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Gardening Australia 2025 Episode 36
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00:00ROOSE
00:03ROOSE
00:05ROOSE
00:06Hey!
00:07Hi!
00:08ROOSE
00:10HEH HEH
00:12OO!
00:18Hey!
00:19Ooh!
00:20Hey, buddy!
00:21ROOSE
00:22WEEEEE
00:23ROOSE
00:26Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36I love this time of year.
00:39The temperature's perfect, the garden is popping
00:42and I just can't wait to get my hands into the soil.
00:46If you're like me, we've got plenty of inspiration for you this week.
00:52Millie does some native plant maintenance.
00:55One of the biggest myths about Australian plants
00:57is that they need little or no maintenance.
01:00And like any other plants,
01:01they will want a little bit of your love and attention.
01:05Which is the best part about gardening?
01:08Jane checks out a city courtyard.
01:10I'm meeting someone who's transformed a shared courtyard space
01:15into a lush, secret garden.
01:17Well, it's a harmonious group of people who live here
01:19and I think the garden has a lot to do with that.
01:21There's a vast army of essential workers
01:24that pollinate our veg, flower-filled gardens and bushland.
01:29To keep this diverse workforce well-catered for,
01:33well-rested and well-watered,
01:36I've got some top tips to keep them in tip-top shape.
01:41And we meet a certified chicken champion.
01:44There's something special about a large, rambling country cottage garden.
01:56Beautiful flowers, curved stone pathways.
02:00Maybe there's a large orchard.
02:03Throw in a veggie patch.
02:05Then you've got my attention.
02:06I'm leaning forward.
02:08Well, hold on to your hats
02:10because Hannah has found an absolute ripper.
02:20Sally Ives' passion for gardening
02:22surrounds this hillside property she lives on
02:24with her husband, Mike.
02:27Located in Livington,
02:29the rural area is around an hour south-west of Hobart.
02:32The whole garden is five acres,
02:53but it's the really colourful and diverse
02:56one-acre house garden that's drawing my attention.
02:59Wow, it's so beautiful.
03:12So many colours here.
03:14Oh.
03:16So, Hannah, this is the first ornamental patch we put in.
03:21Because we lived in Devon for a couple of years,
03:24and I just fell in love with the English cottage garden.
03:29You know, all this rambling.
03:32Yeah.
03:33Unruly, you know.
03:34But still with some strong structure
03:36throughout the pathways and some hedges
03:38and uniform plantings or bulk plantings.
03:42Yes, there is.
03:44This is just my attempt
03:45trying to contain the madness.
03:49I suppose I'm pretending I have a bit of control.
03:53Yeah.
03:54But I'm really happy that plants are actually in control.
03:58Mm.
04:01And you've planted the rainbow here.
04:03It's not just one or two different types of colour themes.
04:06It's the whole palette.
04:07Yeah.
04:08Yeah, it's gorgeous.
04:09Because it all depends on what I was gifted.
04:13Mm.
04:13And the bees love all colours.
04:18Yeah.
04:18They're having a good time.
04:19Yeah, I don't say no to any colour.
04:21Yeah.
04:22That's the best.
04:23Yeah.
04:27This lavender is called heatcoat.
04:30It's a dwarf one, as you can see.
04:32And this one is actually bred in a village in England
04:36called heatcoat.
04:38And have you been there?
04:39Yes.
04:39Yeah.
04:40Yes.
04:40Oh, it's a beautiful, cute village.
04:43They're not at the peak yet,
04:45but in another week it will be so blue
04:48and the fragrance is amazing.
04:50It smells amazing.
04:51Yeah.
04:51I love how plants can take us around the world
04:54in our own gardens and can travel.
04:56Absolutely.
04:59But things didn't always look this way.
05:02When Sally and her husband
05:03first purchased the ex-apple orchard,
05:06it was an empty block of land,
05:08apart from two remaining apple trees
05:10from the 1970s.
05:12When there was just blank paddock,
05:15first thing we planted was 24 fruit trees
05:18and then we built a veggie patch.
05:20This is all before the house was built.
05:24And then, because there's all just clay,
05:27we had to build the soil up.
05:30It took us about two years
05:32to use hay, manure, mushroom compost,
05:38virtually what we could find,
05:39the organic matter,
05:41before we can do anything around the house.
05:46Adding to the challenge,
05:47it was a steep block
05:48that Sally began planting
05:49before deciding access was needed
05:51in the form of large rocks.
05:53So, Hannah, this is very much goat country part of the garden.
06:03Well, I'm half mountain goat,
06:04so I can fit right in here.
06:05Oh, that's good to know.
06:11I started to collect rocks
06:12from Gardening Friends' farm.
06:15It's amazing.
06:15So, I started to lay all these little stretches
06:19of paths myself.
06:21Wow.
06:21Yeah.
06:22You've basically done it in the wrong order,
06:23haven't you?
06:25You can say that again.
06:27But also, that's also just life.
06:29We do things, we work it out,
06:31and you absolutely have landed
06:32with a gorgeous garden that works.
06:35But it's all learning, actually,
06:38by making mistakes.
06:39And now, you know,
06:41if we do it again,
06:43I would be lost.
06:45Wiser.
06:55Sally, looking around,
06:57there is such a diverse collection of plants
07:00from edibles to ornamentals to natives.
07:03How have you come about choosing these plants?
07:06Well, it really depends on what I'm given.
07:10The majority of these plants are from cuttings,
07:14you know, friends' gardens.
07:17A great thing about a sloped garden
07:18is that when you look around,
07:19you see so many more things
07:22than if it was just flat.
07:24That's one benefit,
07:25because realistically, on a slope,
07:27everything is harder,
07:28takes longer,
07:29it's often more expensive.
07:30Definitely.
07:31So, the bonus is we've got to celebrate.
07:32Yeah.
07:33Well, a slope is work and work and work,
07:37but it's a really rewarding work,
07:40and there's more character with the slope.
07:44Yeah.
07:45So, there is more ways you can play with it,
07:48I suppose.
07:49So, there's definitely pros.
07:51Some people might look at this garden
07:53and just see an ornamental garden,
07:56but it's also very much a working garden.
07:58You've got piles of mulch everywhere,
08:00all building soil health.
08:02It's very much centred at ecosystem health.
08:04Yes, well, I call it chop and drop.
08:08It's probably a bit embarrassing
08:10to say I don't have a composting station.
08:14I just do composting virtually anywhere
08:18and everywhere in the garden.
08:20But it's a really practical thing for me to do,
08:23instead of cutting everything
08:24into a compost pile somewhere.
08:27It's amazing how quickly that actually breaks down.
08:31In a few months' time,
08:32it just becomes beautiful soil.
08:36Sally has another hot tip
08:38she credits her gardening success to.
08:40Just about the only fertiliser I use
08:45is made from soil milk.
08:48That's what we use in China.
08:50The grit that's left over from making soil milk.
08:52Yeah, yeah.
08:53So, I make my own soil milk.
08:56And so, the by-product,
08:58you just put it into a bucket,
09:00fill the bucket with water
09:02and forget about it.
09:05So, six months, eight months later,
09:08you open the bucket
09:09and you will be probably knocked over by it.
09:15And then, just use that to dilute that.
09:20So, nothing gets wasted.
09:22It's all finish up back into the garden.
09:25Perfect.
09:26To me, it's the little bit I can do
09:29to make the world a better place.
09:32You know, it doesn't matter how small it is.
09:36When you plant a garden,
09:38that encourages all this whole ecosystem.
09:44And, to me,
09:46that definitely makes the world
09:48a more beautiful place.
09:49Can I grow sweet potato in a cold climate?
10:07Well, yes, you can.
10:09The best way to start is during October or November
10:12when the weather is warming up.
10:14And then, the next most important tip
10:17is to choose the right variety.
10:20Beauregard is a really common sweet potato.
10:23It's got sweet flesh
10:24and you'll find it sold in supermarkets.
10:27Plant those
10:28and they will mature in about 14 weeks' time.
10:32And never forget,
10:33you can also harvest the shoot tips and the leaves
10:36even while the plants are growing
10:38so you can get a taste of sweet potato
10:40even before the roots mature.
10:44How do I know when it's time to repot?
10:46You'll know it's time to repot
10:48when roots start growing out of the drainage holes
10:50or when the plant seems root-bound,
10:52which means there's no room to grow.
10:55Another telltale sign
10:56is when the plant is drying up faster than usual.
10:59And if your plant looks top-heavy
11:00or the soil is compacting and draining poorly,
11:03it's definitely time to upsize.
11:05Keep an eye on your plant's growth
11:07to catch the right moment.
11:09But in general,
11:10you want to be repotting every one to two years.
11:13What are the big lumps on eucalypt trunks?
11:15They're called burls
11:17and they're caused by disruptions
11:19to cell growth patterns,
11:21which results in twisted and compacted wood.
11:25Now, they can be removed carefully
11:27without affecting the health of a tree
11:29and they're much prized by woodworkers
11:31for their unique shape and dense wood.
11:34In Australia,
11:45we have over 1,700 species of native bees
11:49buzzing through the landscape,
11:51pollinating our fruit and vegetables.
11:54But they're not the only stars
11:56of this ecological show.
11:59Many other insects play a vital role too.
12:03Think butterflies.
12:04Wasps, hoverflies,
12:07moths, beetles
12:09and even native flies.
12:12Our little pollinating friends
12:13are having a hard time
12:15in the face of habitat loss,
12:17pesticide use
12:18and climate change.
12:21So here's my easy ways
12:23to help insects thrive in our gardens.
12:30The first thing on my list
12:32is creating insect-friendly habitats.
12:36Pollinators need nesting sites,
12:39overwintering shelters
12:40and safe places to forage.
12:43Many of our native bees, for instance,
12:46nest in the ground
12:47or in dead stems,
12:49not in hives.
12:51rake fallen leaves under shrubs.
12:59It provides temporary shelter
13:01for soil insects
13:05such as ground beetles
13:07and native slaters.
13:11They break down the mulch
13:13and then help to recycle the nutrients
13:16back into your garden.
13:28And find a spot
13:30to build up small piles
13:32of sticks and logs,
13:35preferably in an out-of-the-way corner
13:38of the garden.
13:40And by doing this,
13:42it'll create nice sheltered habitat
13:45for things like beetles
13:47and native wasps.
13:49Have fun with it.
13:51It's a bit like Jenga.
13:54I've even found some of this bark,
13:57which is perfect
13:58because it's kind of semi-rolled around
14:00and that makes a wonderful home
14:03for the insects to hide in there.
14:06And really,
14:06what this means is
14:07we step away
14:09from this sanitisation
14:10of our gardens.
14:12This is what nature needs.
14:14This is what it's created.
14:15This is the system
14:16to create the homes
14:18for the insects
14:19which then do the pollination.
14:21It's really simple.
14:23But if we take it all away,
14:25then we remove the chance
14:26for them to perform
14:28their nature services for us.
14:30Now, it may seem obvious,
14:34but pollinators get a thirst on as well,
14:36particularly in the hot,
14:39dry conditions of summer.
14:41When they're flying long distances,
14:43they need their water.
14:45So creating these little water stations
14:47is an ideal way
14:49of keeping them happy.
14:51You don't want it
14:52just to be an open body of water
14:54because they'll drown in there.
14:56They need to land
14:58and have access to the water.
15:00So putting branches in
15:01that they can land on
15:02and come to the water's edge.
15:04But equally,
15:05rocks like this
15:06are perfect
15:07because they're semi-submerged
15:09and gives them the chance
15:11to fly in,
15:13land,
15:13walk to the water's edge,
15:14have a drink,
15:16chill out
15:16and then take off again.
15:19Now, as far as placement goes,
15:21put this in a moderately shady spot.
15:25That way the water won't evaporate too quickly
15:27and put it near where your flowers are
15:29because that's where the insects are going to be.
15:31And remember to replenish the water
15:33once a week or so
15:35and that will keep the water clean and fresh
15:37and prevent any potential mosquito habitat.
15:40Native bees and beetles love to forage
15:44in mini meadow habitats.
15:45These are created by letting a garden patch grow wild
15:49with clovers, dandelion and native grasses.
15:53It's not only a banquet for insects,
15:55but it'll look great too.
15:58By making space for pollinators,
16:02we weave our gardens into a living network
16:05of ecological support
16:07with insect accommodation,
16:09restaurants and watering holes.
16:12What we plant
16:13and how we look after our gardens
16:16ripples out
16:17to benefit the entire community of creatures,
16:22both great and especially small.
16:27Now, it's one thing
16:29to plant a variety of native species
16:32to bring in the pollinators,
16:33but what about maintaining them?
16:36Well, Millie's here with all the answers.
16:43Australian plants are beautiful,
16:46adaptable and mega-diverse.
16:49And I reckon every garden should have a few.
16:53But one of the biggest myths about Australian plants
16:56is that they need little or no maintenance.
17:00But natives are just plants
17:02and so like any others,
17:04they will benefit from a little bit of TLC.
17:07Pruning, some feeding
17:08and even some extra planting
17:10is all on the agenda.
17:15Pruning is one of those tasks
17:16that people can be apprehensive about,
17:19particularly when it comes to Australian plants.
17:21They worry that they might get the timing wrong,
17:23they might cut and damage the plant
17:25or even kill it.
17:26And truthfully, I've done all three of those things.
17:29But in most cases,
17:31I still err on the side of snipping.
17:33Pruning increases the vigour of a plant.
17:36It encourages new growth.
17:38It helps you to create the form
17:39and the shape that you want.
17:41And it also can get rid of problems.
17:42So it's always worth getting the secateurs out.
17:47When it comes to timing,
17:48a really good rule of thumb to apply
17:50is to just do it when a plant finishes flowering.
17:54Unless you want those seed pods
17:56to be a beautiful ornamental feature,
17:58it's great to remove them
17:59because that takes a lot of energy from the plant.
18:02You snip them off after they finish
18:03and that will encourage lovely, thick, bushy growth
18:07right from the start.
18:08This pimelea has done a great job filling this space.
18:26It's grown very quickly,
18:27but it is getting a bit tall.
18:29So I'm taking about a third off.
18:31I'm working my way around,
18:32following down the stem
18:33to make sure there's still some nice, fresh growth down below.
18:36I'm not cutting right into that wood.
18:38And hopefully that's going to mean
18:40I get a really thick and clear growth response.
18:53Of course, pruning is a great way also
18:55to remove dead and diseased wood.
18:58Now, this cotton bush was doing so well
19:00and then quite suddenly it started to die off.
19:03So what I want to do is remove all of that foliage
19:06and the areas of the plant
19:07that are dead back to the healthy growth,
19:09hopefully stimulate a little bit of new growth
19:12and help the plant recover.
19:13This Leptospermum brachyandrum,
19:32it's a weeping silver tea tree,
19:34is genuinely one of my favourite plants in the country
19:37and certainly in this garden.
19:38And, of course, the foliage is very beautiful.
19:41It has a simple white tea tree flower.
19:44But the real feature of this plant is this bark.
19:48As it grows at different times of the year,
19:50it actually sheds its bark.
19:52You get these wonderful curls of pink and brown
19:55over this lovely, smooth reveal.
19:59So the way I'm pruning this
20:00is not to reduce the height and keep it compact.
20:02It's actually to enhance that feature of the bark.
20:05And that is just coming in every now and then
20:08and cleaning off some of the dead wood
20:10and removing a couple of those lower limbs
20:12to make sure that canopy's moving up.
20:15It is a beautiful sculptural tree
20:18and using your secateurs,
20:19you can actually enhance that greatly.
20:21Fertilising is another area
20:40that can be a bit of a barrier for people
20:43because, you know, there's all these questions.
20:45Do I, don't I?
20:46What do I use?
20:47And then when do I actually do it?
20:49The truth is, it is a little bit more complicated
20:52for some Australian species.
20:54So if a plant is indigenous to your area,
20:57in fact, I've grown a lot here from seed locally collected,
21:01then it's very likely that it'll be well suited
21:04to your soil type
21:05and it won't need a lot of interference
21:07or supplementary feeding from you.
21:10When you talk about that more wide range of native plants
21:13that come from all sorts of habitats all across Australia,
21:16they have really different needs.
21:18Now, there is one big group that people have caution around
21:21and that is the big family protaceae.
21:24And some of the species in that family,
21:26some of the Grevilleas, Banksias and Hakeas,
21:29are quite sensitive to the amount of phosphorus
21:31that we put into general fertilisers.
21:34That's because they're really, really good at taking it up.
21:39And so if you put on a general fertiliser,
21:40it's actually just a toxic amount.
21:43When it comes to feeding that group of plants,
21:45it's really important to use a low-phosphorus Australian native fertiliser.
21:49And if you want to keep the feeding of a general native garden simple,
21:54you can use that low-phosphorus fertiliser on pretty much everything.
21:57Potted plants are a different story.
22:02Growing in isolation from the natural soil,
22:05they're completely reliant on you.
22:08I grow a lot of native flowers and shrubs in containers
22:11and all get a top dressing of a slow-release native fertiliser every six months.
22:16This finger lime has been growing in this pot for quite a few years.
22:23In truth, I probably should have potted it up,
22:24but it is at that point where it does need a good feed.
22:27It's a rainforest plant.
22:28It's a hungry feeder because it's trying to produce lots of flowers
22:32and, of course, that delicious little fruit.
22:34So it's going to get a three-course meal.
22:39I'm giving the finger lime a top dressing of compost mixed with leaf mould.
22:43Then, a small amount of organic fertiliser.
22:50And last, a weak liquid feed.
22:59I also regularly apply a weak liquid feed to my native seedlings.
23:04Things like paper daisies love a little food to push them along.
23:13No garden is ever finished.
23:16It's taken about four years to go from a lawn right across here
23:20to what I think is a pretty lovely native garden.
23:23And I know it's ready for a whole new phase.
23:26Now, I was really inspired when I visited a seed orchard in Yaroa
23:30and I saw how little space they were using
23:33to grow incredibly large amounts of important seed.
23:37So this is my little tray of bluebells.
23:39I've raised them myself from seed.
23:41I'm planning on planting over 100 plants throughout this whole area.
23:53Now, I reckon that Australian plants are as beautiful and gardenable as any others.
24:00Whether you want a bush-style native garden like this
24:02or you just want to put them in amongst those other gorgeous exotics.
24:07They are fantastic plants.
24:09And like any other plants,
24:10they will want a little bit of your love and attention.
24:13Which is the best part about gardening.
24:21Still to come on Gardening Australia,
24:24Clarence creates some potted habitats.
24:27Josh uncovers just what's lurking in your garden.
24:33And we meet a young man getting his chickens all lined up.
24:44In urban areas, our garden spaces are even more precious.
24:50They're a place to grow plants,
24:51but they're also spaces to enjoy creativity and colour
24:56and build community.
24:59Jane's uncovered some shared courtyards in Melbourne
25:02that are a great example.
25:07Melbourne's inner city suburb of Carlton
25:10is known for many things.
25:13The university, the museum,
25:15the beautiful historic Carlton Gardens
25:18and, of course, the restaurants and cafe scene.
25:24What Carlton isn't particularly well known for
25:27is large residential gardens.
25:34But today, I'm meeting someone
25:36who's transformed a shared courtyard space
25:39into a lush, secret garden.
25:42Hello, what's happening here?
25:44Hello, Jane.
25:44You're just in time for morning tea.
25:46Oh, that sounds terrific.
25:48Nice to meet you.
25:49Nice to meet you.
25:49I'm Neil.
25:50Neil, good.
25:51How long have you been here?
25:53Well, my partner and I moved here
25:55eight years ago from Sydney
25:56and I've been working in that garden ever since.
26:00So there's three garden courtyards
26:02and all the townhouses go around this garden
26:05and they all enjoy it.
26:07I love seeing the very young kids play in the garden.
26:10To them, it's an adventure
26:11and each courtyard has its own sort of theme.
26:14It's marvellous.
26:15Yeah, it is.
26:18Entering the first courtyard,
26:20colourful buddlia, anemones, pink impatience
26:22and purple penstemon flowers catch the eye.
26:27We decided that this first garden needed to be something
26:29which is going to have a wow factor.
26:31So the moment you walk in...
26:32That's what I thought.
26:33Wow, this is amazing.
26:35Great creativity.
26:36Yes, and so lots of colour comes in
26:38and it changes with the seasons
26:39because it gets lots of sun.
26:40So we've got the impatiens, the buddlia,
26:43the windflowers over there.
26:45They'll soon finish up
26:46and then the primulas, self-sown primulas
26:48will just pop up everywhere out of every crack.
26:50You don't mind things just popping up.
26:52That's the best part of it.
26:53I love that in gardens
26:54when you just have a loose enough garden
26:56to be able to just have things growing up
26:58in the paving or wherever.
26:59Well, I think serendipity is a gardener's friend.
27:02Ah, well done.
27:03I love that.
27:05Serendipity aside,
27:06this garden owes its beauty
27:08to a fruitful partnership
27:09between Neil and the property's gardener, Liam.
27:14He's been with us for three years
27:16and, you know,
27:17it's one of our dreams come true
27:19to have a gardener like Liam
27:20simply because he has a gentle,
27:23passionate view of gardening.
27:25Need to congratulate you.
27:26You've done a great job with this garden.
27:28Thank you very much.
27:29It's beautiful.
27:31It's a beautiful space, isn't it?
27:32You obviously put your heart and soul into it.
27:34I love what I do, Jane,
27:36and that's, you know,
27:37that's the result of a good friendship.
27:39It's a garden that always goes through the seasons
27:41and there's always some interest in it.
27:43So, yeah, it's very, very lovely.
27:45Next along the path
27:47is a relatively young native garden
27:49that has probably seen the biggest transformation.
27:53Now, this area is different,
27:55very sunny and more open.
27:57It wasn't always that way, Jane.
27:59There was a large ash tree behind me
28:01and a maple tree over here.
28:03Wow.
28:03And they were getting so big,
28:05they were compromising the integrity of the garden wall
28:07and also the roots were getting into the sewerage pipes.
28:09Oh, so they had to go.
28:10They had to go.
28:11So from a lovely shady garden
28:14with azaleas and so forth growing underneath,
28:17all of a sudden overnight it became a hot, sunny garden.
28:21The solution to the new hot, sunny conditions
28:23was to create a garden focused on native plants
28:26with two striking silver princess gums, front and centre.
28:31They thrive in sunny conditions,
28:33only growing six to eight metres
28:35and will not disturb the pipes underneath.
28:39And then you've got one of my favourite plants
28:41underneath of the ground cover, so to speak, the corriers.
28:44Yeah.
28:45They're lovely.
28:45Yeah, absolutely.
28:46Just to fill some space,
28:48but, yeah, always kind of flowering,
28:50but that's just a trip to...
28:51Plenty of birds come in?
28:53Absolutely, especially with these grevilleas, Jane.
28:55Yes.
28:55Well, they're good, aren't they?
28:56We planted them and then probably a few days later
28:59there was a wattle bird
29:00which has never been in the garden before, so, yeah.
29:03So birds come and have a party.
29:05Oh, and I noticed the westringes.
29:07How good are they?
29:08Native westringes are beautiful...
29:10They make beautiful topiary and...
29:12Oh, you do...you've got an eye for it.
29:14This ground cover, the grey-leafed buttons,
29:17it's terrific.
29:18Yeah.
29:18Really good.
29:19Yes, the children who live here,
29:21they planted these little ground covers
29:23and so they get a great deal of pride
29:24seeing how much that has grown.
29:26That's nice.
29:27Now, tell me about these lovely beds, the raised beds.
29:30Well, the raised bed was built by one of the residents here
29:33and the children came and planted the herbs
29:36and the residents come and use it quite regularly.
29:40The children particularly like to come down
29:42and pick the herbs for their evening meal.
29:45Young children like to explore through the garden
29:47and you see them running through, hiding...
29:52You don't mind that?
29:53No, a garden's for everyone to use.
29:55Exactly.
29:55You know, I think gardening for children,
29:57it teaches them about patience
29:58and also looking forward to a future.
30:00Yes, the rewards of gardening.
30:01That's right, yeah.
30:02Things aren't instantaneous.
30:04Liam's biggest challenge in transforming this courtyard
30:07was dealing with the builder's rubble
30:09and heavy clay left over from the sewer repair.
30:12We did a lot of mulch and organic matter fertiliser
30:17and two years later, this is the result.
30:19So you're happy with the soil now?
30:21Oh, it's absolutely amazing.
30:22You could not get better soil.
30:24And your own homegrown compost?
30:26Yes, we use our...
30:28from the compost king himself.
30:30Ah.
30:31Yes, well, the owners' corporation
30:32is always looking for ways of community
30:34and bringing in people in whatever ways we can.
30:37And so the composting is a place
30:38where all the residents bring in their kitchen scraps.
30:41I turn it over on a daily basis and we probably...
30:44A day?
30:44Every day you turn it over?
30:46Yeah, I turn it over, yeah.
30:47Because you're putting air into it.
30:48Putting air into it.
30:49Otherwise, it compacts and becomes very damp.
30:51We have a wheelbarrow of compost
30:53that we can put somewhere in the garden.
30:54So that Liam can bring it back onto the garden.
30:57I love snooping in other people's composts.
30:59I have to go and have a look at yours.
31:01Please come and have a look, but watch out for the mouse.
31:03Ha, ha, ha, ha.
31:06Ooh, I think Costa would say that's good enough to eat.
31:10Ooh, he'd be proud of that.
31:12Well done.
31:15Entering the third and final garden,
31:17you are greeted by a spectacular avenue of elm trees.
31:21Wow, these trees are really extraordinary, aren't they?
31:25Well, they are, Jane.
31:26We consider this as being the jewel in the crown.
31:28You walk from the other gardens through a covered walkway
31:31and then you open up into this cathedral-like forest of elm trees.
31:36Yes, absolutely marvellous.
31:38It's a perfect place that you can grow lots of shade-loving plants.
31:42Of course, yeah.
31:43What have you got?
31:44We have, obviously, a lot of camellias, rhododendrons, a few azaleas.
31:49We've just planted these Chinese lanterns down here,
31:53these dwarf Chinese lanterns.
31:55How would people be if the trees weren't here,
31:57if this garden didn't exist?
31:59Well, everybody says that this garden gives, like, a sanctuary for them.
32:04It cools the place down during summertime.
32:06It's like natural air conditioning.
32:08And their loungery windows look out at ground level.
32:12And so you can see, like, looking up through a lovely forest
32:14and seeing the camellias flowering and you see the birds coming in.
32:18And people always comment how important it is
32:21to have this lovely garden.
32:23There's no doubt that you can feel the love
32:26in this well-tended courtyard garden.
32:29It shows just how much can be achieved
32:32by a passionate resident and a caring, talented gardener.
32:37Liam, what would you attribute the success of this garden to?
32:40I think the soil is probably the number one thing.
32:45Primarily, out of every garden,
32:47that's the main ingredient to healthy plants.
32:50I think the success revolves around the community feel
32:53that the garden has.
32:54It's a harmonious group of people who live here
32:56and I think the garden has a lot to do with that.
32:58And I think the best thing that we've been able to grow
33:01in this garden has been our friendship.
33:03Oh, see, that's a lovely thing to say.
33:05I think we should have a toast to friendship and to gardening.
33:08Cheers.
33:16Think you need a big backyard to attract wildlife?
33:19Think again.
33:20Even a small balcony can become a buzzing, chirping haven
33:24for birds and insects.
33:26All you need are a few pots and the right plants.
33:29Let me show you how.
33:34Alright.
33:36Let's start with La Masia.
33:37Look at these flowers.
33:40Total insect magnets.
33:42And in the ground, can grow to 1.5 metres.
33:45But in a pot, it will stay compact, especially if you prune it after flowering.
33:50Now, it's perfect for a partly shattered balcony
33:53and it's even better if you've got an overshadowed spot during the day.
33:57Plus, it makes a fantastic tall layer in your mini habitat.
34:02Speaking of layers, they're the key to creating a thriving habitat.
34:05Just like in a wild ecosystem, having a mix of heights and textures attracts more wildlife.
34:12Now, tall plants like La Masia, bushy shrubs, and low spilling plants create a diverse space
34:19where critters can eat, shelter, and play.
34:21Now, this is Plectranthus argentatus, and it's a superstar for shady spots.
34:28The soft silvery foliage adds generous texture, and it's super easy to care for.
34:33Now, it doesn't flower all that much, but it does create crazy little nooks and crevices
34:38for those little insects that really love those spaces.
34:42The best part?
34:43It's easy to chop back and propagate, so one plant can become many.
34:47Now for a bit of colour.
34:49Melaleuca thyma folia.
34:51The thyme honey myrtle.
34:53Foliage, a little bit like thyme, but don't eat it.
34:56This one is for the insects.
34:58Beautiful little delicate flowers producing nectar and pollen for all of those bees and butterflies
35:03and tiny insects that really like to come into your balcony.
35:07This one, will grow in part shade, perfect for the pot.
35:13Now, if you're looking for a bit of winter colour, really can't go past Grevillea scarlet sprite,
35:19producing flowers into those cooler months when birds need the nectar the most.
35:23And a little bit spiky, so perfect habitat for the smaller birds.
35:27The ground covers, that lower level, brachioscope, can't go past them, grow in part shade,
35:33lots of colour, attracting insects and birds, even the odd reptile into the garden,
35:38so we've got it covered.
35:39Birds, insects, reptiles.
35:41Habitat, food, perfect.
35:45So even in a small space like a balcony, you can create a thriving habitat for birds and bees
35:51and other little creepy crawly critters.
35:53Get creative, go native.
36:01So many of us garden with a view to attracting wildlife.
36:05I mean, we bang on about this week in and week out.
36:09But have you ever wondered just what's visiting your garden?
36:13Josh is investigating a scientific technique that's tracking just who's been coming and going.
36:21How much can we learn about local biodiversity in our gardens?
36:36A lot, it turns out.
36:38In the hills along the eastern fringes of Perth,
36:41Will Rokey, an environmental science student, is in the field gathering data for his honours project.
36:48Today, the field is actually the garden belonging to one of Will's research supervisors,
36:55wildlife biologist, associate professor Bill Bateman.
36:58Bill, this is a great arrangement, a scientist being able to conduct research in your own backyard.
37:06It's really convenient.
37:07Will, what kind of data are you collecting here?
37:10So today we're sampling for environmental DNA, or eDNA, which basically refers to DNA that's been shed from organisms,
37:17so birds and mammals, and it's floating around in the environment.
37:20And we can sample that using a variety of methods.
37:23All right, so we'll just take a water sample from your pond down here, Bill.
37:27Yeah, I really want to know what's going on in here, who's been visiting it.
37:31Biodiversity is declining everywhere, and here in the city,
37:34one of the last places left for biodiversity to persist is gardens,
37:38and this is a good way to biomonitor what's going on in our gardens.
37:41What information can you get from the eDNA-type sampling
37:46that you wouldn't get from other research methods?
37:48Well, there's lots of animals that we simply do not see around.
37:51Either they're cryptic, or there are very few of them,
37:53or they're hidden away from us in multiple different ways,
37:57and the eDNA allows us to pick up their presence without disturbing them as well.
38:01How do you go about collecting samples?
38:03So we can do it through a variety of different methods.
38:05You could take a water sample from a birdbath or a pond that an organism's interacted with.
38:10Pretty much a snapshot of what we've taken here. Nothing's degraded.
38:13Or you can take just simply an air sample.
38:16So eDNA's floating around all around us,
38:18so just sampling the air is a great way to do it.
38:20And other methods, such as spider webs, which sort of act like natural air filters,
38:24and they accumulate DNA over time, and we can also sample them.
38:27Bill, you've lived on this property for a few years now.
38:30What wildlife have you observed through your eDNA research
38:35that you haven't seen with your own eyes?
38:37Well, we observe birds. We can see birds around here.
38:40We've also been able to see things like quendor in the garden.
38:43But with eDNA, we start finding things that we wouldn't otherwise see.
38:48So we're obviously being visited by kangaroos from just across the road.
38:51We're also picking up some birds that I hadn't realised we had in the garden.
38:55And we can also, though eDNA isn't great for reptiles,
38:58we're picking up some evidence of some other reptiles
39:00that I haven't seen in the garden before.
39:02Why is eDNA not great for reptiles?
39:05eDNA is shed, so it's things like skin cells and hair cells.
39:09Things like snakes and lizards don't shed it in the same way,
39:12so sometimes it's a bit more difficult to pick up those guys.
39:15There's also all these nooks and crannies where spider webs can be.
39:19How does the type of research that you're doing
39:21complement more traditional fauna survey methods?
39:25They're fast, they're efficient, they're relatively easy to do.
39:27You just go and collect some samples from a site,
39:30but they don't replace them, so they complement them.
39:32Don't take it all. Spider's got to live.
39:34Doesn't mean we're not going to continue doing straightforward observations,
39:37doesn't mean we're going to stop doing things like camera traps,
39:40but the eDNA analysis really adds to our toolbox of discovering biodiversity.
39:52Will takes the samples back to the lab,
39:54where Associate Professor Paul Neville
39:56leads Curtin University's eDNA research group.
40:00DNA extraction is a little bit like cooking.
40:03Molecular biology is often not as complicated as people make it out to be.
40:07We use DNA extraction kits where there's various ingredients
40:12where we isolate the DNA from all the substances that we don't want,
40:17and it usually involves centrifuging and water baths and cooling and heating.
40:21What did your research project set out to achieve?
40:24So we were looking at how urban biodiversity changed across the landscape,
40:27and our main goal was to look at how backyard biodiversity differs,
40:31you know, from suburbs that are very central in Perth
40:34to those out in the hills.
40:36And one of the most important findings we got was gardens anywhere,
40:40whether they're highly urbanised or surrounded by lots of reserves
40:43and remnant vegetation,
40:45they all played a role in supporting biodiversity,
40:47and that was just really cool to find across the Perth landscape.
40:53Hi Paul, how you doing?
40:54Hey Will, what's up?
40:56I've got our garden samples to put in the...
40:58I think the power of eDNA is that we can look across the tree of life,
41:02fauna, flora, even microbial communities,
41:06we can look at bacteria and fungi, all in the one DNA extract.
41:10So we can use a molecular magnet, I guess you could call it,
41:13to pull out the DNA sequences that are vertebrate species,
41:16pull out plant species, et cetera.
41:19And then we go to sequencing,
41:21where we use a machine that goes ping and costs a lot of money,
41:25and we can generate hundreds of millions of DNA sequences
41:28from a DNA sample.
41:31We then go from that step where we've got all these DNA sequences
41:35and we'll blast them against a database.
41:38So we use a supercomputer to do that,
41:40blast the sequences against known sequences in a database,
41:43and then it'll spit out this sequence belongs to the white-cheeked honey-eater
41:50and this one belongs to a quendor, et cetera, et cetera.
41:53So we'll get the biodiversity data after we do that blasting.
41:57How revolutionary is this eDNA technique?
42:01It's a game-changer.
42:03It's a technology that enables people to go out and collect biodiversity data
42:08that we would never have access to.
42:10I think there's a great opportunity for citizen science-based projects,
42:14extensive biodiversity blitz-type projects in Europe, for example,
42:19where people have sent out a kit, like a show bag,
42:22you sample it and send it back,
42:24and then you get this biodiversity picture
42:25that you just couldn't get without eDNA.
42:28We can't conserve biodiversity if we don't know what's there
42:34or we don't know what's changing and what it's changing in response to.
42:38So information on species is absolutely crucial
42:41to inform management activities.
42:44It's already occurring.
42:45We work a lot with urban councils in the Perth area,
42:48providing them with biodiversity data
42:50to support their management decisions.
42:52I'd like to see it as enabling gardeners to be confident
42:55that they can make a big impact in conservation of native fauna.
42:59So the features of gardens play an important role
43:01in what fauna they support.
43:03And the more we can understand
43:04how those features support different species,
43:07the bigger impact gardeners can make in conservation.
43:10I love it when passion spreads across generations,
43:24when their interest in something can unite the whole family.
43:29When that passion has two legs, feathers, and it clucks,
43:33all the better.
43:35How you going, girls?
43:36I love spending time with Dad.
43:51Whether we're going to chook shows
43:53or we're going out to the property
43:54to fix up the feed and water to the chooks,
43:57there's always something to talk about,
43:58always something to plan.
44:02We work well as a partnership in discernment.
44:05It's a good team.
44:06Yeah.
44:07So my name's Lucky Arnett.
44:09I'm 24 years old
44:10and I'm a fifth-generation poultry breeder.
44:13My name's Peter Arnett
44:14and I'm a fourth-generation poultry breeder
44:17and I've been involved in exhibiting since I was five years old
44:21and judging since I was 17 years old.
44:24My great-great-uncle started with Exhibition Poultry
44:27and it's filtered down through the generations
44:29and I started with Exhibition Poultry
44:31when I was very young.
44:33Must have been about four.
44:33And I was helping Dad preparing the birds for the show
44:37and I turned and said to Dad,
44:39you know these are my birds, hey.
44:41I'd cottoned on that these were the good ones
44:43and I was four years old.
44:44I just chuckled to myself
44:45and from then on we started to show in joint names.
44:48When I tell people that I breed and show Exhibition Poultry,
44:52I usually clarify chickens.
44:54You hear of, you know, horses and cattle.
44:57Not a lot of people do poultry.
44:58We have a very special quilt made out of some of the ribbons
45:05that my grandfather won
45:06which stretched back into the 1940s and through to the 1970s.
45:11It was the prestige of winning ribbons and trophies
45:14that marked the success of the poultry exhibitor.
45:19Chooks are a big concern in our family.
45:21When I was growing up,
45:24each of the family members had their own breed of poultry.
45:27And so I've carried on that tradition
45:29and invited my wife to choose her breed of poultry
45:32and she's chosen the light Sussex Bantams
45:34and my daughter Eleanor has selected the silver Seabright.
45:40Lachie and I breed and show two breeds together.
45:43We've got Old English Game Bantams
45:44and I've had them since I was five years old
45:47starting with the Black Red Partridge.
45:49And as time's gone on,
45:51we've introduced the Golden Duck Wings
45:53and we've also got the Leghorns.
45:56I breed the Leghorns along with Dad.
45:59We've got the Blacks, Whites and Blues
46:00and we got them from Grandfather John Arnott.
46:03There's 60 plus years of breeding Leghorn genetics there.
46:09One thing about Lachie is that
46:10he's got a particularly good eye for birds when they're younger
46:14and that's something that my dad had.
46:17The father of these chicks
46:19is the Black Leghorn cockerel.
46:21We mated him with a particularly interesting
46:25Leghorn female that we have.
46:27It'll be really interesting to see
46:28what these chickens develop into.
46:31Lachie essentially took over the breeding plan
46:34from about the age of 15, 16
46:36and that's where we started to improve dramatically
46:39and started winning major awards.
46:43See how it comes up, eh?
46:45So we're preparing them for a show.
46:48The white birds or the soft feather birds,
46:51they'll often get a bath.
46:53They're all soaked up.
46:55We'll wash them up, get all the dirt out of them.
46:58Need help?
46:58I do.
47:00I can't get the fish broken.
47:02It's shut, is it?
47:03Yeah.
47:03It's got a little bit.
47:07Clean their legs, particularly with a toothpick,
47:09for the ones that need yellow legs.
47:12I think he's enjoying this.
47:13Like a day's bath for jokes.
47:15It sure is.
47:16We'll put them out on the grass to dry if it's a sunny day.
47:19Well, we're doing them last minute with the hair dryer.
47:22That happens.
47:23All right, well, I'll put his lipstick on, eh?
47:26I know.
47:27Then we get a bit of olive oil
47:28and put it on their head and on their legs.
47:31Makes him look smart, look.
47:32Mm.
47:33Makes them look fresh in the face.
47:35Makes them look better in the pen
47:36for when the judge comes along to judge them.
47:38Each breed has a different stance
47:41that the judge is looking for.
47:42So when we put him in,
47:43we want him chest out, head up.
47:45Come on, my tail up.
47:46Come on.
47:48There's a whole lot of emotions
47:50that you're experiencing
47:52when you're preparing birds for the show.
47:54The expectation, the anticipation,
47:56and the hope of how far the bird might go
47:59as it's being judged.
48:02Yep, now he's going all soopy now.
48:04When I'm getting ready for a show,
48:06I'm thinking about which birds we've got boxed up
48:08that are good,
48:09which ones are not so good.
48:13Dad and I always like to stay modest
48:16and think, oh, we go to this show,
48:18we get it glazed in the classes,
48:20you know, we'll be happy with that.
48:22And generally speaking,
48:23if we do any further than that,
48:25we're doing pretty well.
48:26Yeah, absolutely.
48:27So I'm touching him to help him stand
48:30in the most regal stance he can give me
48:32with his head up and his chest out
48:34and his tail flowing out and held high.
48:37It just depends on how they show themselves on the day,
48:40how the judge sees them,
48:41and yep, if you've got a good bird,
48:45you're in with a chance.
48:46Right, if he held his head up a little bit higher,
48:49that would be good.
48:51Back in 2022.
48:53That's it.
48:53We'd already had a fantastic year with the birds,
48:56the most successful year that we've had with the birds.
49:00And yeah, we got to the ecker.
49:01We had a great team in.
49:04Our expectations weren't that high.
49:06To then get champion leghorn with the black cockerel
49:09and champion old English game with the duckwing cockerel,
49:13that was fabulous.
49:14And then champion soft for the bantam light
49:16with the leghorn.
49:18So both the leghorn and the old English game
49:19were out the front.
49:20That means they were in the champion of champions pens
49:23out the front to be judged and assessed
49:25for possibly grand champion.
49:27That was the first time we'd ever gotten a bird
49:29out the front in the ecker
49:30and we'd gotten two out.
49:32That was fabulous.
49:33And then for the black leghorn to be announced
49:36as supreme grand champion.
49:37The supreme champion now, let's go.
49:39Bobby Arnett.
49:41I couldn't believe it.
49:43I thought I'd misheard and people started walking over
49:46and congratulating me.
49:48Yeah.
49:48Good on you, mate.
49:49That was terrific.
49:50Yeah, it was a surreal moment.
49:52And my father, when we shared the news with him,
49:54was over the moon.
49:56It had taken three generations of us
49:58to win that supreme grand champion award
50:01because of the genetics that he'd built up
50:03over that time
50:04and having inherited those birds from him.
50:09What would you think would be the best laying birds, Locke?
50:12You suffer the light's going to be the best layer.
50:14Yeah, so your leghorns,
50:17Menorcas andalusians
50:18and birds like Sussex,
50:21Nostralorps,
50:22Langshangs.
50:23If you're actually wanting to increase the egg production,
50:26then you would increase the protein levels of the feed
50:29and you could add layer pellets to the grain
50:32or add linseed meal, soy meal
50:34to the mix that you're giving to the birds.
50:37Pretty ones that people might have in their backyards.
50:39Locke, what would you suggest?
50:41You've got your Seabrights
50:42and your Belgian Bantams
50:43and your Pequins.
50:45Rosecombes?
50:45Rosecombes, yep, that's another one.
50:47And silkies.
50:48Silkies.
50:49Very popular backyard fowls
50:51and they're particularly placid in nature
50:53which makes them terrific for families.
50:56The amount of room that you need in your backyard
50:58to keep poultry
51:00really depends on the size of the birds
51:03and whether you have them locked up 24 hours a day
51:08or whether there's a run.
51:10If you have a run
51:11and allow them to scratch freely in the garden
51:14then you can have a smaller accommodation unit for the birds
51:17where they just roost at night and lay.
51:20So you'd want about a metre square for a Bantam
51:22and they'd need a bit more room for a large fowl bird
51:25what we'd call a standard size bird.
51:27Best bedding tool for chooks is wood shavings, soft wood shavings or a straw
51:33and either in the nest boxes or on the ground
51:36which encourages the chooks to scratch and dig and to be active.
51:41You don't want bored chickens, you want active chickens.
51:45Active chickens are healthy chickens.
51:47Poultry are susceptible to lice
51:49which inhabit around the bottom of the chook.
51:53Mites can chew the feathers.
51:55Mice and cockroaches also can cause feather damage
51:59and the mice can get into the eggs
52:01if they're left for an extended period of time.
52:04Internal parasites such as worms also need to be dealt with.
52:08So regular worming of your poultry is important.
52:12What are some benefits of having chooks in the backyard, Dad?
52:15Well, they make good insect and pest forages
52:18turning the soil over and scratching
52:21in addition to whatever eggs they might lay
52:24and the manure that they provide.
52:29Go on.
52:30Lachie and I certainly have a passion for our poultry.
52:33Out here, Dad. Going faster.
52:34And it's been terrific doing things together as father and son.
52:40How about if we take you round the corner and into the...
52:41Sharing in the winnings and the disappointments of the losses
52:44and catching up with our chooky mates all around the country.
52:48Yeah.
52:49It's great being able to do things as a family and enjoy them.
52:54It's been very special in terms of our father-son relationship.
52:57It's that time of the week.
53:08Your jobs for the weekend are signed, sealed, delivered and raked.
53:19Cool-temperate gardeners,
53:20if your azalea foliage is mottled, silver and sticky,
53:24you've got Lacebug.
53:26Help your plants heal by removing affected foliage
53:29and ensuring the soil is rich, well-drained and slightly acidic.
53:34Pimp up your pathways and plant some edibles along the edges.
53:39Basil, chives, dill and parsley love a narrow spot
53:43and the more you harvest these herbs,
53:45the happier and healthier they'll be.
53:48Dianthus are to die for at the moment
53:51and are cracking in a container or a cottage garden.
53:54These long-lived annuals provide masses of colour
53:58with their edible clove-scented blooms.
54:01In warm-temperate areas, jacarandas have begun to bloom,
54:06signalling that summer is just around the corner.
54:09Take a walk around your neighbourhood,
54:11spend time with these trees and soak in the season.
54:16With the weather warming, watering is a must.
54:19Keep your soil moist by adding organic matter and mulch
54:22and look at alternatives like greywater
54:25for irrigating ornamental trees and vines.
54:29Morning iris, Orthrosanthus multiflorus,
54:32is a true blue beauty,
54:35a low-maintenance clumping plant
54:36that produces a profusion of starry blooms
54:40in brilliant blue throughout spring and summer,
54:43perfect for partially shaded spots.
54:47In the subtropics, get wet this weekend
54:49and give your pond a good spring clean.
54:53Remove leaf litter and debris,
54:55check pumps and filters,
54:56and add some barley straw to keep algae at bay.
55:00The unmistakable scent of flowering gardenias are filling the air.
55:04So to keep these beauties at their best,
55:07give them a feed, keep the water up to them and mulch well.
55:11Get even with grasshoppers and set a molasses trap.
55:15Fill a bucket with water,
55:17add a cup of molasses and pop in the patch.
55:19This sweet solution will catch heaps of hungry hoppers.
55:24In the tropics, it's time to get trimming.
55:28Remove faded flowers from fabulously fragrant jasmine vines
55:31by giving them a light prune all over.
55:34They love a haircut.
55:36While you've got the loppers out,
55:38give passion fruit a tidy up too.
55:41Tip prune vines to promote strong growth
55:43and follow with a feed of potash for good fruit set and flavour.
55:48Don't piff your passion fruit prunings.
55:51The young foliage is edible
55:53and is a staple in Sri Lankan cuisine.
55:56Eaten raw or cooked,
55:58they're a super spinach substitute
56:00in salads, soups and stir fries.
56:03Arid gardeners give your lavenders a lift
56:06by removing dead, damaged wood and spent blooms.
56:10Regular pruning, shaping and harvesting
56:13means lavenders will live longer and bloom better.
56:17Sure, it's warm, but you can still get planting.
56:20If the soil is moist and mulched,
56:22you have access to regular water
56:24and your plants are hardened off,
56:27you'll be good to grow.
56:29Annual edibles planted earlier in spring
56:32will benefit from regular applications
56:34of lovely liquid fertiliser.
56:37The best rule of thumb is to feed weekly, weekly.
56:41Small amounts often for happy, healthy herbs and veggies.
56:46Right around the country,
56:48there's no better time to get out into the garden
56:50and get amongst it.
56:52Head to our GA social pages
56:54and let us know what you get up to in the garden this weekend.
56:58Well, we're packing up shop for another week,
57:07but the shelves are loaded for next time.
57:10Here's what's in store.
57:14There's something special about nurturing a plant from seed,
57:17and this one's an absolute beauty.
57:19I'm getting some tips on how to grow the Sturt Desert Pea.
57:22Want to know the secret to growing heaps of fruit and veg?
57:26I'll show you how to supercharge your soil.
57:29I'm exploring a biodiversity project
57:32here at the Melbourne Cemetery,
57:34which is bringing the land back from the dead.
57:37Regenerating the grassland environment
57:39that would have been here previously.
57:42And it is getting hotter and drier,
57:44and so today I want to put in a drip system
57:46to help me water my garden
57:47more efficiently and more effectively.
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