
57:37END
57:37END
57:38END
57:38END
57:39END
57:39END
57:39END
57:39END
57:40END
57:41END
57:41END
57:42END
57:45END
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