- 5 hours ago
Gardening Australia S37E09
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00:00Whoo-hoo!
00:05Hey! Hi!
00:11Whoa!
00:17Hey!
00:19Hey, honey.
00:22Hey!
00:23Hey!
00:36All might seem calm and tranquil on the surface,
00:40but underneath we are firing on all cylinders
00:44to get your gardening engines into overdrive.
00:49Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:52Here's what's coming up.
00:56I'm meeting a backyard grower to explore his collection
00:59of curious, captivating carnivorous plants.
01:02I'm catching up with a kindred spirit
01:04who's using recycled materials
01:07to create some experimental crevice gardens.
01:10From a rugby field to a swamp
01:12and now the internationally recognised Hunter Wetland Centre.
01:16A haven for birds, for plants,
01:19and over 160 industrious volunteers.
01:22And we meet an artist growing her body of work.
01:26Gardening is, to me, the most important element of life.
01:46Almost everything in the garden I'm visiting today
01:49could be directly transplanted from another country.
01:52It's a reminder of a past life,
01:55growing up on a farm in Fiji,
01:58and includes varieties of fruit and vegetables
02:01not commonly grown in Australia.
02:06Vijay came to these shores from Fiji in 1989
02:10and has settled with his family
02:12in the Sydney suburb of Holsworthy.
02:15Every square inch of the garden
02:17is given over to the plants he nurtures.
02:21Vijay, I made it!
02:23Wow! Costa! Welcome!
02:26Oh, wow! Look at this!
02:28It's like the hanging gardens of Babylon!
02:30Thank you, Costa. Thank you.
02:33There is so much foliage and food
02:37from what I've seen just walking in.
02:39It's incredibly abundant.
02:41What are some of the Fijian species
02:44that you've got growing here?
02:46Quite a lot of the Fijian things
02:47that you normally don't buy from the local garden shops.
02:52So I have belly plants,
02:53which is a beautiful, like, spinach.
02:56We have karamua, which is a water spinach.
02:59I have amaranth.
03:00These are, like, things we eat on a daily basis in Fiji.
03:05What was the farm like that you grew up on?
03:08It was a 98-acre big farm.
03:12Mostly sugar cane,
03:13but we had lots of Fijian crops.
03:15Pigeon peas, cow peas, beans, lots of legumes.
03:19We had eight siblings,
03:20so they needed a big farm to look after us.
03:23Whereabouts are we going to begin to look around?
03:26Actually, you've come at a good time.
03:29We have a lot of produce in the gardens,
03:31and we will be harvesting some for you.
03:35So is this a common gourd in Fiji?
03:38It is a common gourd in Fiji,
03:40but on the bigger size than normal we see in Fiji.
03:44And one like this, how long has it been growing?
03:48This one's been growing for probably six to eight weeks.
03:54That's all?
03:55That's all.
03:56Yeah, they grow very fast.
03:57This looks like about 10 kilos,
04:00so it should feed easily about 20 people.
04:05Easy.
04:06Let's harvest one and have a look.
04:10I thought we were going to cut this one.
04:15Wow, look at that!
04:18Let me feel it.
04:19Yeah, that's got...
04:21Yeah, that's got some weight.
04:22That's almost the size of you, Kosta.
04:31Is this a plant or vegetable of your childhood?
04:35Yes, we had it on the farm.
04:36When I grow this,
04:37it transports us back to Fiji in your childhood days.
04:42This looks kind of familiar.
04:44Is it water spinach?
04:46Yeah.
04:47This grows naturally in the swamps in Fiji,
04:50so you don't have to plant them.
04:51It doesn't do well in dry areas.
04:55So how exactly are you growing it?
04:57We have created a swampy kind of condition
05:00with a 20-litre drum
05:03and just filled it with soil and water.
05:06It's doing well.
05:08I harvest every two weeks.
05:10Really?
05:11Yeah.
05:12We ate this a lot
05:13and for me to have this here
05:15is a lot of connection to my childhood
05:18and to the family at home.
05:20So it was a staple green.
05:22How did you prepare it?
05:23Normally we chop it
05:26and then finely sliced
05:29lightly fried with the garlic and onion and yummy.
05:33That sounds good to me.
05:34This looks like the sort of thing
05:36that I could grow easily in my nature pond.
05:39You could.
05:40You can't overwater it.
05:42So these are really good.
05:43And if I have planted it outside,
05:45I'll be wasting a lot of water.
05:49Good old amaranth.
05:51I know this one well.
05:52I see that you've got it growing in one main area for harvesting.
05:57Yes.
05:58This area is contained.
06:01The amaranth we call churia
06:03and this is a very common vegetable in Fiji
06:06and well sought after because it's so vegetal.
06:10We mix it in so many different dishes.
06:12We take the leaves as a stir fry.
06:16Also mix it with eggplant.
06:18Cook it with coconut milk.
06:19A lot of ways we can use this.
06:22In Greek we call this horta.
06:24Horta?
06:24Yeah.
06:25Oh, how do you prepare it?
06:26Oh, really just steamed.
06:28Mmm.
06:29Then olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.
06:32Wonderful.
06:32The best side dish.
06:34Got enough there, Consta?
06:36Yeah, I feel like I'm about to get married.
06:44What are we looking at?
06:46This is very native to Fiji and the surrounding islands.
06:52This is called Bele.
06:55Very rich in iron and many minerals.
06:59So this is an ibika?
07:02Yes.
07:02I've seen this in Darwin and in the north.
07:05Yes.
07:06I've even grown it down here in Sydney as well
07:08and there's different varieties.
07:09Yes.
07:10Some have a really full leaf,
07:11some have really sort of almost like finger-styled leaves.
07:15Yes.
07:15There's many varieties of them.
07:17Many varieties, of course.
07:18They reshoot very quickly, don't they?
07:20They reshoot very quickly but they don't like the cold.
07:24They want to go home in winter.
07:25Yeah.
07:26Forget the cold.
07:27Yeah.
07:27I love the size that the leaves become so quickly as well.
07:33Like bigger than the palm of your hand.
07:35Yes.
07:36The tender ones are really, really yummy in soups and with fish,
07:42normally with fish.
07:43It's a very huge delicacy in Fiji.
07:48What an amazing harvest adventure it's been.
07:51You have so much growing in your patch.
07:54Exactly, Costa.
07:55This is just the tip of the iceberg.
07:57We got in excess of 40 different vegetables in the garden.
08:01It's amazing how much we can fit in a small backyard.
08:04And I see there's a couple of other ones here.
08:07What's this?
08:07This is the Fijian Garandila.
08:09It's a hard shell passion fruit.
08:11Tastes beautiful.
08:12It's very, very hard.
08:13You cannot break it.
08:15It's like a nut.
08:16Yeah.
08:17Normally we'll break it in the back of our door,
08:20but here today we'll just use a knife.
08:25Oh, there it is.
08:27So we split this open.
08:30Here we go.
08:36It's got quite a banana flavour.
08:37Yeah.
08:38It's a different flavour to the passion fruit.
08:41Normal passion fruit.
08:41Yeah, yeah.
08:44It's sort of creamier and thicker.
08:47Mm.
08:48Vijay, it's time for me to go down to the port
08:50because I've got to head back to Australia.
08:52Thanks for showing me around your little Fiji.
08:56Thank you, Costa.
08:57You're most welcome.
09:03I can see how strong Vijay's connection remains
09:07to his family and Fijian heritage
09:09through what he cultivates in the garden.
09:12It's a relationship he's been tending for decades.
09:16And much like me when I grow,
09:18it's a chance for us all to nurture our roots.
09:27Are there native succulents?
09:30Yes.
09:30There are hundreds of Australian native species
09:33that can be classified as a succulent
09:35due to having succulent leaves or stems.
09:39Carpa brotis, or native pig face,
09:41is quite well known as a hardy ground cover
09:44that loves a sunny, well-drained position
09:46and grows equally well in pots or hanging baskets.
09:50It has brightly coloured flowers and is also edible.
09:55Lesser-known succulents include calendrinias,
09:58which are related to purslane or portulaca,
10:01and they have brightly coloured flowers
10:03and make a great display.
10:05And then there's samphire,
10:07which are really important in mangrove and coastal ecosystems.
10:12They're hardy and can be grown at home
10:14in well-drained soil or pots,
10:16and they're edible too.
10:19What's happening to my sandpaper fig?
10:22Well, my sandpaper fig has got a bit of witch's broom.
10:26Here's a nice healthy branch, dark green leaves.
10:29Here we've got a proliferation of new growth,
10:32light-coloured leaves looking a bit like a witch's broom,
10:35which is primarily what it's known as.
10:37This reaction to something happening within the plant,
10:40whether it's a fungus, a virus, a mite,
10:43some sort of bug's gotten in there, this is the reaction.
10:47Now, it won't kill the plant,
10:48but it will take a lot of energy out of it.
10:50So given this is one of my favourite native figs to eat,
10:55this section won't produce any fruit.
10:57So the easy way, just snip it off, get rid of it.
11:01Why is my Fijoa flowering but not fruiting?
11:05This tree is five years old and it's only just started to fruit,
11:10so time is part of the answer.
11:12But not all Fijoas are equal.
11:14You see, some are happy to accept their own pollen
11:17and they will fruit, but others, they need a pollen partner.
11:21So now you're armed with that information,
11:24the best time to ask the question is at a garden centre.
11:27Do I need to plant one or do I need to plant two
11:31in order to get fruit?
11:39Some plants will always hold a special place in collectors' hearts.
11:43They represent something truly unique.
11:47And the opportunity to grow them at home is just too good to pass up.
11:53Tammy's visiting a grower who's got the bug.
11:56And I reckon after this story, you could catch it too.
12:09I'm visiting Ollie Evans.
12:11His backyard on the northern beaches in Sydney is brimming with Nepenthes,
12:16botanical curiosities in the world of carnivorous plants.
12:20You've got a lot going on here.
12:22Yeah, so these are all my easy-growing Nepenthes hybrids and species.
12:27Like this beautiful maxima here.
12:30Oh, wow. What do you love about them?
12:32I suppose it's just the different colours
12:34and different trap morphology of the pictures.
12:37So what we see is the leaf is actually the petiole of the leaf,
12:40and the picture itself is a modified leaf.
12:45And that's evolved to catch insects.
12:48They're so cool.
12:49And there's so many different sizes.
12:50I mean, look at that one.
12:51Yeah, this is Nepenthes robcantleyi, which is a Philippine species.
12:56There's a beautiful one here.
12:57You try to climb the fence.
12:58And you can see the huge peristome,
13:00which is this lip at the top of the picture.
13:03Oh, right.
13:04You can see the peristome ingripping in,
13:06and it's just caught itself between the two palings.
13:08And in nature, it would climb up trees that way as it vines.
13:12So they can be epiphytic species?
13:14Yes, there's both epiphytic and terrestrial.
13:17So the epiphytic's obviously grown in the nooks and crannies in trees,
13:20and the terrestrials grow up from the ground.
13:22So what's then the mix like?
13:23It's quite light and airy?
13:25Yeah, so this is a coconut chip and perlite mix.
13:29Yeah.
13:29You can see they're very similar to aeroids or even orchid mixes,
13:33but it just holds a good amount of moisture
13:35while still being nice and airy and loose.
13:39Yeah, they're growing really well against the fence.
13:41And what got you into Nepenthes?
13:43I was working as a carpenter up in Avalon,
13:47and the florist next door was bringing them out
13:49to give them some sunlight during the day,
13:51and I'd never seen anything like it.
13:53So I ended up getting one from them
13:54and then went home and started researching them,
13:58and all just the amazing adaptations that have evolved
14:01over the millions of years.
14:03And it just drew me in because they're just such weird, wonderful plants.
14:08And were you a keen gardener before that?
14:10I could never grow anything before that.
14:13I couldn't grow basil to save my life at that point.
14:16Ollie's still not growing any fresh herbs,
14:18but he does have a fridge full of Nepenthes in his lounge room.
14:23The majority of species in the Nepenthes genus
14:26are native to South-East Asia.
14:29This is my personal collection of highland species Nepenthes.
14:33The highland species up around the cloud forests
14:36of Borneo and Sumatra and stuff,
14:39you're up into the cool temperatures,
14:41you know, 24 degrees during the day,
14:42and it will drop down to 10, 12 degrees at night
14:45in beautiful tropical lush jungles.
14:48So that's why you've got it in a fridge?
14:50That explains the fridge.
14:51It's the easiest way to cool a small space.
14:54But then how do the insects get in there?
14:56There's always a few fruit flies,
14:59just little things like that.
15:00They don't take a huge amount of food
15:01to keep them growing happily.
15:03Oh, right.
15:04Can we have a look at what's inside?
15:05Yeah, sure.
15:07We've got all sorts of species in here.
15:09Nepenthes edward siana here
15:11with the beautiful toothy peristome.
15:14And this beautiful Nepenthes hamata
15:16with its amazing black teeth on the peristome.
15:19And these wings at the front,
15:21with this almost ladder up the front
15:23for insects to climb up and fall into the pitcher.
15:27And next to that is Nepenthes jacquelineae,
15:31which, as you see, has no teeth,
15:33but it has this beautiful wide purple peristome.
15:37Right, so it's quite smooth.
15:39It's very smooth.
15:40You can see it almost acts like a funnel
15:42and anything that lands on there
15:43is going to fall straight into the pitcher
15:46and never to be seen again.
15:48In comparison, down here,
15:50you've got this beautiful Nepenthes inimus,
15:52which is the only species
15:53that has absolutely no peristome whatsoever.
15:56Yeah, right.
15:57It doesn't have any of those decorations.
15:59It's not as ornate as the other.
16:00No, it's just this pure green, just beautifully coloured.
16:04But you can see the waxy coating on the inside,
16:06so anything on there would just slip down into the pitcher fluid.
16:10It looks like it'd be a fun ride until you hit your...
16:13Until you reach the stomach acid.
16:16Down here, we've got some Nepenthes lolii and the wild.
16:20These actually develop a thick white sugary substance
16:23on the lid called an exudate.
16:24And it attracts a shrew, which is a small mammal,
16:28almost like a possum,
16:30that will come and sit on the pitcher
16:31and as it eats the exudate,
16:33it defecates into the pitcher
16:34and that's how they get their nitrogen.
16:36Yeah, right.
16:37So it's just sitting there and having a good time.
16:39Yeah, it's definitely a different way for a plant to feed.
16:44Ollie's greenhouse is a haven for growing Nepenthes.
16:47And his passion is breeding hybrids.
16:50Wow!
16:51Look at the size of this thing!
16:53Yeah, so this is Nepenthes truncata from the Philippines.
16:56They get the tallest pitchers in the genus
16:58and they're absolutely huge.
17:00That's why I've started using this in a lot of my breeding,
17:03just to try and get the biggest pitchers I can
17:05and cross with beautiful coloured pitchers.
17:08To produce seed pods,
17:10Ollie crosses pollen from the flower of the male plant
17:13with the flower on a female plant.
17:16It takes six months for seed pods to reach maturity.
17:19Seeds are then germinated in little domes in 100% humidity.
17:23So from each seed pod you have how many seeds?
17:27You can get about 50 seeds from a pod
17:29and I might sow two or three pods per pot like this.
17:33And you can see there that there's the tiny little seed
17:36with the embryo in the middle.
17:38Oh my goodness!
17:39I would have thought that was part of the potting media.
17:41Yeah, so they've evolved to blow around in the wind.
17:44So once the seed pod opens in nature,
17:46they'll just drift off with the wind,
17:48land on the trees, the ground.
17:50Ideally for them a nice little bit of moss
17:52that they can germinate and grow in.
17:54And then these are the little plants that have germinated?
17:57Yeah, so you can see they're starting to pop up quite nicely.
18:00And you can see the first pitcher
18:03just starting to come out on that third leaf.
18:05And they can actually start feeding from that size
18:08on tiny microscopic little mites and various things.
18:12Right!
18:13And just below there we've got some that are about six months old.
18:17And so they've been hardened off out of the domes.
18:19And then down here we're all about a year old now.
18:23So what results are you getting?
18:25Ah, so getting some good ones.
18:26This here is a Truncata cross lavicola that I made.
18:31And the Truncata parent gives these big huge pitchers.
18:36And the lavicola brings out a beautiful dark colouration.
18:39It looks so delicate.
18:41I feel like I'd probably kill it.
18:43No, the joys of this hybrid,
18:45it can adapt to all sorts of conditions
18:47through the temperature ranges.
18:49Right, so like one parent comes from cold climates, cold mountain,
18:53and then the other one's in the...
18:54Hot lowlands.
18:55Right, so you've got Goldilocks.
18:57Hopefully a Goldilocks cross.
19:00So for the backyard gardener,
19:02what do we do when it comes to feeding your pitcher plants?
19:06Ah, look, if you're growing them outside,
19:08they'll definitely pick up enough insects themselves.
19:11That's what they've evolved to do.
19:12And when it comes to watering, how...
19:15I mean, are these very hungry for water?
19:18Look, they do like a lot of water.
19:19If you've ever been to the tropics in Asia,
19:21it does rain almost every day.
19:23I wouldn't water these every day.
19:24I tend to check the media.
19:26Just as it starts to dry out,
19:28I'll give them a good heavy watering,
19:30and that'll keep them going for a few days or a week,
19:33depending on the weather.
19:34And in a warm, frost-free area like coastal Sydney,
19:37you can boost the humidity that these plants love
19:40by grouping them with other plants
19:42and creating a little microclimate.
19:45As a die-hard enthusiast of these quirky plants,
19:48there is a serious side to his hobby.
19:51Poaching's a huge problem for Nepenthes,
19:54but also they come from that part of the world
19:56that is getting, unfortunately, very deforested.
20:01So if you're new to all of this
20:02and keen to start a collection,
20:04source plants from reputable suppliers.
20:07Ask questions about where the plant came from
20:09and join the conversation within the Nepenthes community.
20:13I'm now part of the worldwide community.
20:16Everyone's sharing advice and information.
20:18And even here in Sydney,
20:20we've got the Australian Carnivorous Plant Society.
20:22We have meetings every month,
20:24helping each other, sharing tips,
20:26plants and everything involved in it.
20:30It's been fascinating to find out about
20:32these bold and beautiful, highly evolved plants.
20:35I can see why Ollie is captivated.
20:38I get to live in this beautiful tropical jungle now.
20:52Do you ever feel like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place?
20:57Incredibly, some plants love it.
20:59They thrive in impossibly rocky conditions.
21:03Well, next up, Millie helps create a crevice garden
21:07where rock-loving beauties will flourish.
21:20Heronswood is an historic public garden
21:23on the Mornington Peninsula,
21:24nestled on the foothills of Wonga, or Arthur's Seat,
21:28with views of Melbourne across the bay.
21:34The garden surrounds an iconic 19th-century Gothic revival mansion
21:39and the whole site is owned by the Diggers Foundation,
21:42a non-profit with a mission of promoting gardening
21:44and the conservation of seeds and plants.
21:48It has a special place in our hearts
21:50because it's where Gardening Australia
21:52celebrated our 30th year on the ABC.
21:55Oh, look who it is!
22:00But this has long been a place for gardeners to get inspiration
22:03by seeing experimental styles and ideas in practice.
22:08So this is a really challenging but also beautiful site...
22:12Bill Bampton is the head gardener here
22:14and today I've brought my gardening gloves
22:15because I'm going to help him extend this existing crevice garden
22:19so we can show you how it's done.
22:22Yeah, this area was just developed about three years ago
22:26and what we're looking at here was a whole heap of old sheds
22:30and then we knocked down the sheds
22:33and found ourselves with a pile of concrete.
22:35We thought, what can we do with it?
22:37Make a crevice garden.
22:39What is a crevice garden?
22:40Well, a crevice garden is replicating the crevices you'd see
22:45on the side of a hill or a cliff top
22:47but in this case we're using concrete
22:50or you can use stone as more traditional.
22:52So tell me about how you put it together.
22:54Like, it's all quite a linear form.
22:57It's very important that it's book-leafed
22:59all on these parallel lines
23:01and I lined every rock up north-south
23:04and that gets that really great aspect.
23:06It's sunny on top and moist and cool below
23:11and it's a perfect habitat
23:13for all the little plants adapted to that situation.
23:17Here we've used just general plants
23:19that are available to the public
23:20but a lot of this is done through alpine societies
23:23trying to grow those plants
23:24that only grow in little craggy crevices
23:26in the Himalayas or somewhere.
23:30Bill's got all our materials laid out already.
23:33Some more pieces of old concrete
23:35the more angular the better
23:36and a pile of crushed granite
23:38that they use in the footpaths around the garden.
23:41It's a waste product from the local quarry.
23:45So what we're doing here
23:46is we're just laying a base for the rocks to go on
23:49so we'll create some ledges higher at the back
23:52grading out to lower down the front
23:55and this is where we'll start then laying the rocks.
23:58Right.
23:58They're going to sit on sort of solid flat ground
24:01and then the soil will backfill around them.
24:03That's right. That's correct.
24:05You happy with that?
24:06Yep. Looks like we're ready to rock.
24:08On it.
24:16Happy with these, Bill?
24:17Yeah, that's great.
24:18So we just lay them out here
24:20so we can get a feel for what the rocks are
24:22because we've sort of almost got to let them speak to you.
24:24You've got to be able to see either side,
24:27work out which way it's going to work for us
24:29because each spot has a rock designated for it.
24:33Oh, it's like matchmaking.
24:35Matchmaking.
24:36We need the spot to love the rock and the rock to love the spot.
24:39That's right.
24:39So begins the careful concrete placement,
24:43making sure each piece sits parallel.
24:48Often people refer to this concrete as urbanite
24:52because these are rocks made by people in the city.
24:56And just like geological eras,
24:58they say we're living in the Anthropocene.
25:00So these are the rocks of our time, really.
25:04They used a lot of carbon and energy to create them.
25:07Most people would have thrown these away.
25:10Why not use them?
25:11And they're free.
25:13You know, you could use it endlessly, really,
25:15and it's so available.
25:17Starting to look good, Bill?
25:18Yeah, it is.
25:19I'm just sort of nestling these in
25:21and how we're doing it
25:22is we're doing them in these little pockets of rocks.
25:25Yep.
25:25Like you'd see maybe in nature.
25:27And then there'd be a little gap
25:29where we might have a planting void around here somewhere.
25:34And then we might start having some rocks,
25:37again, book leafing down here,
25:39just tying this strata across here.
25:44Alright, so positioning the rocks,
25:46sometimes you go a bit counterintuitive.
25:49And if you angle the rocks up off square,
25:52you get a more natural look.
25:54A natural look rather than the square look of a man-made concrete.
25:58And that'll give you a little planting pocket
25:59almost like an overhang here.
26:01That's right.
26:01So that's even another little microclimate.
26:06Unlike soil that contains organic matter,
26:08this crushed granite is inert,
26:10meaning it won't decompose or compact.
26:13So it's a great material to secure
26:16and stabilise our concrete pieces.
26:18We're trying to bed this in,
26:20and you have to get not quite like an iceberg,
26:22but you want like a third to two thirds in the ground
26:26to give stability to big stones.
26:28Some of the little stones, it doesn't matter so much
26:30because they are sort of more or less decorative.
26:33And you do get solidity after a while.
26:35With water, it firms up.
26:37They become very stable,
26:38especially when the plants grow in between them.
26:41Because we're only creating a small mound
26:43on already flat ground,
26:45this method will do the trick.
26:47But if you're trying to retain a large volume of soil
26:50or working on a steep slope,
26:52you should always seek professional advice.
26:55And then now we're on the home stretch, aren't we?
26:59Are you thinking we leave this whole area as a void?
27:02Yeah, I think that works well.
27:04It balances with the crevices over there.
27:06And we can just pack that with plants and it'll retain it.
27:09Yeah.
27:10There we go.
27:11So I'll put this one to kind of match what's happening here somehow.
27:14Yeah, I think matching those other ones that are there.
27:17Yep, at the top.
27:17Yep.
27:18What about a little bit of native grass?
27:22Yep.
27:23Put the three in there, yes.
27:24Beautiful, isn't it?
27:26Ah, they're such a good plant.
27:28Yep.
27:29So with this old cement,
27:31people often think,
27:32oh, I can't grow acid-loving plants.
27:34But alkalinity is usually only a problem
27:37when you're using new concrete
27:38and pouring wet cement into the soil.
27:42I reckon this flower colour
27:43will tie in beautifully with that sedum.
27:46Whereabouts would you want these?
27:47I think because they're a little mounding plant,
27:49they'd fill in this little space in here.
27:52A little clump.
27:53So maybe one kind of up in the...
27:55Yep.
27:55And then...
27:56Yeah, excellent.
27:57Yeah, perfect.
27:59We're planting directly into the crushed granite.
28:02This low-nutrient environment means
28:04plants won't explode with growth
28:06and are more likely to be quite compact,
28:08as they would on an exposed cliff
28:11or rocky mountaintop.
28:13For that little overhang of concrete,
28:15we're going to use this.
28:16It's chloranthus
28:17and it's quite widespread
28:18on the south-east coast of Australia.
28:21It's a beautiful little mounding plant
28:24and I think it's going to look perfect
28:25in this crevice.
28:28Bill, I'm so taken with this as an idea
28:31because it just reminds me of so many Australian landscapes as well.
28:35Yeah, that's right.
28:35I think what's good about this
28:37is it starts making you look at the places you're visiting
28:40and you're seeing them really close up
28:42because you think, oh, how are the rock formations?
28:45What are the plants growing in that area?
28:47So it's actually really educational
28:50and you can incorporate it in your bush walk.
28:53It's true.
28:53And they're absolutely everywhere,
28:55these sorts of landscapes,
28:56from the top of, you know,
28:57Mount Kosciuszko right through to the beach.
28:58Yeah, I think one of my favourite ones
29:01is I live down in Cape Shank
29:03and the rock face there,
29:06the plants that are just clinging on
29:08almost like bonsai'd in amongst the strata of rocks
29:11is just amazing.
29:15Now all the plants are in,
29:16Bill is covering the whole bed with gravel mulch.
29:19And Bill says the plants shouldn't get used
29:22to being watered like they are today.
29:24After this, they're on their own.
29:27What sort of care will this need
29:29over the next little period to settle the plants in?
29:32Basically, the best care for these plants is no care.
29:37Right from the start?
29:38Right from the start.
29:39Wow.
29:39Like, be really tough.
29:41That's what we did with the rest of it.
29:42And also, by not watering,
29:44you're not going to get the weeds at all growing
29:47because we've used that very nutrient-reduced medium.
29:50So, basically, it's quite low maintenance.
29:54You've got to be happy with that.
29:56It looks like it's always been here.
29:58Yeah, it's incredible.
29:58You can't see where we began and where we've ended
30:01and literally made from the material of the site.
30:04And one of the really good features of this is
30:08it allows, if you've got a very flat new garden,
30:11you can create the vertical.
30:14So, we've got a raised area, a mound,
30:17just creates a dynamism that you wouldn't normally have
30:20in a flat space.
30:21It's definitely worth giving a go at home.
30:23If you've got some materials in a spot,
30:25you've got to give it a crack.
30:28Crevice, crack.
30:29You've got to do that.
30:34Still to come on Gardening Australia,
30:37Sophie is keeping it cool.
30:39I've planted this ornamental crimson glory vine
30:42because I know in a couple of years
30:44it will have grown up and over this structure
30:46and created amazing shade for summer.
30:50Josh prepares for an everlasting showstopper
30:54and we meet an artist connecting to the garden live-in.
31:04Plants are powerful.
31:07They shape the world around us.
31:10And when you combine them with some dedicated experts
31:13and community volunteers,
31:16you better stand back
31:18because something beautiful is brewing.
31:22Clarence is up in Newcastle
31:23checking out a project that's a real game-changer.
31:38Forty years ago, this pond was a rugby field,
31:41a landscape of dairy farming
31:43and a dumping ground for local industry.
31:46Then in stepped environmentalist Max Maddock
31:48with a vision to get as much people power as possible
31:52to create the Hunter Wetlands Centre here in Newcastle, New South Wales.
31:58Sadly, Max passed away in 2016.
32:01However, his daughter Michelle was with him every step of the way
32:04when Max established the site in the 1980s.
32:07So you've had a family connection here for quite some time?
32:10Yes.
32:11My dad was working at the university.
32:13We had our horses here.
32:18And he was watching egrets come into the Malaluca swamp.
32:22He recognised that it was a really important landscape
32:26and environment for the egrets
32:28and joined with other friends to save the wetland centre.
32:32So re-establishing what is a really important ecosystem.
32:38Dad didn't do it on his own.
32:40Over the 40 years,
32:42I can't imagine the number of volunteers that have come.
32:45400,000 trees have been planted on the site.
32:48The wetlands have been revegetated
32:51because they were just grassed on the edges,
32:53so there were no reeds.
32:55Wetlands are doing so much for nature.
32:57They're filtering water.
32:58They're providing habitat.
32:59It's amazing how they're so undervalued.
33:02They certainly are.
33:0340% of the world's biodiversity is in wetlands
33:06and they are more endangered than our forests.
33:08They are critical to our environment.
33:12And being part of the estuary,
33:14we have a lot of local estuary wetlands,
33:16and this is what we are here.
33:18Ours are really important because they're freshwater.
33:22Here we've got giant eels.
33:24We've got fish.
33:25We've got microinvertebrates.
33:26We've got the plant species that keep our water clean.
33:29It's just amazing the biodiversity that we have here.
33:43To get a closer look at the biodiversity of the wetlands,
33:46I'm going for a paddle on one of the estuary waterways
33:49guided by Geoff Nicholls,
33:51a volley with over 30 years' experience.
33:53This is a nice little creek system. Where are we?
33:55Well, we're on Ironbark Creek,
33:58which is the main western creek for Newcastle,
34:00and it flows into the Hunter River at Sandgate,
34:04which then goes into Newcastle Harbour and the ocean.
34:07We're actually adjacent to Hexham Swamp at the moment,
34:11and there's 2,000 hectares of managed wetlands in there.
34:15It has been rescued to a far extent,
34:18enabling more tidal water to come in by opening the floodgates,
34:22and that's established mangroves to a far greater extent
34:25than they've been there for a good 40 to 50 years.
34:29And a lot of this has come back naturally
34:31with the tidal movement
34:32and the movement of the mangrove fruits in particular.
34:35Yes, well, we're actually paddling through a cluster
34:37of mangrove fruits at the moment.
34:39Very interesting fruits in themselves
34:41that they actually germinate on the mother plant,
34:43so they already have roots and a shoot before they fall off,
34:47which enables them then to be secure in the mud in a high tide
34:51and already probably start their establishment.
34:54So that's how come they can get established
34:55so quickly in a tidal zone.
34:57So there's distinct layers in the mangroves,
35:00but also you can see the distinct species here.
35:02That's right, and there are only two species,
35:05and you can see that with those distinct features.
35:08You have the rounder-shaped-leaved mangrove
35:10at the front there is the river mangrove,
35:12and then towards the back, the taller one is the grey mangrove.
35:15I mean, it's the one that has the new metaphors,
35:18the breathing roots that rise up above the high tide mark.
35:21Yeah. And they also work well together
35:24in the sense that they both don't fruit at the same time,
35:26so they don't compete, you know,
35:28for the mud banks in getting established.
35:31In the Newcastle region there was quite well known
35:34that the Hunter River prawns were quite a delicacy,
35:37but over time they disappeared,
35:39and the reason was because they didn't have these backwaters
35:41in which to breed and get established.
35:43So with the opening of the floodgates here
35:46in the Ironbark Creek system,
35:48it's allowed all these mangroves to get established,
35:50and they're a really great safe habitat
35:52for those prawns and other aqua fauna
35:55that need sheltered waters
35:56and lots of detritus to feed on as well.
36:00So the healthy mangroves all mean also
36:03a healthy prawning and fishing industry
36:05in the Hunter River as well.
36:07Local mob here, the Awabagal and the Warrami,
36:10they would have loved this area, I'm sure.
36:12Well, yes, there's no doubt that this was a great foundation
36:16for living and culture over thousands of years.
36:20I mean, you've got rainforest and wetlands combined,
36:23you've got so much vegetation,
36:25as well as all the animals that live here,
36:27all the reptiles and the fish and the birds.
36:29There would have been such an abundant supply of food.
36:33There is talk that there were cultural gatherings here,
36:35corroborees that lasted over many nights.
36:38We have a midden on site
36:40where there's evidence of stone tools
36:42that come from the Bar Beach area on the coast.
36:45So this would have been a gathering place
36:47as well as a place that supported life for a very long time.
36:55Wetlands and the different types of wetlands
36:57provide a whole heap of services for nature, Geoff.
37:00They do indeed.
37:01I mean, they're known as being a habitat
37:03for migratory shorebirds, for example.
37:06Also within our wetlands,
37:08they provide safe nesting areas above water
37:11for annual nesting of egrets and ibis.
37:14There's also a great supply of food for the birds
37:18in fruits and nectars that you find in the plants
37:20that grow around the wetlands.
37:22The wetlands support over 200 species of birds.
37:26Magpie geese will locally extinct to the area,
37:29but after their reintroduction, they are now thriving.
37:35Take a walk in the wetlands
37:37and you'll see ibis or swans,
37:39along with herons, cranes and the rare freckled duck.
37:44The very start of Max's vision for the wetlands
37:47was plants man Paddy Lightfoot,
37:49who didn't seem to have a lot of choice about being recruited.
37:53So I was in the Australian Plant Society in 1983
37:58and Max said,
37:59right, he said, you're on the landscape committee.
38:03He did not say, have you got time?
38:05I was working full-time in those days.
38:07Would you like to? No.
38:09Just you're on the landscape committee.
38:11Here I am 40 years later.
38:14And you're able to germinate and propagate
38:17a lot of the species that you have on site here?
38:19We do.
38:19We've got two nurseries.
38:21One which is the wetlands nursery
38:23and we have another nursery
38:25which is the Australian Plant Society nursery
38:28where we grow anything from anywhere in Australia
38:32to show people what they can put in their gardens.
38:35Thinking about regeneration or revegetation,
38:39endemic species are crucial, aren't they?
38:41Absolutely.
38:42We've planted different areas.
38:43We have a Melaleuca swamp with Melaleucas around it,
38:47Melaleuca quinquenervia, paperbark.
38:50We also have Casuarina forest.
38:53Beautiful to walk through the tracks
38:56through the Casuarina forest,
38:57particularly in the August westerlies.
39:00And you have the wind
39:01through the branchlets of the Casuarinas.
39:04And education really is key, isn't it?
39:07Just showing particularly those different zones.
39:09Water-loving plants through the riparian
39:11all the way into scrubland, bushland, forest, yeah?
39:15This is very important.
39:16And, of course, this was Max Matic.
39:18He was an associate professor of education
39:21and this was his whole scheme,
39:25was to educate the children.
39:28And that's the only way we're going to survive,
39:31is to have the young people educated.
39:33And part of that education is valuing these spaces
39:37that for so long were just backfilled
39:39and soared as having no value at all,
39:41but they are just so crucial.
39:42They are absolutely crucial
39:44and the more population we get,
39:47in dense populated areas,
39:49the more important these areas are for medical health.
39:54I'm a retired GP
39:55and I realise just how vital green spaces are for our future.
40:06One interesting bit I remember was a fella called Richardson Barb Baker,
40:12who was a forester from England.
40:14And he said if aliens came to Earth,
40:18they would say what they liked best was the green people,
40:21the trees and the plants.
40:23I like that.
40:30Wetlands are an essential component of ecology and biodiversity.
40:34They're a sponge to help mitigate against floods,
40:37to filter water and a haven for plants and animals.
40:40They are an invaluable natural resource
40:43to help us connect to the living landscape to which we all belong.
40:58Creating a home in this arid environment has meant carefully designing our garden,
41:03so that we can have shade on the house in summer,
41:06but also take advantage of the precious winter sunshine.
41:12Around the house I'm planting an ornamental garden,
41:15with lots of my favourite exotic plants,
41:18including several deciduous trees and vines.
41:23For creating shade, I'm a big fan of grapevines,
41:27both the fruiting and the ornamental varieties.
41:30Both need a sunny position and a strong climbing structure.
41:40I've planted this ornamental crimson glory vine
41:43because I know in a couple of years
41:45it will have grown up and over this structure
41:47and created amazing shade for summer.
41:50It also produces spectacular autumn colour.
41:53Now the reason that I didn't go for fruiting vines here
41:57is because A, this is so high
41:59that I wouldn't be able to reach the bunches of grapes,
42:01but also with the wildlife pressure here,
42:04I would have to net every bunch of grapes individually
42:07if I wanted to get the fruit.
42:19So many tasks in the garden are seasonal by nature,
42:23but I reckon some deserve the mantle of tradition,
42:27like sowing everlastings in autumn
42:29in anticipation of a sea of blooms come spring.
42:36Preparation for growing these native annuals
42:39is pretty straightforward.
42:41I want to create drifts of colour on my verge,
42:43where they will get plenty of sunlight.
42:45So I'm starting with a bit of a tidy up of plants
42:48that need a prune to make some room,
42:50including cutting back these vicinia and kangaroo paws.
42:55I'm raking back the leaf litter and mulch
42:58to uncover the soil underneath.
43:01The species of everlasting that I'm planting
43:03is Rhodanth chlorocephala subspecies rosea,
43:08and you can see just how light and fluffy the seed is,
43:11and there's vermiculite mixed in with this seed
43:14to help with sowing.
43:15And when it comes to sowing,
43:17it's just a matter of scattering it evenly on the ground,
43:21nice and close to the surface so it doesn't blow away.
43:26One gram of seed will cover around one square metre.
43:29If you want to prolong the flowering season,
43:32sow seed in different spots every few weeks through to mid-winter.
43:37Apply a light dressing of fertiliser
43:41and a gentle water in to help the seed settle
43:44and prevent it from blowing away.
43:47Ideally, winter rains will be adequate
43:50to support healthy plant growth.
43:52But if there's a dry spell,
43:53give the plants a top-up water.
43:57Given the right conditions,
43:59growing everlasting is pretty trouble-free.
44:01The main thing to keep an eye out for is snails,
44:04especially when the plants are young.
44:06So, a little bit of investment now will result
44:10in an absolute riot of vivid colour come spring.
44:14It's a sight that brings joy to my heart.
44:27Just like plants, art connects us to so many things.
44:31Our environment, our history, to how we see the world.
44:35Our next story is with an artist
44:38weaving plants through all these elements
44:40to promote personal peace.
45:00The mind can go in a thousand directions.
45:04But on this beautiful path, I walk in peace.
45:10With each step, the wind blows.
45:14With each step, a flower blooms.
45:18By Thich Nang Han.
45:22This poem brings me to center and home.
45:33Practice of yoga is very important to me.
45:37It's part of gardening to me.
45:43I am Hiromi Tango.
45:46I am Hiromi Tango.
45:46And I am interdisciplinary artist.
45:51And I call myself gardener.
45:57I grew up in a traditional Japanese household.
46:04My grandmothers, both grandmothers are kimono makers and gardeners.
46:11So I grew up with gardeners.
46:15And I'm so grateful for it.
46:19I do all sorts of gardening.
46:21I do love growing plants, growing flowers.
46:27This is my Monet garden.
46:31And the color palette expand from this garden.
46:36And also this is the garden I grow healing produce for my family.
46:42The easiest and common plants I propagate is tomatoes and capsicums.
46:52Because without choosing seasons, you eat capsicum and you just have the center of capsicum seeds.
47:02And with a little spoon, a tablespoon, shove into the soil and keep watering a few weeks.
47:09And we have seedlings.
47:12Other thing is the tomatoes.
47:15Any seasons we could grow here in our environment.
47:20I tried strawberries and other things.
47:23A little bit more season sensitive.
47:26But we can grow that too.
47:28And spring onions often it's easy to just start after you use.
47:35You just keep some roots area into the ground and it grows and it flowers.
47:41And you keep the seeds and you can grow more.
47:45Lavenders, rosemary, Australian native too.
47:49We have pig face.
47:51We have ginger.
47:53And we just put that in the ground and they just grow.
47:59Where I grew up in Chikoku Island, my family was growing everything by themselves.
48:07And we upcycling and recycling.
48:11So for me, it is part of a strong identity of our culture.
48:19I also enjoy growing art gardens.
48:27Art garden is the garden of hope and garden of humanity.
48:34It is the garden to grow kindness.
48:40I usually ask community members to donate the clothes which carries memories and feelings.
48:51Some of the fabric can be your grandmother's fabric or your child fabric.
49:01And we color categorize rainbow colors.
49:05And then we cut them in the different sizes and utilize them as part of the flowers, seed, seedlings.
49:18colors.
49:19Colors are very important because it is light and it is representation of nature.
49:30This project is called Garden Healing Together for Tweed Valley Hospital.
49:39I didn't want hospital to be a scary place.
49:42I wanted hospital to be a healing space, nurturing place, space for care.
49:49So that's probably the background and the hope of the project.
49:55The roots for Mount Couther Botanic Garden in Brisbane.
50:01It is the sculptural work made by bronze and flawed.
50:07The flowers of the palm tree in the botanic garden.
50:12So each artwork has been made as a mold of bronze.
50:17And then I have connected them to make the healing seed to position center of the artwork, circular artwork.
50:29The peony is the dream flower made for Brisbane Festival a couple of years ago.
50:38I wanted to create the flowers with many layers of petals,
50:43with all different sizes, different colors.
50:47So I created this artwork with aluminium artwork.
50:52And when they are combined, it looks diverse rainbows.
51:01When I was a university student in Tokyo when I was 21,
51:07I met my husband, Craig Walsh, and he was doing the artist residency in Tokyo.
51:16And I fell in love with him and his art.
51:21And I proposed to him, I want to marry you.
51:25For me, really important start to marry and commit each other and grow.
51:33I came to Australia in 1998.
51:38Now I'm nearly 50 years old and I have teenager children and nearly 30 years residing in Australia.
51:50And I found my voice, which is just right volume.
51:57Today we are planting eucalyptus trees for creating koala corridor.
52:07And also planting other trees to protect eucalyptus trees.
52:13We are doing this because of the bushfire and flood.
52:18We used to see koalas, but through the bushfire and the flood, we stopped seeing them a few years ago.
52:28Koala's habitat has been endangered.
52:31A bit of rock here.
52:33And we love koalas and we love to create a safe home for koalas.
52:38But we planted the tree a couple of years ago and we saw beautiful two koalas this year,
52:46which really, really warms our heart.
52:50Nature is the most beautiful, most important thing for us.
52:55It's our heart space.
52:56Sorry little one.
52:59To me, gardening means nurturing, nourishment, care, deep listening, deep observations.
53:14Gardening is, to me, it is the most important element of life.
53:32Now's not the time to rest on your laurels.
53:35Your jobs for the weekend are ready and waiting.
53:43Cool temperate gardeners, have some fun with your food and sow some Romanesco broccoli seedlings.
53:49The freaky shape and loud lime colour of the florets are sure to be a winter winner.
53:55If sawfly larvae are clustering and attacking the foliage of your native plants,
54:00carefully cut off the small branchlets that harbour colonies and dispose of them.
54:05As indoor plants go, you can't beat a cyclamen for awesome autumn colour.
54:10Best in a cool, well-lit spot.
54:12They should be watered from the base and they respond well to being popped outside overnight.
54:18In warm temperate gardens, autumn crocus are bursting out of their summer dormancy
54:23with dazzling displays of dainty flowers.
54:27These cute corms are fantastic in rockeries.
54:31Persimmon fruits are starting to turn bright orange, so it's time to harvest.
54:36Non-astringent varieties can be eaten straight away, but let astringent fruits go soft and squishy before tucking in.
54:43I'm an astringent kind of guy.
54:46Show your climbing indoor plants some love this weekend
54:49and pop together a totem using timber, coconut fibre and wire.
54:54Simple, effective and your plants will be in totem control in no time.
55:00Subtropical gardeners, if you haven't planted onions yet, don't cry, you can still get them in.
55:05Go for early varieties that thrive in warmer climates like gladiline brown or barletta for pickling.
55:12Chickweed can look like it's taking over, but don't despair.
55:15It's easy to pull out when it's young and what's more, it's edible.
55:19Eat it raw or cooked or give it to the chooks.
55:22As your beautiful banksias finish flowering, pinch and prune off the spent flowers.
55:27This will promote a fuller flush of flowers next season and the spent flowers are great for craft projects.
55:35In the tropics, sow seed of hearting lettuce varieties including butterhead or batavian,
55:41or loose oak leaf varieties like Australia's own Darwin to make sure your salad days continue.
55:48Chinese lanterns are in flower now.
55:51These fast-growing attractive evergreens grow well in the tropics
55:54and bear masses of hibiscus-like flowers for most of the year.
55:59There's a bit of wind about in the tropics, so whack in a windbreak for your most sensitive plants.
56:05A temporary but secure moveable structure's great, or plant a living windbreak.
56:11In arid zones, there's still warmth in the soil,
56:15so why not rock some roots like carrot and parsnip?
56:18Sow seed direct in a sunny spot and don't overfeed.
56:22You want to develop roots and shoots.
56:26Lech and Olsha are blooming now and come in a range of full-on colours.
56:30These tough natives are ideal in containers and hanging baskets
56:34and will reward you with masses of flowers for months.
56:38If you've got a spot for a fab fruit tree, why not try a Jujube?
56:43Self-pollinating, compact, upright trees that love arid climates.
56:48Their fruit is sweet, nutritious and delicious.
56:52Get out into the garden this weekend and make the most of it.
56:56For more inspiration, head to the Gardening Australia website
56:59full of tips, tricks and fact sheets.
57:09It's a wrap for another week, but the wheels are already turning for next time.
57:14Take a look.
57:17We all know how amazing Australian plants are,
57:20but of course they have evolved with amazing animals.
57:24And today I'm learning a little more about the emu
57:27and its role in Australia's ecology.
57:30I'm meeting a cactus grower whose retirement project
57:34has rapidly expanded into hundreds of thousands of these spiky delights.
57:40And whether your garden is wild, formal or themed,
57:44there's an Australian native to fit any garden brief.
57:48I'm visiting a nursery so you can see some mature plantings for inspiration.
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