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Gardening Australia (2010) Season 36 Episode 35 Spring Grand Country Garden & Urban Design
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FunTranscript
00:00Hey, buddy.
00:30Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:37Today I'm in Sydney at Ewenton House,
00:40an iconic heritage home and garden in Balmain.
00:45Built in 1854, the house itself is an architectural treasure.
00:51But what I'm here to check out is the garden,
00:53designed to reflect the history of the site
00:56and complement the elevated position overlooking Johnston's Bay.
01:01And while I take the tour, here's what's in store this week.
01:08I'm going to introduce you to some shady characters,
01:11plants that love to take centre stage
01:14in the shady corners of your garden.
01:16Your front verge could be an opportunity to expand your garden.
01:21I'm meeting someone who's done just that
01:23and created habitat for local wildlife.
01:26I'm visiting an elegant show garden with marvellous memories
01:30for the family who set it all up more than five decades ago.
01:35And I'm going to show you a few simple ways
01:37to keep rodents out of the garden.
01:45It's one thing to admire a grand garden when it's established,
01:51but imagine building it from scratch.
01:53Tammy's visiting a couple who have turned a blank canvas
01:58into something truly incredible.
02:03150 kilometres north-west of Sydney,
02:06just 15 minutes from Blackheath,
02:08Hartley Valley offers big landscapes with expansive views.
02:12A perfect backdrop for a visionary garden.
02:15Fittingly, it's home to Highfield Gardens,
02:25an ambitious three-hectare, 10-year-old project
02:28filled with collector plants.
02:34Highfields is a collaborative project by dynamic duo,
02:38plantsman David Kennedy and his partner Andrew Dunshay.
02:42David works part-time in horticulture.
02:45I'd always aspired to have a world-class show garden
02:48and when we saw this land, it was big enough to do it.
02:51So, yeah, that's where it started.
02:53While Andrew, after a career in the fashion industry,
02:57took early retirement.
02:58Ever since I was a kid, Tammy,
03:00I've always had this fascination for large-scale gardens.
03:04I don't know where it came from,
03:05but I just knew that one day it was going to happen.
03:12And then how did the vision come about for this garden?
03:16When we started, there was no buildings here,
03:17so it's just a cow paddock,
03:18and we just sat down and just drew it out on paper.
03:22We were trying to keep the views open
03:24so when you go through the many garden rooms,
03:27you've always got a vista to look at.
03:28And how many garden rooms do you have?
03:30Approximately 20.
03:34This is gorgeous!
03:36This is the dry garden.
03:38It's set on three levels
03:41and it's about 1,000 square metres.
03:43The trees are quite a statement here.
03:46These are Australian tunia,
03:48and then, of course, we've got a windbreak,
03:51which is a row of conifers,
03:54and then we've got some purple-leafed
03:55Cudamundra wattles in front of them.
03:57In some places,
03:58the Cudamundra wattle is classified as a weed,
04:00but for us, it's fine.
04:02It hasn't seeded anywhere.
04:04And do you find that you need the double windbreak?
04:06Well, we found when we first got the property
04:08that we got incredibly strong winds
04:11from over on the way, over this way,
04:13so that's why we've put effort
04:14into the double row of trees.
04:17And what is the planting scheme
04:18that you've got going on here?
04:20It's mostly a Mediterranean planting.
04:22It's full of salvias, euphorias,
04:25some grasses, a few buddleias,
04:28anything that will take dry.
04:30This garden doesn't get watered
04:31and it got through the drought.
04:33Yeah, wow!
04:34It has to survive.
04:35It's either survive, thrive or die.
04:37That's a good philosophy to live by.
04:40But it's a good example to show people,
04:43especially in Australia,
04:44how you can have a garden
04:46even if you don't have water.
04:48Do you have any favourites in this garden?
04:50Yeah, probably the bearded iris.
04:52They do quite well up here.
04:54I love these paths
04:57and the walls and the stairs.
05:01Yeah, we've made all these walls
05:02and stairs ourselves.
05:04The pair source the stone on site
05:06and the part's blue stone
05:07is from neighbouring Oberon.
05:09We did have one wall
05:10that if you pick up a rock,
05:12you can't put it down,
05:13so you've got to find a spot for it.
05:16Otherwise you go crazy.
05:17Do they all start to look the same
05:18after a while?
05:19Absolutely.
05:19And they all start to get heavier and heavier.
05:21I'm starting to get a feel
05:26for how large this garden is.
05:29We're entering another garden room here.
05:32This is the cottage garden
05:33and it's full of so many roses.
05:38Oh, and these roses are gorgeous.
05:40What have you got here?
05:41Well, we have Crepuscule and Renee
05:43on the gatehouse
05:45and then here on the arbour
05:47we have another Crepuscule
05:49and also this is Rosa Albertine.
05:51It's a lovely rose
05:53but very thorny.
05:54And then, so there are some others
05:55mixed in with it?
05:57Up the top there,
05:58that's Summer Romance.
06:00There's some David Austens
06:01in this area here
06:02and we've also got another rose here
06:05which is called Complicata.
06:07Fragrant and wild,
06:09David favours old-fashioned roses
06:10over hybrid teas
06:11for their form and relaxed growth.
06:14I never used to like roses.
06:15I used to hate them
06:16and now I've got like
06:18over 800 varieties.
06:20They grew on me.
06:22David, are there any standout roses?
06:25Yes, I'd have to say
06:26probably Silver Ghost.
06:28It's a modern rose
06:30and it's got very clean foliage.
06:33I don't prune it very much
06:34so it's big
06:35and it's got lots and lots
06:36of single white flowers.
06:38It's just a stunner.
06:39And so who does most
06:40of the pruning here?
06:42Well, it's shared
06:42between the two of us.
06:45Yes, I get all the horrible jobs
06:47that he doesn't want
06:48and end up with the thorns
06:50in my head and my back
06:51but it's so worth it.
06:53The end results are just amazing.
06:55It's a form of torture.
06:57Shall we see more of the garden?
06:58Sure.
07:09Sloping down from the cottage garden
07:10is what David and Andrew
07:12call the prairie garden.
07:14This more open space
07:15on the property
07:16is planted in a naturalistic style.
07:19It's a combination of perennials,
07:21grasses and we use annuals as well
07:23which will self-seed
07:24and fill up the gaps.
07:27In this one here
07:28there are Siberian iris,
07:30annual poppies
07:31and these really unusual aliens.
07:34The colour palette
07:35is a combination
07:36of light pastel colours
07:38but I'm actually adding
07:40a lot of hot colours to it
07:42so I'm changing
07:43the planting a little bit.
07:45Andrew, what do you think
07:46of the colour palette?
07:47As a designer
07:48it just excites my imagination.
07:50It's pretty magic.
07:51It's got rare perennials in here.
07:53One of them is an Amsonia.
07:55It's a beautiful
07:56American prairie plant
07:57and it's very, very tough.
08:00It has very thick roots
08:02and they go down really deep.
08:04Then it's carved in blue flowers.
08:05It's just a stunning thing.
08:07And David's passion
08:08for using colour
08:09comes into full effect
08:10in the eye-catching
08:11yellow border.
08:12It's restricted to sort of
08:15different shades of yellow.
08:18Includes iris,
08:20GMs,
08:22shrubs as well
08:23with yellow foliage.
08:25Not everyone likes yellow
08:26because a lot of people don't.
08:28Mind you,
08:28you're wearing this beautiful dress
08:30and it's yellow.
08:31Well, I'm the exception then.
08:33This border is going to get
08:35slightly changed
08:36because I'm adding orange
08:37and red to it
08:37to give it a bit more zing.
08:39That's part of gardening.
08:39I just love to change things.
08:41And what was the soil like here?
08:44Absolute rubbish.
08:46It was like concrete.
08:47We were using a crowbar
08:48to plant some of the trees.
08:50We had to actually get
08:51big graders in
08:52to rip the soil up
08:54so we could actually
08:55start to work with it
08:56and David could start
08:57to build the soil up.
08:59Every time I planted something,
09:00I would put a mixture
09:02of gypsum,
09:04compost and cow manure.
09:06Unfortunately,
09:06the cow manure,
09:07it does contain weeds
09:09so it did cause me
09:10more problems
09:11than probably it was worth.
09:12But then I would use
09:13wetting agent
09:14to water the plants in
09:15and a seaweed-based
09:17type fertiliser.
09:19How much time
09:20is spent weeding?
09:21I would say
09:22at least
09:23probably
09:2350 to 60%.
09:26100% of my time,
09:28that's for sure.
09:29It's another one
09:29of those jobs
09:30that David loves to give me.
09:31Is this another form
09:32of torture?
09:33Yep, sure is.
09:34Situated at the lowest point
09:40of the property
09:41is the water garden.
09:44I've got all my
09:45Galanthus collection in here
09:47plus trilliums
09:48and epimediums,
09:49all sorts of things.
09:51This serene area
09:52comprises a series of ponds
09:54with water iris,
09:55water lilies,
09:56Japanese maples,
09:58conifers,
09:59itopeonies
10:00and yellow flag iris.
10:02But shifting rainfall patterns
10:03do present challenges
10:04at times.
10:06It's either feast
10:07or famine.
10:08You know,
10:09sometimes it'll rain a lot
10:10and then other times
10:11it'll be very dry.
10:12It can be very stressful.
10:14When it's dry,
10:16it can be,
10:17you know,
10:18really quite
10:19heartbreaking sometimes.
10:21An absolute highlight
10:23of the water garden
10:23are the itopeonies.
10:25With their silk petals
10:26and prominent velvet stamens,
10:28they lend an old-world
10:30opulent look
10:30that David adores.
10:32They're tough.
10:33They are quite resilient.
10:36They're fairly easy care.
10:37They're just basically
10:39probably queen of the flowers,
10:41I suppose.
10:42Itopeonies are
10:43intersectional peonies,
10:45a hybrid cross
10:46between herbaceous
10:47and tree peonies,
10:48combining the best traits
10:49of both.
10:50They offer a huge
10:51colour range
10:52and are known
10:53for their flowers
10:54that are held above
10:55luminescent,
10:56lush green foliage.
10:57What tips do you have
10:59for growing peonies?
11:00When you first plant them,
11:02we put cow manure
11:02out with them
11:03and blood and bone
11:05and then, of course,
11:06some dolomite
11:06and that gets them going
11:08in their first season.
11:10In that first season,
11:11you can usually
11:12sometimes get flowers
11:13if you do feed them well.
11:14And what do you do
11:15throughout the year
11:16to feed them
11:16or prepare them
11:17for their big blooms?
11:18Usually in autumn,
11:20we give them some dolomite,
11:21then some blood and bone
11:22and occasionally,
11:23we might give them
11:23some liquid food as well.
11:24Through grand vision
11:28and hard work,
11:29David and Andrew
11:30have crafted
11:31a breathtaking
11:31collector's garden
11:33that inspires visitors
11:34to appreciate
11:35the beauty of resilient,
11:37thoughtfully curated plants
11:38in a challenging environment.
11:40And what are the future plans?
11:43We're still going,
11:44of course,
11:45on the garden.
11:45We probably never will finish.
11:46The garden will evolve
11:47and change
11:48as I come up
11:49with new ideas
11:50and it's just
11:51all part and parcel
11:52of having a garden.
11:53Well, I can't wait
11:54to see that.
12:05How do I get rid
12:06of grass organically?
12:08Well, some people,
12:09of course,
12:09would spray it
12:09with a herbicide,
12:10but I don't do that.
12:11The method I tend
12:12to use is smothering.
12:14You can do it
12:14with cardboard
12:15or sheets of corrugated iron
12:17which can cook
12:18that grass off
12:19and you can convert
12:20your area quickly
12:21into a garden bed.
12:22But I do have
12:23one really important tip
12:24and that is
12:24don't plant it too quickly
12:26with permanent stuff.
12:27You can see here
12:28we've just got
12:29annual vegetables
12:29and we're letting
12:30a whole season
12:31of growth happen
12:32so I can work
12:33my way through
12:34and pull any runners
12:35that come back up
12:36out of the garden.
12:37Once that comes out,
12:38I'll work my way
12:39right through the bed
12:40before the permanent
12:41plantings go in.
12:42It does take
12:43a little bit more work
12:44but it is so worth it.
12:47How long does it take
12:48dragon fruit
12:49or patea
12:50to bear fruit?
12:51Well, it does depend
12:52where you are.
12:53The plant originally
12:54comes from Central
12:55and South America
12:56so it enjoys
12:57warm conditions.
12:58Here in Perth,
12:59I find it takes
13:00about three years
13:01from cutting.
13:03Now what you'll need
13:03is a good straight post
13:05for it to ramble up
13:06and it tends to bear fruit
13:08off these laterals
13:09which grow off the side.
13:10You can see here
13:11there'll be a flower
13:12very short-lived
13:13which then bears fruit
13:14behind it.
13:17What's a good
13:18all-rounder plant
13:19for tricky, steep slopes?
13:21I'm a big fan
13:22of the Mexican sagebush
13:23Selvia lecantha.
13:25This plant has
13:26a creeping running pattern
13:28which means it will
13:28slowly colonise
13:29and take over
13:30all the space around it
13:31which I want
13:32on steep, tricky slopes.
13:34And as the plant
13:35slowly spreads
13:36across the slope
13:37you can dig up
13:38little baby plants,
13:39subdivide any roots
13:40and make more plants
13:42across your whole garden.
13:48Shady spots are so often
13:50a neglected part
13:51of the garden.
13:52I see it a bit differently
13:53because there's always
13:55so much potential
13:56as long as you choose
13:57the right plants.
13:59For example,
13:59this one here
14:00is Philodendron xanadu
14:02and it's thriving
14:04in this protected part
14:06of the garden.
14:07It's made its way
14:09up and over
14:10the sandstone shelf
14:12and it's filled the spot
14:14and it's really given
14:16this corner of the garden
14:18some real presence
14:19and focus
14:20and life.
14:23You'll most often see
14:24Philodendron sold
14:25as indoor plants
14:27but certain types
14:28can be grown outdoors
14:29in warm,
14:30frost-free climates
14:32provided they're given
14:33adequate shade
14:34and protection
14:35from direct sunlight.
14:37Look for varieties
14:38with strong,
14:40leathery,
14:40dark green leaves
14:42because that's
14:43an indication
14:43that they can handle
14:45the great outdoors.
14:47You'll get a heads up
14:48if the sun's getting
14:48too strong
14:49as the leaves
14:50will go pale
14:51and crisp
14:52at the edges.
14:53Well,
14:53from this shade-loving plant
14:55let's catch up
14:56with Sophie now
14:57and find out
14:58some of her favourites.
15:05When you're gardening
15:13in full sun
15:14no problem
15:15there are lots
15:16of plants
15:17to choose from
15:18but once you step
15:21in the shade
15:22you might think
15:23uh-oh
15:23this could be challenging
15:25but the good news is
15:26there are plenty
15:27of beautiful plants
15:29that will thrive
15:30in the shade.
15:30Shade's actually
15:37really important
15:37in a garden
15:38because it delivers
15:39shelter,
15:40cooling
15:41and habitat
15:42for wildlife.
15:46Too often
15:48shady spots
15:49are filled
15:49with the same few species
15:50and the toughness
15:52of many common shade plants
15:54makes them invasive
15:55in some areas.
15:57Things such as
15:57oyster plant,
15:58dietes
16:00and English ivy
16:01can take over
16:02and become invasive weeds
16:04so a quick growing choice
16:06is not always
16:07the best
16:08in the longer term.
16:10There are plenty
16:10of tough and reliable
16:12set and forget
16:13greenery fillers
16:13that won't become weedy.
16:15Apart from a tidy up
16:17in winter
16:17or after flowering
16:18they'll cover the ground
16:20and create shelter
16:21for invertebrates.
16:23One of my favourite
16:24is the clivia
16:25or clivia.
16:26They're loved
16:27because of their
16:27dark green
16:28glossy leaves.
16:29However,
16:30their flowers
16:31in late winter
16:32and spring
16:32are breathtaking.
16:34The traditional
16:34orange is now
16:35diversified
16:36and you can get
16:37cream or lemon shades
16:38and even into
16:39the red shades
16:40and they're
16:40incredibly hardy
16:42and tolerant
16:43of severe root
16:44competition.
16:47Another old-fashioned
16:49favourite
16:49is the bergenia
16:50sometimes called
16:52elephant's ears
16:52or saxifraga.
16:54It's a hardy
16:55clump forming
16:56perennial
16:56with these dark
16:57green leathery
16:58leaves.
16:59And while the
16:59traditional forms
17:00had pink flowers
17:01there are now
17:01cultivars that have
17:02white flowers
17:03and even burgundy
17:04foliage.
17:05They make great
17:06border plants
17:07and they're hardy
17:08and tough
17:09in the shade.
17:10If you want
17:16even more colour
17:17in a shady garden
17:18you can't beat
17:19beautiful hellebores
17:21known as
17:22winter roses.
17:23They have quite
17:24attractive leathery
17:25foliage
17:25but their flowers
17:27that appear
17:27in winter and spring
17:28are breathtaking.
17:30They range in colour
17:31from pure white
17:32through different shades
17:34of pink
17:34to the dark colours.
17:36Some have veins
17:37on them,
17:37some have spots.
17:38Their flower form
17:40ranges from
17:41simple singles
17:42to these complex
17:43doubles
17:44and they look
17:45spectacular
17:45when mass planted
17:47under deciduous
17:48trees.
17:51Another wonderful
17:53family of shade
17:54loving plants
17:55is Plectranthus.
17:56They're ground
17:57covers up to
17:58medium sized shrubs
17:59which have fabulous
18:00flowers
18:01or foliage
18:02or both.
18:04My favourite
18:04is Plectranthus
18:05Argentatus
18:06or silver spur flower.
18:08It's an Australian
18:09native
18:09and it forms
18:10a low sprawling
18:12shrub
18:12which looks
18:13brilliant
18:13when mass planted.
18:15It has silvery
18:16foliage
18:17which stands out
18:18and brightens up
18:19a dark shady place
18:20and beautiful
18:21spars of flowers.
18:23My favourite
18:24form for flower colour
18:25is Plectranthus
18:26echelonii.
18:27It forms a large
18:28shrub
18:29and produces
18:29stunning violet blue
18:31spikes of flowers
18:32in autumn.
18:33It's breathtaking.
18:34Hydrangeas
18:40are loved
18:40by everyone
18:41and come
18:42in a variety
18:42of cultivars
18:43and species.
18:45Most
18:45with big
18:45blousy blooms
18:47in creams
18:48pinks
18:48and blue
18:49and they do best
18:50in part shade
18:51and they need
18:52to be kept moist
18:53especially
18:54in the drier months.
18:55And of course
18:56you can also use
18:57foliage to add colour
18:58to a shady area.
19:00These are heucheras
19:01and they add a splash
19:02of bright colour
19:03for small spaces
19:04or even in pots.
19:06To keep them
19:06looking fresh
19:07you probably need
19:08to divide them
19:09every couple of years
19:10but they certainly
19:11look gorgeous.
19:19There are plenty
19:20of other striking
19:21options that make
19:22great feature plants
19:23in a shaded garden
19:25like these
19:26birds' nest ferns.
19:27These spectacular
19:28broadleaf ferns
19:29are often associated
19:30with tropical gardens
19:31or indoors
19:32but they actually
19:33grow really well
19:34outside in the shade.
19:36Ideally
19:37they want to be kept
19:38in a moist area
19:39and while they'll
19:40take the cold
19:41they need to be kept
19:42frost free.
19:44Tractor seat
19:44produces big
19:45bold leaves
19:46which bring life
19:47to the shade
19:48creating a sense
19:49of warm tropics
19:50in the cooler regions.
19:51Watch out for snails
19:52and slugs
19:53and don't let them
19:54dry out.
19:57Japanese windflowers
19:58make a picture
19:59in autumn.
20:00They can equally
20:02be stunning
20:02as individuals
20:03mix through greenery
20:05or when planted
20:06en masse
20:06as they produce
20:07daisy-like flowers
20:09held high above
20:09the ground.
20:11They come in several
20:11shades of pink
20:12or white.
20:14They can handle
20:14some sun
20:15but are prone
20:16to scorching
20:16so they do best
20:18where they're in
20:19sheltered shady
20:19positions.
20:21They die back
20:21in the cooler regions
20:22in winter
20:23but elsewhere
20:24they're evergreen.
20:25purists are evergreen
20:30shrubs with these
20:31beautiful sprays
20:32of flowers
20:32either in white
20:34or pink
20:34that resemble
20:35lily of the valley.
20:36They're gorgeous
20:37plants but they need
20:38moist acid shade
20:40so similar position
20:41to camellias
20:41and azaleas
20:42and not only
20:43do they have
20:44dark green foliage
20:45some have variegated
20:46foliage
20:47and others
20:48have brightly coloured
20:49spring growth.
20:57So don't be daunted
20:58check what suits
21:00your growing conditions
21:01and embrace the shade.
21:17I've developed
21:18a technique
21:19for propagating
21:19ferns
21:20by spores
21:21which mimics
21:22what's happening
21:23on the trunk
21:24of my palm.
21:26Using a clear
21:27plastic bottle
21:28which has been
21:29almost cut in half
21:30just leaving a hinge
21:31and I'm using
21:34coir fibre
21:35this has actually
21:36come from my palm
21:38so this is exactly
21:40what they've been
21:40growing on
21:41in my garden
21:42and you half fill
21:44that.
21:46Now to
21:46collect the fern
21:47spores
21:48I've got
21:50a fertile
21:51fern frond
21:52and you can see
21:54these are the parts
21:55which release
21:56the spores
21:57you put that
21:58into a packet
21:58and allow that
22:00to release
22:00its spores
22:01overnight
22:02tap it onto
22:04the coir
22:05and you can just
22:05see this
22:06almost looks
22:07like spice
22:08I'm misting the spores
22:10before I tape
22:11the top half
22:12of the bottle
22:12back on
22:13water regularly
22:17through the mouthpiece
22:18with a mister
22:19making sure
22:20you don't overwater
22:21and flood the mix
22:22and when the
22:24spoilings are
22:25big enough
22:25to handle
22:26remove the tape
22:28and pop them up
22:29I love seeing
22:36what people do
22:37with the margins
22:38of space
22:38by that I mean
22:40the edges
22:41like where the
22:42vertical meets
22:43the horizontal
22:44where the pavement
22:45ends and becomes
22:47the garden bed
22:48it's a chance
22:49for those spaces
22:50to punch above
22:52their weight
22:52and really create
22:54garden impact
22:55Josh is visiting
22:56a verge garden
22:57in Perth
22:58that's doing
22:58just that
22:59for the local
23:00wildlife
23:01with properties
23:06getting smaller
23:07the front verge
23:08is an opportunity
23:09that you are mad
23:10not to make
23:11the most of
23:11often
23:12it's a blank canvas
23:13you could plant it
23:15up for colour
23:15maybe grow some
23:16veggies
23:17to share with
23:18your neighbours
23:18or you could do
23:20this
23:20this is a verge
23:26chock full of
23:27species
23:27native to the
23:28region
23:29I'm in Leda
23:30a suburb
23:31about 40 clicks
23:33south of Perth
23:33and this is the
23:34garden of
23:35Beru's Esla
23:36the three reasons
23:38I bought the house
23:39is because it
23:39faces north
23:40it's a corner block
23:41and there's bushland
23:42across the road
23:43so I realised
23:44that if I could
23:44create a bit of
23:45biodiversity
23:46or habitat
23:46in my property
23:47I would attract
23:48lots of birds
23:49and animals
23:49as you can hear
23:50and with all
23:51the cooch
23:52that you started
23:52with
23:53how did you go
23:53about transforming
23:54it to what we
23:55see now
23:55so the first year
23:57I started
23:57I didn't have
23:58much money
23:58so I just
23:58watched the sun
23:59angles
23:59so I realised
24:01that the backyard
24:01didn't get so much
24:02sun so I wanted
24:03to grow food
24:03all year round
24:04so I put the
24:05raised beds
24:05in the front yard
24:06for that reason
24:07but what I did
24:08was I started
24:09with getting rid
24:10of the cooch grass
24:11by getting a bobcat
24:13to come in
24:14and taking off
24:14about 10 centimetres
24:15the top soil
24:16when that soil
24:17was removed
24:18I put in some
24:19soil conditioner
24:19laid some wet
24:21cardboard
24:21and put mulch
24:22on top of that
24:23and that stopped
24:23the cooch coming back
24:24and did you plant
24:25out en masse
24:26from scratch
24:27I had an idea
24:28in my head
24:28of creating
24:29a fence line
24:30of natives
24:30that would go
24:31around the whole
24:31property
24:32and create
24:32a natural barrier
24:33the whole block
24:34the whole block
24:34is 500 square metres
24:35and the house
24:37is only 100 square metres
24:37so it's mostly garden
24:39I've squeezed
24:40in just over 200 plants
24:41I've lost about 100
24:43so 50% strike rate
24:45at the moment
24:45I've been to a local nursery
24:47to get a lot of support
24:48and advice
24:48on what grows best
24:49in my soil type
24:50I have sandy
24:51limestone soil
24:52so I chose tube stock
24:53because I felt like
24:54they're obviously
24:55a lot cheaper
24:55than mature plants
24:56but also
24:57I've heard lots of good stories
24:59about tube stock
24:59having a good start
25:00and being successful
25:02and I wanted to do tube stock
25:03because the money factor
25:05but also the success factor
25:06I deliberately chose
25:12to hand water everything
25:13rather than put re-tick in
25:14and that's because
25:15I wanted to make sure
25:16that each plant
25:16got enough water
25:17so for example
25:18the seedlings
25:19require more water
25:20than the more mature plants
25:22also it's my meditation time
25:24I live in my head a lot
25:25so to be out in the garden
25:26and watering by hand
25:28is a great time
25:28for me to meditate
25:29and it's also
25:30a security system
25:31I feel like
25:35if I can connect
25:36with the neighbours
25:37people who walk past
25:38dog walkers
25:39give them extra produce
25:41when they're walking past
25:42I make that connection
25:43create a sense of community
25:45so this red dragon
25:49here is one of my favourites
25:50it's a grevillea
25:51and I love it so much
25:52because it grew so quickly
25:53and it's got these
25:54beautiful red flowers
25:55as you can see
25:56but what I love
25:56so much about it
25:57is the bees love it
25:58and it brings in wildlife
25:59from across the road
26:00I love the habitat
26:02that's created
26:02and the biodiversity
26:03and another one
26:05of my favourites
26:05is this grevillea
26:06chrythmopholia
26:07it's a huge
26:08native ground cover
26:10and I just love it
26:11because when it flowers
26:12it's covered in
26:12beautiful white flowers
26:13how many individual plants
26:15have made this big mess
26:16so this huge
26:17grevillea chrythmopholia
26:19is from one tube stock
26:20and I grew it about
26:21four years ago
26:22and as you can see
26:23it's just huge
26:24on the label
26:25on the back
26:25say oh two to three metres
26:26but mine's gone to like
26:27six metres wide
26:28which is quite incredible
26:29it's a perfect verge plant
26:31it is
26:31but I'll just show you
26:32through my garden here
26:33Josh
26:33I love coming through here
26:35because it's all tightly packed
26:37pretty dense there here
26:39Baruch
26:39I do love this
26:41Banksia preanates
26:42it's just amazing
26:42how big it got
26:43in such a short time
26:44I grew it from tube stock
26:45and three years ago
26:46look how big it is now
26:47and a few months ago
26:48I saw some Carnaby's
26:50cockatoos on there
26:50having a feed
26:51on the top of the
26:52Banksia plant
26:53and I was just chewing
26:54away at the flowers
26:55it's such an amazing sound
26:56and I'm just so proud
26:57of what I've achieved here
26:59for the Carnaby's
26:59to come in
27:00and have a feed
27:00in my garden
27:01it's quite remarkable
27:04how quickly this garden
27:06has established
27:06but what are your plans
27:08with pruning
27:09for example
27:10taking out some
27:11of these acacias
27:11which might crowd
27:13the long-term species
27:14like the Banksias
27:15I do prune the plants
27:16back a bit
27:16I did realise
27:17that I was going to
27:18put a lot of plants
27:19in a small space
27:20and I had to prune
27:20I didn't realise
27:21how big some of the plants
27:23like this acacia
27:24would get
27:24in such a short time
27:25so I deliberately
27:26had to prune back
27:27quite a lot of them
27:27you can't help
27:32but be inspired
27:33by Beruz
27:34and his commitment
27:35to creating habitat
27:36for local wildlife
27:37it really does
27:39start at home
27:40but for Beruz
27:41that's not enough
27:42he's a teacher
27:44and takes every chance
27:45he can
27:46to share his
27:47sustainability message
27:48in the classroom
27:49there's a pomegranate there
27:50ice cream bean there
27:52a couple of dwarf apples
27:53sweet potato
27:54when I go into a school
27:55I share my passion
27:56my knowledge
27:56my wisdom
27:57with those young children
27:58so they can benefit
27:59from what I've done
28:00and what I've created
28:01in my space
28:01and hopefully inspire them
28:02to create something
28:03in their own gardens
28:04at home
28:04even if you just plant
28:05one small shrub
28:06that's something
28:07and once you've had success
28:08that'll be a second
28:09and a third
28:10and just build on that
28:11and create whatever
28:12you want to create
28:12The Verges Council land
28:14what's been their position
28:16on you planting it up?
28:17Each year they offer
28:18a subsidy on native plants
28:19they give away
28:1920 plants at a reduced price
28:21and the last 6 years
28:23I've been buying
28:24those plants
28:25to plant along my verge
28:26and I understand
28:27that the council
28:28own that land
28:30however they do encourage me
28:31to provide habitat
28:32on that space
28:33And what are the suggestions
28:35in terms of species height?
28:37When I'm planting out
28:38The Verge
28:38one of the main considerations
28:39is sight lines
28:40because I'm a corner block
28:41when people are turning
28:42they need to be able to see
28:43oncoming traffic
28:44around the corner
28:45so I've been very conscious
28:46of making sure
28:47that I prune the plants
28:48that are over a certain height
28:50What about services?
28:52Yeah I have an NBN
28:53Tulstra pit on my property
28:55and I've been conscious
28:55of not growing anything
28:56directly around it
28:57or on top of it
28:58however some of the grevilleas
29:00just take off
29:00so I've had to prune that
29:01quite a few times
29:02Has this garden turned out
29:06how you hoped it would?
29:08I feel like I have achieved
29:09what I set out to do
29:10I've achieved quite a lot
29:11because I've planted
29:12so many species of plants
29:13in a small space
29:14and I love that
29:15I've created a habitat
29:16for nature to come and enjoy
29:17and for me it's about
29:19embracing biodiversity
29:20creating a habitat
29:21where nature can do its thing
29:23Still to come on Gardening Australia
29:30Hannah keeps those pesky rodents
29:34out of her garden
29:35We meet a professor
29:37thinking about planting design
29:39and fire you up
29:41with your jobs for the weekend
29:43Horticultural fads come and go
29:53but some plants
29:55always remain in style
29:56like this one here
29:58the pygmy date palm
30:00or phoenix rubelini
30:01They're pretty much set and forget
30:04They grow to a height
30:06of around about two metres
30:08like this one
30:09It's a great choice
30:11for a warm temperate climate
30:13The thing I love about them
30:15is unlike most palms
30:16which grow like dead straight
30:19these ones get a shimmy
30:21and a curve
30:22and a lean
30:23and a bend to them
30:24They're from monsoonal floodplains
30:26in northern Laos
30:27so they're adapted
30:29to both flooding
30:30and seasonal dryness
30:31The glossy foliage
30:33gives the look
30:34of being constantly wet
30:35They also look great in a pot
30:37but watch out
30:38they come with sharp spines
30:41Gardens can hold
30:59a lifetime of memories
31:00and this elegant
31:01tree-filled haven
31:03is a reminder
31:04of many happy decades
31:06for the family
31:07who set it up
31:08in the 1960s
31:09The two hectare
31:14Warren Glen garden
31:15and nursery
31:16in Warrandyte
31:17in Melbourne's
31:18outer northeast
31:19was once home
31:20to nurseryman
31:21Andrew Raper
31:22and his family
31:23It was an old
31:28gold mining site
31:29and Andrew's parents
31:30started a nursery here
31:31building showrooms
31:33and a footbridge
31:34over an ornamental creek
31:36They also started
31:38the display garden
31:39especially to show off
31:40the latest plants
31:41being brought in
31:42from overseas
31:43Andrew, over the years
31:49I've visited this garden
31:50many times
31:51it's a special place
31:52but what is your
31:53relationship with it?
31:54So my mum and dad
31:55Ellen and Barbara
31:56they bought this site
31:58in 1965
31:59and set up
32:00this beautiful display garden
32:02for people to see
32:03and admire
32:04and learn about
32:05the trees
32:05that were becoming
32:06new to Australia
32:07at the time
32:08And so
32:09are you still involved?
32:10No
32:10we've sold the place
32:12to a new owner
32:13and the new owner
32:14is looking after it
32:15like it was always theirs
32:16it's beautiful
32:17and it makes me
32:18very proud
32:18So the garden
32:24apart from being
32:26a fabulous legacy
32:27it's actually
32:29a planting
32:30of plants
32:30that were in fashion
32:31from the day
32:32the place started
32:33to current
32:34So when
32:35the very first planting
32:36was actually all
32:37cacti and succulents
32:38because that was a thing
32:39in the 60s
32:39then trees
32:41became a big thing
32:42in the 70s and 80s
32:43and then maples
32:44in the 80s and 90s
32:46so the garden's
32:47progressively growing
32:48and evolving
32:49to reflect
32:50the trends
32:51Yeah
32:51Except your dad
32:53started the trends
32:54in a way
32:54didn't he?
32:55Well he was very
32:56interested in
32:57all aspects of gardening
32:58but he particularly
33:00liked trees
33:01and so
33:02the legacy
33:03is as we see
33:04It's amazing
33:05isn't it?
33:18Wowee Andrew
33:20that's not a bad
33:21looking tree
33:22is it?
33:23That's the giant
33:24Californian sequoia
33:25Jane
33:25It's a Californian
33:27redwood
33:27it's one of the biggest
33:28trees on earth
33:29And it's a conifer
33:30And it's a conifer
33:31Wow
33:32It's about 55 years
33:33old now
33:34It's at about
33:3525% of full height
33:37so at 20 metres now
33:39it's got a little way
33:40to go to get to 100 metres
33:42but it will live
33:43to probably
33:441,000 to 1,500 years
33:46Well your dad
33:47would be very proud
33:48He'd be pretty pleased
33:49to see that
33:49wouldn't he?
33:50So very popular
33:51in the 50s and 60s
33:53kind of landmark
33:54kind of tree
33:55that was planted
33:55to sort of say
33:57hey I was here
33:58So Jane
34:09another great conifer
34:10in this garden
34:11is the Swain's
34:12Golden Pencil Pine
34:13planted in the 70s
34:15back in the day
34:16mum and dad
34:17used to get in the truck
34:18drive to Sydney
34:19and the only way
34:20they could get them
34:20was to go and buy
34:21a whole truckload
34:22of plants
34:23Oh special
34:23They really speak
34:241970s
34:25Absolutely
34:25totally 1970s
34:27Isn't that incredible?
34:28They make a statement
34:29don't they?
34:29Oh it's a glorious tree
34:30the beautiful element
34:31of being narrow
34:33and conical
34:33fits in every garden
34:35still today
34:35And then this
34:36I love that
34:37just as a contrast
34:38So in the foreground
34:39that's the Kashmir Cypress
34:41from the Himalayas
34:42would be one of my
34:43favourite conifers
34:44beautiful weeping
34:45specimen tree
34:45and blue being
34:46a very uncommon conifer
34:48it's certainly
34:49one of the good ones
34:49I don't see many
34:50of them anymore
34:51but they still are around
34:53you can still get them
34:54So this is the
34:57Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar
34:58this is one of my
34:59favourite trees
35:00this is also a really
35:01special tree to me
35:02because my dad
35:03grafted this a very
35:04long time ago
35:04Oh isn't that amazing
35:05So it's still a 1970s tree
35:07Yes here it is
35:08still in the garden
35:09looking fabulous
35:10has a glorious
35:11pendulous habit
35:12It's like a curtain
35:14isn't it?
35:14It's absolutely beautiful
35:15Now because it's grafted
35:17is it going to stay
35:18about that height?
35:19Yes it's only going
35:20to grow downward
35:21not upward
35:21Wowie
35:22So where does this
35:23tree come from?
35:24So it comes from
35:25the Blue Atlas Mountains
35:26in Morocco
35:27so it's North African
35:30It's just lovely
35:31isn't it?
35:32Yeah
35:32Glorious
35:33While the conifers
35:36shine brightly
35:37in the garden
35:37the deciduous trees
35:39are no less
35:40impressive
35:40This is a real
35:44wow factor
35:44when you see
35:45that purpley red
35:46and the green lime
35:48of the maples
35:49together
35:49are just as fantastic
35:50Glorious plants
35:52aren't they?
35:52They are
35:52The mid 80s
35:54brought a whole
35:54new range of
35:55maples to Australia
35:56and we planted
35:57all of the maples
35:58which were not
35:59really popular
36:00at the time
36:01but have since
36:01become very
36:02very popular
36:03The filigree foliage
36:05and the colours
36:05is so beautiful
36:07and people just
36:08love it
36:08These just remind
36:10me of what they
36:10look like in Japan
36:11they're beautiful
36:12Aren't they lovely?
36:13Great specimens
36:14Now what about
36:18this tree
36:19it's magnificent
36:19Jane
36:20this is possibly
36:21my favourite tree
36:22in the whole wide world
36:23so it's
36:24Elmus parvo flora
36:25frosty
36:25so the frosty elm
36:27it naturally
36:29grows in this habit
36:30so it's not pruned
36:30like this
36:31it's naturally
36:32the best beach umbrella
36:33you could ever get
36:34so that upright
36:35spreading habit
36:36means it's a good tree
36:37for a lot of gardens
36:38And it's hardy
36:39and it's very hardy
36:40and the leaves
36:41are very pretty
36:42so they come out
36:42with this lovely lime
36:43then they go
36:44hard green
36:45with this beautiful
36:45white margin
36:46that's the frosty name
36:47and then in autumn
36:49the whole tree
36:49goes rich yellow
36:51and it all falls down
36:52I know the Chinese elm
36:54to which it's related
36:55Yes
36:55that can be a little bit weedy
36:56Yeah so Chinese elms
36:57can be a bit weedy
36:58and also would grow
37:00much bigger than this
37:01This one's about
37:0240 years old
37:03and it's a really
37:04nice sized garden tree
37:06I wouldn't have a garden
37:07without one
37:07Oh
37:07So where did the water
37:10for the little stream
37:11come from?
37:11It's actually just
37:12a little tributary
37:14of the Yarra River
37:15Just down
37:16at Warrandut State Park
37:17it runs into the Yarra
37:18And so your dad
37:19dammed it?
37:20Yeah so he put
37:21a little dam in
37:22just basically
37:23to make a fish pond
37:24and a duck pond
37:25It must have
37:26fond memories for you
37:28I have a lot
37:29of memories
37:29and as a kid
37:31the best time
37:32of day
37:33was after the padlock
37:35shut the gate shut
37:35because I had
37:36the whole place
37:37to myself
37:37and it was fantastic
37:38I used to love it
37:39and I kind of remember
37:41individual trees
37:43going in
37:44or lots of things
37:45happening
37:46you know
37:46we had a zoo license
37:47it was done as a drawcard
37:49really
37:49to bring people
37:51to the nursery
37:52as an extra thing
37:53so we had kangaroos
37:54growing up
37:54and there was always
37:55this incredible
37:56amount of activity
37:58going on around the place
37:59it was a very
37:59very very busy
38:00and great place
38:01to grow up
38:02yeah
38:02the nursery
38:04was buffeted
38:04by the millennium drought
38:06and the arrival
38:07of big retail competitors
38:09after the death
38:11of his parents
38:12the business
38:13was sold
38:14in 2004
38:15and nowadays
38:16Andrew is focused
38:17on the family's
38:18other nursery
38:19in the Dandenong Ranges
38:20specialising
38:21in camellias
38:22you would have
38:24noticed a lot
38:24of change
38:25in nurseries
38:26over that time
38:26for the 60s
38:27and 70s
38:28up to today
38:28yeah well
38:29keep in mind
38:29this was my backyard
38:31as a kid
38:33and so I've seen
38:34the nurseries
38:36and like more
38:37small independent
38:38garden centres
38:38open up everywhere
38:39then the chain stores
38:41come
38:41and then the chain stores
38:43go
38:43and a lot of
38:45the small
38:45inner suburban
38:46garden centres
38:47closing down
38:48so these sort of
38:49destination nurseries
38:50will be the future
38:51forever
38:52I think nurseries
38:55are forever evolving
38:58as do their customers
38:59so at the moment
39:00we've got a whole
39:01new range of people
39:03very interested
39:03in indoor plants
39:04and very interested
39:05in growing their own
39:06food
39:07and so the new
39:08generation of gardeners
39:09they might be
39:10single minded
39:11and very focused
39:11but they're about
39:13to expand
39:13so they will seek
39:15and source out
39:15really beautiful plants
39:17and grow them
39:17successfully
39:18so the future is good
39:20I think the future
39:20is good
39:21animals love gardens
39:35for much the same
39:37reasons we do
39:38they're quiet
39:39sheltered
39:40safe
39:41and they have
39:42an abundant supply
39:43of food
39:44water
39:45and nesting
39:46opportunities
39:47if you've ever
39:48tried to grow
39:49food in urban areas
39:50chances are
39:52you've come across
39:53pesky rodents
39:54well Hannah's here
39:56with some advice
39:57about how you can
39:58turn the problem
39:59off at the source
40:01how about these guys
40:06for unwelcome
40:06garden visitors
40:07rodents
40:08and we're not
40:10talking about
40:10our delightful
40:11Australian native
40:12rodent species
40:13in urban gardens
40:15all around the country
40:16you're far more likely
40:18to be contending
40:19with introduced
40:19black and brown
40:21rats and house mice
40:22even in my garden
40:25in certain times
40:26of the year
40:26rats can be
40:27a real problem
40:28like check out
40:30this kohlrabi crop
40:31they have munched
40:32it to the ground
40:33this is not okay
40:35the good news is
40:37that there are
40:38a few simple things
40:39you can do
40:40to keep rodents
40:40under control
40:41rats and mice
40:43are attracted to
40:44gardens
40:44because they can
40:45easily find
40:46warmth
40:46shelter
40:47and food
40:48compost systems
40:52and worm farms
40:53for processing food
40:54waste
40:55can quickly become
40:56rodent hot spots
40:57if you're not careful
40:58this worm farm
40:59is made from
41:00an old bath tub
41:01and importantly
41:02it has a really heavy
41:04and solid lid
41:05so there's no nooks
41:06and crannies
41:07that the mice
41:08or rats can crawl
41:08into
41:09so basically
41:10it's fortnocks
41:11for rodents
41:12usually rats and mice
41:15will burrow
41:15under your compost bin
41:17and set up camp
41:18and breed
41:18but we can put a stop
41:20to that
41:20I use vermin wire mesh
41:23leaving at least
41:24five centimetres
41:25at the side
41:26so I can fold it
41:27up over the edges
41:28and there you have it
41:37the worms will be able
41:38to come and go
41:39through these beautiful
41:40holes but not
41:41the rats
41:42yay
41:42and don't forget to
41:45put the lid on
41:46nice and snugly
41:47another potential
41:54haven for rodents
41:55is your chicken yard
41:56or in my case
41:57my goat and chicken yard
41:58this is because
41:59there's heaps of
42:00organic matter around
42:01and often daily
42:02food scraps
42:03from your kitchen
42:04if you are feeding
42:05food scraps
42:06to your animals
42:06make sure you only
42:07do it in the morning
42:08in small amounts
42:10so they have all day
42:11to eat them
42:12before the rodents
42:13come out at night time
42:14another tip is to
42:18store your chicken feed
42:19into metal bins
42:20which are rodent proof
42:21and make sure you
42:22keep the lid on
42:23nice and tight
42:24I've also made myself
42:27a rodent resistant
42:28chicken feeder
42:29just out of a plastic
42:30bucket with a toggle
42:31on the bottom
42:32the chickens have to
42:33peck
42:33and every time they do
42:34that it releases their
42:35feed onto the ground
42:37it's hanging off a metal
42:39rod and it's placed
42:40just higher than the
42:42chickens head
42:42so they have to reach
42:43up to peck the toggle
42:44this design does a
42:46fantastic job at
42:47keeping feed contained
42:48and also off the ground
42:50unless the chickens
42:51are eating it immediately
42:52it's actually the best
42:54feeder I've ever found
42:55to help keep rodents at
42:57bay
42:57now that's something
42:59to crow about
43:00rats also rely on a
43:05steady source of water
43:06so turn off any dripping
43:07taps and upturn buckets
43:09of course you can also
43:11catch rodents using
43:13live or snap traps
43:14deter them with sensor
43:16repellents or as a last
43:18resort you can use poison
43:20now I don't recommend
43:22poison but if you are
43:23going to use it make sure
43:25you look for first
43:26generation bait with the
43:27active ingredient of
43:28warfarin as this makes
43:30sure that none of our
43:31precious native wildlife
43:33dies if they happen to eat
43:34a dead poisoned rat
43:36so prevention is always
43:38the best cure
43:39do your best to cut off
43:41access to food water and
43:42shelter and you should be
43:44able to send your mouse and
43:45rat pack packing
43:46I want to show you
43:54something incredibly
43:55exciting that I've been
43:56observing in the garden
43:57over the last few days
43:58in this yellow poppy I
44:01have a whole lot of
44:03bees now they've been
44:03sleeping overnight and
44:05they're just waking up
44:06they come out onto these
44:07petals they warm up and
44:09they fly away but it is
44:11not uncommon to find bees
44:13asleep in flowers I found
44:14them in native orchids I
44:16found them in weeds on
44:17flatweed flowers they spend
44:19the night and they're nice
44:20and comfortable and warm and
44:21then they warm up and take
44:23off from the day it's always
44:24worth stopping to look at
44:26your flowers and look even
44:28closer to see if someone's
44:29having a snooze in the
44:30bottom
44:31as our cities have grown so
44:39has research into just how
44:41vital the link to nature is
44:44in our urban lives as
44:46gardeners we already know it
44:48life just wouldn't be the
44:50same without our local
44:51parks and botanic gardens
44:53our next story is with a
44:56professor who's studying how
44:58we can build our
44:59understanding of plants to
45:02take these places to the
45:04next level
45:04I really want to try to design
45:20vegetation and encourage other
45:22people to design vegetation
45:24which is really good for
45:25supporting local biodiversity
45:27complexity of plants how many
45:31different species you have
45:33and every leads to complexity of
45:35spatial form and that just
45:37creates a whole range of niche
45:38for a lot of organisms to live
45:40in that vegetation
45:41I'm James Hitchmore and if you
45:49want the full title I'm
45:50Professor Emma Writers in the
45:52Department of Landscape
45:53Architecture at the University of
45:55Sheffield
45:55what do I do I do I think I write
45:59and I'm just sort of always
46:00asking questions about the world
46:02in relation to planting design
46:04biodiversity human well-being
46:06climate change all really the big
46:09issues of the time trying to set
46:10horticulture and landscape
46:13architecture in in in a really in a
46:16policy context and saying what
46:18should we be doing where should we
46:19be going
46:19I've worked on projects all over the
46:25world and done projects you know
46:27really from the scale of a new urban
46:30woodlands in the center of Beijing all
46:32the way to massive sort of woodland
46:34restoration projects in Western
46:36China's on the scale of thousands of
46:38square kilometers
46:38the aim has always been to try to
46:41increase awareness and appreciation of
46:44nature in urban places my relationship
46:48with Burnley the University of
46:50Melbourne it was my first job after
46:52finishing my PhD in the UK and so it's a
46:54in a way it's it's where I cut my teeth
46:56and it's a sort of really special place
46:58for me when I first came here I was
47:02really young I was only 26 or 27 because
47:06I was looking for some sort of big idea or
47:08research direction for me for the rest
47:11of my career and and what really
47:13supplied it to me was actually looking
47:15at the native grasslands on the western
47:16plains of Victoria which I thought were
47:18very beautiful and just seemed to have
47:20so much potential as a landscape design
47:23form
47:24and during that time I played a major
47:27role in beginning to develop research
47:30understanding and how we might use these
47:33native plants from the western plains in
47:36design landscapes in the city and as part of
47:39that I also designed the grass garden at
47:42Burnley which is open to the public and
47:45you can see from that time on I started
47:49thinking about how could I make sort of
47:51very beautiful flowering grassland type
47:54vegetation in cities and when I went back
47:57to the UK I really began to look at a much
47:59more eclectic range of vegetation types and I
48:03looked at this through search and then as I
48:05researched developed and I learned how to
48:07make a whole range of different vegetation
48:09types that no one ever made before I started
48:12getting asked to try to create those in public
48:15landscapes often on a very big scale and so I
48:19ended up in 2007 being asked to co-design actually
48:23with a colleague who was doing similar things the
48:25London Olympic Park and that was a huge project huge gig and I
48:30eventually ended up designing and creating ten hectares of native
48:35wildflower meadows it was the first Olympic Park in the world where you
48:38didn't have just mown grass and trees so it was a hugely ambitious and a big risk
48:43taking project
48:48so up on the roof at University of Melbourne Burnley we have the trial gardens for the Melbourne Arts Precinct project and we've got three beds here to the right we have a substrate depth of 100 millimetres to the right behind me we have 200 millimetres and to the left behind me we have 300 millimetres and to the left behind me we have 300 millimetres and what we're doing here is
49:12we're testing how the individual plants grow and also how they sort of compete with one another to try to get a longer term sense of how we're going to select the very final plants for the real project in the Melbourne Arts Precinct
49:27so the Melbourne Arts Precinct it's a project to essentially build a new gallery of contemporary art behind the existing National Gallery on St Kilda Road the space around the galleries is going to be repurposed as a major new garden for Melbourne and the scale is enormous I mean we're talking about 18,000 square metres of plantings that's all just under two hectares so the name of the garden is Lark Bundap which is in the
49:57Lark Bundap which is its Wurundjeri name the whole project in terms of the garden will be finished probably in 2029 so it's a slow burning project and gives us a lot of time to actually work out in a very precise way what we're going to do which is a real luxury on many of these projects so this garden is a behind the scenes research facility so it doesn't have public access but if you want to see what it looks like in a sort of more real world context there is a test garden on the corner Federation Square in Melbourne just
50:27just by the car park which is freely available so this test planting is the result of a large number of people collaborating with different skills and my particular role in this has been to in the first instance try and identify what the plant palette might be for the conditions we're going to have in the project and so we'll be able to get closer and closer to the spatial arrangements and the species we're going to use in the real thing in the future
50:55With climate change Melbourne is projected to have the climate of Dobbo in the present moment by 2060, 2070 and so we have to have some species in there which we're pretty sure will have the resilience to be able to persist in the longer term
51:16When we design this sort of vegetation you're looking at it sort of you know as a perhaps a single thing but I see it as three layers
51:25We have a base layer something from zero to perhaps 20-30 centimetres and then we have an emergent sort of layer often called a bump layer
51:34and it might go up to 600 and then we have what we call a tall emergent layer and that might be anything from you know a metre to two metres
51:43But the bottom is really important because the bottom layer is what's always there often evergreen
51:50Say we've got ten plants per square metre
51:52We'd normally have nine plants or eight plants in that bottom layer and then in the next layer we might have one or two
52:02And then in the top layer we might only have point one of a plant
52:06I plant every ten square metres so if you do that you create a structure which allows light to get in
52:13It also has a lot of visual dynamism
52:16Because of the upright stems and you get these rhythms and patterns and you get this movement when the wind blows
52:22So it might look completely random but in actual fact
52:25It's designed using spreadsheets and ratios as well as scribbling with a fat pencil on a piece of paper
52:32So it's a very creative process but it's also a very science-based process too
52:41So in terms of my hopes for the future of this vegetation when it becomes like bunda in the arts precinct project
52:50I mean obviously the base thing I'd like to achieve is it's got to look fabulous
52:55And it's really got to capture people's hearts and imagination
52:58At a time of biodiversity crisis and the sort of you know the well-being crisis we have in our cities
53:07It's really important that we try to elevate the significance of vegetation in the city
53:14You know it's not just nice to have it's actually an essential to have
53:18And you know we've got to start valuing this sort of stuff
53:21You know as much as we value built infrastructure
53:25Because you know the future lies really in terms of 21st century in terms of dealing with
53:30Vegetation in cities and making them habitable resilient climate responsive places
53:36So I really hope that this will start a lot of conversations about that
53:41And I hope that that will have a lasting legacy in Australia
53:51I know what time it is time to lean into your jobs for the weekend
54:06Cool temperate gardeners it's finally tomato time so early mid and late season varieties
54:13And bomb-proof cherry toms to extend your harvest avoid gluts and keep you in salads and salsa for months
54:22Take softwood cuttings from hydrangeas and have a go at propagating them this weekend
54:28Cut 15 centimeters of fresh green stem leave a pair of leaves dip cutting in honey and pot up simple
54:37Sow some fine french herbs for instant ooh la la
54:41Chervil tarragon parsley and chives are good to grow and even better to eat
54:47Great in pots hanging baskets or a sunny spot in the patch
54:52In warm temperate gardens roses are rocketing away
54:56So stake delicate new water shoots to prevent them snapping in the wind
55:01These shoots will become full-on flowering stems in no time
55:05Get set for summer and whack in a watermelon seed or two
55:10These fine vines grow easily in rich soils and compact varieties like sugar baby are perfect for smaller spaces
55:19Strike some simple softwood cuttings of mint basil rosemary and salvias
55:24Select healthy 10 centimeter sections of stem
55:27Strip lower leaves pot up and you'll have new plants in no time simple as
55:33In the subtropics treat perennials palms grasses roses and mangoes to some lovely liquid potash
55:43This will boost flowering and fruiting and bulk up plants to fight off fungal attacks
55:49Get wise to weeds either at home or through a local group
55:52By identifying and treating environmental weeds at this time of the year
55:57You help to stop seed set and spread over summer
56:01If your dill is forming seed heads in the warmer weather don't despair
56:06The seeds can be collected and stored in paper bags once they've dried completely
56:10They're perfect in pickling mixes
56:13They're perfect in the middle of the year
56:14Tropical gardeners it's a great time to plant banana suckers
56:18Either split from your own plants or purchase from a certified supplier
56:23Look for healthy suckers with well-established roots
56:27Below your bananas slot in some sweet potato slips
56:31This super tough scrambler will help suppress weeds and retain moisture
56:35Plus the foliage is edible and in a few months you'll have tons of tasty tubers
56:42Edible adaptable and a doddle to grow pop in a pigeon pea
56:46Cajanus cajun
56:48Growing to three metres high this shrub is a winning windbreak
56:52A great green manure and the seeds are delicious in dahl
56:57Arid gardeners have a crack at growing a caper plant
57:01Capparis spinosa delicious deciduous tough and tasty these incredible edibles
57:07Adore a hot dry climate and are an attractive low spreading shrub
57:12If you're noticing distorted leaves or buds on plants you may have an infestation of thrips
57:19Inspect plants for these tiny cylindrical insects
57:23Remove bin and bag affected foliage and flowers
57:28If you've got access to irrigation grow an egg-cellent eggplant or two
57:33Great in the patch or pots try varieties like black beauty turkish orange or tsakoniki that don't hate the heat
57:42The weather's getting warmer gardeners but our tips and tricks are always red hot
57:47So head on over to our youtube channel for loads of gardening australia content you may have missed
57:57Well it's time to say goodbye for another week but there's plenty more to come next time here's what's in store
58:11Millie does some native plant maintenance like any other plants they will want a little bit of your love and attention
58:19which is the best part about gardening
58:21I'm meeting someone who's transformed a shared courtyard space into a lush secret garden
58:28Well it's a harmonious group of people who live here and I think the garden has a lot to do with that
58:33And we meet a certified chicken champion
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