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00:05Hey!
00:06Hi!
00:11Whoa!
00:16Hey!
00:19Hey, buddy.
00:22Hey!
00:24Hey!
00:24Hey!
00:25Hey!
00:25Hey!
00:25Hey!
00:26Hey!
00:27Hey!
00:28Hey!
00:34Hello
00:35and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:37We have unearthed some
00:39real gems this week
00:40and I can't wait to share the harvest
00:43with you. Here's what's in store.
00:47We all know how amazing
00:49Australian plants are,
00:51but of course they have evolved
00:52with amazing animals.
00:54Today I'm learning a little more about the
00:57emu and its role in Australia's ecology.
01:00I'm meeting
01:01a cactus grower whose retirement
01:03project has rapidly expanded
01:05into hundreds of thousands
01:07of these spiky delights.
01:09Check this out.
01:11Look at the abundance of lychees
01:13on these trees. Today
01:15I'm having a very fruitful look
01:17at how these subtropical treats
01:18grow. And even better,
01:20I'm gonna eat them.
01:23And whether your garden
01:24is wild, formal
01:26or themed, there's an Australian
01:28native to fit any garden brief.
01:30I'm visiting a nursery
01:32so you can see some mature plantings
01:34for inspiration.
01:43around 15 million years ago,
01:46a volcanic eruption
01:47created a geological
01:49legacy that helped create
01:51rich basalt soils
01:53in the cool, moist climate
01:55of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
02:00And here in Mount Wilson
02:02we find one of the most
02:03celebrated private gardens
02:05in New South Wales,
02:07Nauru Gardens.
02:10Created in 1880
02:11by William Hay,
02:13this temperate haven
02:15is ideal for growing
02:17cool climate trees, shrubs
02:19and perennials.
02:20And right now, it's a pocket
02:23of absolute autumn splendour.
02:28The current owners of Nauru
02:30are Doctors Lorraine
02:32and Tony Barrett,
02:33who've been restoring
02:35and caring for the garden
02:36since 1992.
02:39Well, this looks like
02:40we're a bit out of the weather.
02:43Whoa!
02:44I felt like we needed to get
02:45undercover.
02:47A little bit cold,
02:48a little bit misty,
02:49a little bit sleety,
02:50but...
02:51This time of the year
02:53is the peak season for colour.
02:56What are the real highlights
02:59of this garden?
03:00This time of the year,
03:02it really is lovely.
03:03It's like a kaleidoscope.
03:05You have crimson,
03:06gold, blue, red
03:09and when you go around the garden
03:11you get a lot of pleasure
03:12seeing the things change colour.
03:15It starts slowly.
03:17Usually around the middle of April
03:19we start to get some yellow colour.
03:22The maple behind us,
03:23for example,
03:23has been in colour
03:24for weeks and weeks.
03:26It's a really wonderful colour.
03:28And then after Amzac Day
03:30and into mid-May
03:31we get the red colour.
03:33And of course,
03:34a lot of the colours
03:35caused by the Japanese maples
03:37that are all over the garden.
03:39But also,
03:39there are a lot of shrubs here
03:41that have wonderful autumn colour.
03:43The Mollus Azaleas,
03:45the Ancheanthus,
03:46the Folligillii
03:47have an orangey-yellow leaf
03:50and they tend to be earlier
03:51than some of the red maples.
03:54And the Ginkgo,
03:56we have a wonderful, huge Ginkgo
03:58and that is the last tree to colour
04:01and is but a yellow.
04:04It's a really wonderful sight.
04:06And you can see it for miles
04:08and all underpinned by the white Noreens.
04:13When did you actually take over here?
04:15November 92.
04:17We always loved Mount Wilson.
04:19We used to come here every year
04:21and especially,
04:22we remembered Nauru
04:24and the bluebells on the lawns
04:26in the spring,
04:27which was very nice,
04:28you know, beautiful garden.
04:29So we came
04:30and we didn't know it was for sale.
04:32We came to see another property.
04:34Just by chance.
04:35And by chance,
04:36we saw a sign on the gate.
04:37I guess we purchased it,
04:40not knowing that it had a history,
04:42but we are not horticulturists.
04:45We're not...
04:46Botanists.
04:47Botanists.
04:48But we love gardening.
04:50Then we realised after we bought it
04:53that we bought something
04:55that was terribly important
04:56to a lot of people.
04:58So you're both doctors.
05:00What was your diagnosis
05:03when you came here to the garden?
05:06Well, Lorraine...
05:07Oh!
05:09Overwhelming, actually.
05:10I think that was the main diagnosis.
05:13We looked at the garden.
05:15We realised it had wonderful bones
05:17and especially it had wonderful vistas.
05:26William Hayd built Nooroo House in the late 19th century,
05:31identifying Mount Wilson
05:33as a perfect place for a temperate garden.
05:36He planted the oaks.
05:39There are three remaining oaks
05:41from the original plantings.
05:45There's also two chestnut trees,
05:47both of which still bear chestnuts in the autumn,
05:50and are rather gnarled and ancient-looking trees.
05:54And then the nucleus of this garden
05:57was developed by the Valders.
06:01From 1917 to 1992,
06:06the Valders family,
06:07including horticulturist and botanist Dr Peter Valders,
06:11established Nooroo
06:13as one of Australia's most celebrated gardens.
06:17The Valders brought in from overseas
06:20many, many plants,
06:22including the seeds of plants
06:25that are now huge trees in this garden.
06:28They were avid collectors of plants from all over the world,
06:32North America, Europe, and even New Zealand.
06:37And Asia.
06:38The Valders had a particular fondness
06:41for the striking colours and forms of maples,
06:45a tradition Tony and Lorraine continue.
06:49We augmented the planting of maples
06:51with lots of smaller maples and weeping maples.
06:55So down on the lawns under the oaks,
06:58there's a whole collection of weeping maples.
07:02We've also planted a lot of other trees that have autumn colour.
07:07We have some lovely beaches.
07:10We've put in another ginkgo.
07:12We've put in also quite a lot of blossom trees.
07:16So we put in a lot of crab apples.
07:18We planted Wollemi pines.
07:22The fertile volcanic soils retain moisture all year round,
07:26creating ideal growing conditions
07:29for Lorraine and Tony's cool climate plants.
07:33The garden is rarely watered.
07:36Only the new plantings
07:37and usually only in their first year or so.
07:41Occasionally.
07:42Because we mulch heavily.
07:43I remember putting in two or three hundred azaleas
07:47over two days, years ago.
07:49And I watered them once and never since.
07:52So what sort of planting have you implemented since you've been...
07:56Oh, we've done an enormous lot of planting.
07:58And of course we never think it's enough, you know.
08:01If I had my way we'd have double the number of plants we have.
08:04But we put in dogwoods, conifers, camellia hedges.
08:09And of course everything grows so quickly here.
08:12It was a joy to do it.
08:13And the first thing we did was
08:15we planted a very long hornbeam hedge
08:18and created a long walk.
08:20We've put a lot of new beds in the side areas
08:23and that's really apart from the old garden.
08:27The old garden is still the old garden.
08:29But the newer areas we're freer to put in new beds.
08:35That's our stamp on the garden, really.
08:38We tried always to retain the vistas in this garden
08:42so that you get a long view from various parts.
08:47And also we wanted people to walk around
08:50and come around the corner and say,
08:52oh, look at that, isn't that wonderful?
08:55If I was sitting here interviewing the next owners,
08:59what would be the legacy that you feel you've left?
09:04I think we've maintained it.
09:07That is the main legacy
09:08because I think it could easily have gone to ruin.
09:12But we have left them something
09:14that I think is better than when we came here.
09:18Our legacy is the area outside the main garden
09:24where we've planted new beds
09:26and had a new vision for that part of the garden.
09:48Who doesn't love it when a feathered friend stops
09:51by our gardens for a visit?
09:53Well, the birds in our next story,
09:55they might just need a bigger bird bath.
10:02I'm visiting the Nanyak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary
10:06in Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs.
10:10It's a 30-hectare parcel of land
10:12that was set aside by La Trobe University
10:14to create a haven for Australian plants and wildlife.
10:20Over a year ago,
10:21the university reintroduced emus into the area
10:24and they're already having a beneficial impact
10:27on the plants in the reserve.
10:31Olivia Swain is the sanctuary's operations manager.
10:35This is such an incredible place,
10:38quite largely in the middle of the city.
10:39Yeah.
10:40It's what I think is such a peaceful place
10:42to have so close to the CBD.
10:44And tell me about these emus.
10:47I mean, this is not what you expect to see.
10:49We have three young male emus here at the wildlife sanctuary.
10:54We reintroduced them to help fulfill an ecological function here.
10:59Hi mate. Hi.
11:00Which is? Inquisition.
11:02One of.
11:04Nothing. Got nothing.
11:06They're very curious.
11:07They're quite young,
11:08so they're still sort of learning about the world.
11:11Because the public has access to this place.
11:13Like, people can actually come and spend time.
11:15Yes.
11:15Not feed the emus, but spend time with them.
11:17Yes.
11:18You get to come and experience what nature
11:20might have looked like pre-European settlement.
11:24Emus are Australia's tallest native bird
11:27and belong to an ancient group of flightless birds called ratites.
11:32They're most common in open plains,
11:34but they're also found in alpine environments and dry forests.
11:38In the wild, they'll live for about 10 years.
11:42Emus are a big part of Australia's ecology.
11:45They would have been very widespread.
11:46They would have been all over Australia,
11:48but with increased urbanisation,
11:50they've been pushed in towards the centre of Australia more.
11:55Hi mate. Hi.
11:58Hi. I don't have anything.
12:00Oh.
12:01They're clearly very beautiful.
12:03Tell me, what role do they actually play in a place like this?
12:06They play a really huge role in a wildlife sanctuary like this.
12:10They help keep the weed levels down.
12:12You can see the emus grazing all day long.
12:14They like to keep those broadleaf weeds under control for us.
12:17Have you seen a big change since they've arrived?
12:21We've seen, particularly with flickweed,
12:24quite a big suppression of that this season.
12:26And that's a monster to take care of.
12:28Like, once it's in your garden or your reserve,
12:31it's just such an exponential spreader.
12:33Yes.
12:33We also see our emus in a lot of our water bodies
12:37feeding off those lovely aquatic plants,
12:40the water ribbons being the main one.
12:41And you can see they kind of keep them nice and low mowed down for us
12:45and stop the water bodies from completely filling up with this plant.
12:48Because it's a native, but you don't want it to completely dominate.
12:52Yeah.
12:52We've got several species of aquatic plants in our water bodies
12:55and the water ribbons really like to fill any space that it's given.
12:59So keeping it in a nice, manageable but healthy population,
13:03the emus play a really important role for that.
13:04So in spaces where maybe there isn't a generalist grazer like an emu,
13:09those species can sort of take over and smother other,
13:11a bit more vulnerable native species.
13:13They haven't stopped eating while we've been sitting here.
13:16I imagine that they consume a lot of plant life.
13:19Do they do it a favour as well?
13:21Yes.
13:21They help spread seeds through their scat.
13:23You can see in their scats that they leave in pockets
13:26all over the wildlife sanctuary
13:27that they're leaving any grass seeds or native seeds in those scats
13:31for then when the right conditions come,
13:33they germinate in a nice little pocket of fertiliser.
13:36We see them grazing on basically anything that has a fleshy fruit,
13:40salt bushes, apple berries, cherry ballards,
13:44all with those really fleshy fruits.
13:45That's what they really like to eat.
13:47But those fruits also need to be stripped of their fleshy outer
13:51before they can germinate.
13:52So the bird's stomach system does that for us.
13:56Right, scarifying through an emu.
13:58Yes.
14:02There's no doubt that not every area would have space
14:05for an animal as large and influential as the emu.
14:09But it is fantastic to see that the reintroduction here
14:13is letting their ecological role really shine.
14:24It feels like cacti inspire a devotion like no other plants.
14:29Jerry has got past the prickles to discover the life's work
14:35of one dedicated collector.
14:37And let me tell you, there's some real curly ones in there.
14:50I'm in Caboolture, about an hour north of Brisbane.
14:54It's home to Robin Parry, a former chef whose lifelong love
14:58of cacti and succulents has, since retirement,
15:02really got out of hand.
15:05I'm here to tour his collection and uncover his secrets
15:09to successful cacti growing in any climate.
15:13So how long have you been collecting?
15:16It's been well over 40 years now.
15:18We now have far, far more than I ever dreamed we'd ever have.
15:22Somewhere in the region of a thousand species of cacti,
15:25two or three hundred euphorbias.
15:27And so it's been quite a journey to get here
15:29and I've loved every minute of it.
15:31I was a chef 35 years.
15:33It was a de-stress from work.
15:36Whenever I'm working my plants,
15:37all the stress and the drama of the day just evaporates.
15:42Wow.
15:44Into the candy store, eh?
15:45There's lots of very, very nice plants here.
15:48Just a joy to have so many very unusual plants.
15:51Things that I honestly never thought
15:53that I would be able to find in my lifetime.
15:55I have never, ever seen the like of that.
15:58It's an amazing plant.
16:00Amazing colour.
16:01And it is a variegated plant.
16:03The normal plant is grey in colour,
16:04but that's just lacking any chlorophyll.
16:07It's a euphorbia.
16:08Euphorbia.
16:08Euphorbia abldakuri, and that's the damask form.
16:11From Ethiopia, I think into Somalia.
16:14Absolute unicorn of a plant.
16:15And it looks otherworldly.
16:17It looks completely fake.
16:19It looks like it's made out of plastic,
16:21but it's a real living thing.
16:24Amazing.
16:25This is just beautiful too.
16:28That looks like carved jade.
16:31It does.
16:31It's a beautiful plant.
16:33It's a variegated agave potatorum.
16:36These are some of the older plants,
16:39mostly the show plants that we take to the society events.
16:43I could just have a hothouse full of plants like this.
16:46It brings a lot of joy.
16:48It really does.
16:48Because I just...
16:49I feel quite privileged in a way to have these plants in the collection.
16:54Because they're going to live a lot longer than I am,
16:56and they've cared for well.
16:58They'll live for a century or more.
17:00And this is just one of 12 greenhouses.
17:04Currently one of 12.
17:06Wow.
17:06We may be adding more.
17:07I built my last hothouse five hothouses ago.
17:11And I don't know how much more time I have to build anymore,
17:13but you never know.
17:19Robin propagates hundreds of cacti every day,
17:23and both he and his partner now run a thriving production,
17:27mail-order nursery business from the site,
17:30getting these plants out to eager collectors.
17:34So these are some of your favourites.
17:37What are they?
17:38Well, these are all Astrophytum miru stigma.
17:42Through a process of selective breeding,
17:44in particular the Japanese,
17:46have created these incredible forms
17:48from what is essentially this plant.
17:51They've created what they call Fukuryu.
17:55In Japanese, Fukuryu means sitting dragon.
17:58It is a very strange and bizarre-looking plant,
18:01which doesn't look anything like the type parent.
18:03It's amazing because every single one is different.
18:05You can have the same parent plants produce seedlings,
18:08and every one will be different to the parent.
18:10Where do they come from?
18:11The type plant is from northern Mexico,
18:14and the Japanese have taken it to the extreme.
18:17Are any of these your own hybrids?
18:19There's this one here and these three.
18:21We're grown from literally hundreds of seedlings
18:24to hopefully get that one or two really special plants
18:27that are really show-worthy.
18:28If I had the space, I would have so many more of them.
18:34This is something very special to me, Gerry.
18:36This is Gymnoclesium horsting.
18:39It is by far the largest one I've ever seen anywhere,
18:44certainly in Australia and possibly the world.
18:46And it was growing on the side of the road,
18:48in New South Wales, in Gilgandra,
18:50and we named it Gilgantor.
18:52Now, the plant normally comes from northern Argentina,
18:55Bolivia, where it gets quite cold,
18:58and it's possibly not used to the soil type that it was in,
19:00but it was absolutely thriving.
19:02Wow, what a story.
19:06This is yet another group of plants
19:08I have a particular fascination with,
19:10and these are lithops.
19:12When I was a kid, these were the ultimate dream.
19:16These are a group of South African mesembranthemum,
19:19and they receive between two and four inches of rainfall a year.
19:23And I'm fortunate enough to have accumulated
19:24a nice little collection of these absolutely fantastic plants.
19:28How old would these be?
19:30The oldest one here is now 23 years old.
19:32Wow.
19:33The rest are pushing about the 20-year mark now.
19:36They all have their own features,
19:38so some have lines, channels, rubrications.
19:41One of my favourites here, gracilida lineata,
19:44this grows in white quartzite fields
19:46with black veins through the quartzite.
19:48So if you look more like a stone, you won't get eaten.
19:51So the leaf surface itself mimics the stones,
19:54hence the name lithops, which is stoned face.
20:00So these are some of the crown jewels.
20:02These are some of the best plants that I have in the collection.
20:06These are all of the genus Copipoa.
20:08They all come from the northern third of Chile,
20:11and they grow nowhere else.
20:13They all grow virtually on the coast line in the hills.
20:17Rainfall events are so few and far between
20:20that the fog events that do occur quite frequently
20:23give just enough moisture to sustain the population.
20:26So these are fog-watered cacti.
20:29They are absolute masters at survival
20:32because in their habitat it is absolute barren.
20:35There are no other plants in many cases other than Copipoa.
20:39And how old would these be?
20:41The oldest here, 40 years old,
20:44and this scenario is probably around the 35-year mark now.
20:48This one here, despite its size,
20:50is really only about maybe 18 years old.
20:53This is a Copipoa tenuissima,
20:55and I just love the tight form, the cresting,
20:58how it's folded together.
20:59It is just an absolutely fabulous specimen.
21:02I think they look gorgeous.
21:04Very, very popular amongst collectors.
21:06We call them unicorn plants.
21:07To get a decent-sized clump like this
21:09is very, very hard to come by
21:11because plants of this size are so rare in Australia.
21:15Congratulations.
21:18If you've ever seen a cowboy movie
21:19with a huge cacti with the big arms, this is it.
21:22This is Carnigia gigantea, also known as the saguaro.
21:27And this plant is roughly 15 years old.
21:30Wow.
21:30So it's just a baby.
21:32I just love the form, the spines obviously.
21:35I think they're all endemic to Arizona too.
21:37I don't think they flow into Texas even.
21:39In their natural habitat,
21:41these plants grow initially as a seedling
21:44under the shade of what's called a nursery tree
21:46because the summers in their habitat are too brutal
21:49for a seedling to ever get established.
21:51So they need somewhere with protection, shade,
21:54and hopefully a bit of moisture to get established.
21:58And once they get up to a certain age, like this age,
22:00they're probably fine to go into full sun.
22:03As they grow, eventually when they're about three metres tall,
22:06let's say, they will start to flower.
22:08Are they long-lived?
22:09These will live up to 200, maybe 250 years.
22:13And in that time, they will grow
22:15to an approximate height of 15 metres with several branches.
22:18But here in Queensland, always kept in a pot,
22:22as it will not take our wet winters
22:24and our summer deluges that we have.
22:30Interestingly, Robin also has a large collection
22:33of cacti and succulents thriving in ground,
22:36which is no mean feat given the high humidity
22:39and rainfall of this locale.
22:44So what would be your top performers?
22:46So Euphorbia's have outperformed everything.
22:49Euphorbia grandicornis,
22:50which is a fabulous plant in a garden
22:51if you have the space.
22:54Euphorbia didierioidae is a Madagascan species,
22:56which I was absolutely certain was going to die in our conditions,
23:00but has absolutely thrived.
23:02The best one for the sculptural look alone,
23:04Euphorbia cuperae,
23:06which is a fabulous plant with undulating stems,
23:08which I've thoroughly enjoyed.
23:10Also Euphorbia aereotrea, very sculptural,
23:13are just beautiful-looking plants to have in the garden
23:14if you have the space.
23:16Euphorbia buoy,
23:17which is a relative of grandicornis,
23:19which has only been there three years
23:21and has outperformed almost everything else around it.
23:24It doesn't get too tall,
23:25but magnificent when it's covered in small yellow flowers.
23:29All are trunked, shrub and tree-like succulents
23:33that are green and generally covered with short spines.
23:37They do contain toxic sap
23:39and should be handled with care.
23:41We're getting lots of different types and textures in the garden
23:44and it's just a joy to walk through.
23:51Forget retirement.
23:53Seven years since turning to cacti full-time,
23:56Robin now can't imagine doing anything else.
24:00I would much rather do this working with the cacti
24:03than I ever would have as a chef.
24:05I have found my place.
24:09And later in the program,
24:11Robin's going to demonstrate his propagation methods
24:14to multiply your cacti.
24:23Our guest presenter Tarn has been on the trail
24:26of the rarest and tastiest fruits
24:29and giving the scoop on how you can get them growing at your place.
24:34This time he's telling us about something that's small,
24:38fragrant, pink and perfect in an ice drink.
24:42Take it away, Tarn.
24:51Where better for a fruit nerd like me to visit
24:54than the fruit bowl of South East Queensland.
24:57This area's home to the big pineapple.
25:00But the Sunshine Coast is also great fertile growing country
25:04for a number of other subtropical fruits.
25:08And one in particular that I think is the sweetest of them all.
25:14Now these little fruits pack a juicy punch.
25:17And in my world, the lychee is a fruit fit for emperors.
25:23So I've come to Wumbai,
25:25about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane,
25:27to meet a lychee grower to find out more.
25:29And I confess, I've got another motive.
25:32I'm hoping to sample some.
25:34Because I reckon there's no such thing
25:36as too much lychee tasting.
25:39Dave Crowhurst and his family
25:41have been growing lychees here for three decades.
25:44And today, I'm more than happy
25:46to help him pick some of these sweet sensations.
25:49Dave, how's it going?
25:51Good, Tarn. How are you?
25:52These lychees look fantastic.
25:54What variety are they?
25:55These are Chompo Go.
25:56So these are our late season lychees
25:58and at the moment they're looking fantastic.
26:00So how do you correctly harvest the lychee?
26:03So you're looking for that little spot
26:05at the top of the lychee where the stalk connects
26:07and you just roll your thumb
26:09and it'll click off.
26:11Nice and easy.
26:12So hands over the top, push down
26:14and it snaps easily.
26:16I see, I've learnt from the master.
26:17What happens if you tear the fruit?
26:20You're just going to reduce the shelf life of your fruit.
26:22It's not going to store as well in the fridge
26:24and it'll start oxidising and go off quicker.
26:27So if you tear it, Tarn, you eat it now.
26:29I better eat this one then.
26:30Yeah.
26:32I don't just love the sweetness
26:34but look how juicy it is.
26:36Now tell me how to pick a really good lychee.
26:39With the Chompo Go's,
26:40you're looking for a nice filled out plump fruit
26:44and generally what happens is
26:45the skin will smooth out a little.
26:47Gotcha.
26:48Now for the home gardener,
26:49would they just keep trying them at home
26:51and finding out which one is the best one?
26:53That's the best way.
26:55I think I've got to eat another one.
26:59Now you're just throwing away those branches.
27:01Why is that?
27:02We just throw them on the ground
27:03and the mower comes along,
27:04chops them up and they double as mulch under our trees.
27:07Great organic compost.
27:08Yep.
27:12Lychee's start to spoil soon after picking
27:15and need to be packed and stored in the fridge.
27:20It's really important that you quality control every batch.
27:25You can eat them fresh,
27:27use them in drinks
27:28and savoury or sweet dishes.
27:32Lychee's hail from China,
27:34Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines.
27:37They were introduced to Australia in the 1870s
27:40by Chinese miners during the gold rush.
27:44It's Chinese tradition to offer lychees
27:47as a Lunar New Year good luck charm
27:49because they're considered a symbol of romance
27:52and indeed what's not to love about these tropical treats.
27:55So Dave, how did you get into growing lychee trees
27:58and why lychees?
27:59So my wife Megan's parents started growing lychees here
28:0230 odd years ago
28:03and I think the main reason is
28:06lychees are so good to eat
28:07and you've got to grow something that you love to eat.
28:09I agree, I agree.
28:14Now Dave, of course there's hundreds of varieties grown in the world
28:17but these three look so beautiful right next to each other.
28:21They do, Tan.
28:22Yeah, we've got Erdon Lee.
28:24These look like dragon eggs.
28:25They're so huge.
28:26They are huge.
28:27They're the giant lychee.
28:28Compared to the Kwai Mai Pink, these look like little tiny ones.
28:32And then you've got the Chompo Goes here as well.
28:35I'm ready to taste.
28:36Let's go.
28:38Wow.
28:39That is a fleshy lychee.
28:42That's so good.
28:45There's a really nice textural experience with eating this lychee
28:49because you're biting into something with a lot of juice, a lot of flesh
28:52and you can get right into it.
28:54It's very satisfying.
28:56Like a peach.
28:57And they're so sweet.
28:58So good.
28:59They're a meal.
28:59Cool.
29:00Let's try the classic, the Kwai Mai Pink.
29:02These are my favourite.
29:04A really good sour tang with that.
29:06And quite often with these you get a really small seed.
29:09They call it chicken tongue seed, which means you get more flesh.
29:11More flesh.
29:12All right, let's go for the Chompo Go.
29:13So with many lychee cultivars, there's a seam that you can see here.
29:18Just put your four fingers on it.
29:20Pop.
29:21And it easily peels away.
29:23And just make sure that you don't eat the seed.
29:28Compared to the Kwai Mai Pink, that doesn't have as much sour tang,
29:31but it is super sweet and super juicy.
29:34So it's really interesting.
29:35They all have slightly different flavours.
29:37They do, Tan.
29:38And I think it's, you know, the fantastic thing about lychee
29:41is it sets them all apart.
29:42And they're a little bit unique in their own way.
29:48Where can you grow lychee trees?
29:50Lychees grow best in subtropical climates.
29:53So anywhere really from Coffs Arbour right up to far north Queensland.
29:56And are they an easy tree to grow?
29:58They are, yeah.
30:00There's a couple of key things you need to make sure you do with lychees.
30:04And one of them is probably give them a light prune after harvest.
30:08With some varieties you can stag them or stump them.
30:11About a metre from the ground.
30:13And that's one way to get them back to a manageable height.
30:16And they'll just grow back?
30:17Yep, they will.
30:21So, Tan, if you've got a lychee tree at home already,
30:24there's a really simple way you can propagate a new tree to plant.
30:28This is what we call air layering or marcotting.
30:32So we make a cut in the bark called a cincher.
30:35And then we just wrap a bag with a special soil mix in it, seal it up.
30:39And we wait about three months.
30:41And as you can see there, we've got nice healthy roots fully developed in the bag there.
30:46So we're just going to cut here.
30:48Yep.
30:50And there we have it, a brand new lychee tree, ready to plant.
30:53Wow.
30:53Just take the plastic off and you're good to go.
30:55So convenient.
30:56Easy.
30:57So if you wanted to pop a few lychee trees in your garden, what would you choose?
31:02I think for the home gardener, the two varieties I'd choose would be a Kwai Mai Pink.
31:06Just because it's consistent, it'll fruit for you nearly every year.
31:10They taste great.
31:11And the second variety that's really well suited to sort of cooler climates is the Chompo Go.
31:17There's a couple of important things you need to do when you first plant a lychee tree.
31:22And that's keep the water up to it, don't let it dry out, and don't over fertilise.
31:28Now we're sitting here in a netted orchard.
31:30Tell me about the kind of pests that are involved with growing lychee trees.
31:33You've got a net because the birds and other things will always come and eat your fruit
31:38before it's ready for you to eat.
31:39Rainbow lorikeets especially, they love lychees.
31:42Flying foxes are also pretty partial to lychees.
31:46And then you've got the smaller pests, a lot of the pests that you can't see like mites
31:50and caterpillars and other insects that do cause issues from time to time.
31:55For me, lychees are one of the most romantic of fruits.
31:57It reminds me of my childhood, growing up in the fruit store,
32:01having the lychees and just gnawing through them.
32:03Most consumers out there, city folk, have never actually experienced a fresh lychee.
32:09Their first experience is the one in the can, and it's just not quite the same.
32:12That's right. It's a bit of a disappointment.
32:14But when they eat a fresh lychee after eating a canned lychee, there's just no comparison.
32:23Still to come on Gardening Australia, Sophie gets some tips on designing with native plants.
32:30We meet a fixture of the Northern River's gardening scene,
32:34and your jobs for the weekend are ready and waiting.
32:47Earlier, we met expert cactus grower Robin Parry, whose retirement project has rapidly expanded
32:54into hundreds of thousands of these spiky delights.
32:59We rely on two primary methods of propagation, one being grafting.
33:05But the main propagation technique is by seed sowing.
33:09On a good day, Robin can propagate 40,000 to 50,000 seed,
33:14and after decades of experience, he's now sharing his expert techniques to multiply your cacti.
33:23The plants that we end up selling, 95% of them are seed grown from here.
33:29So the seed we source is all from plants that I've collected over the years.
33:33Robin sows seed onto trays of his own specially prepared cacti germination mix.
33:40So it's three parts coir, sieved, then we use a fine to medium perlite, we use a fine to medium
33:47pumice,
33:49and probably a half amount of a blend of seed raising mix and sheep manure.
33:55And then we add to all of that about a third of a part of diatomite for no other reason
34:01than to control things like root mealy bug.
34:04And this is the resulting mix.
34:06Yep.
34:06So the mix is quite light, it's very crumbly, and it doesn't compact.
34:12So this little container has slow-release fertiliser.
34:15Is that enough to do all this?
34:17For this amount of potting mix, it's ideal.
34:22So my mix is there, I've smoothed it without patting it down
34:25so there's good pockets for the seed to fall into.
34:28Now I'm going to sow out some seed.
34:30And in this case, we're going to use Parodia Lenny Housie.
34:33I'm old school, and so what I do is this.
34:37Simply go back and forward until I have run out of seed.
34:41He covers the seed with fine pumice.
34:44That's to give a little narrow microclimate
34:47that allows the soil to have a little bit of humidity around the seed.
34:52And now they'll be put into the hothouse
34:54and they'll get a good deep watering until it's running out of the tray.
34:57And that makes sure that that wet soil will be suitable for the germination process.
35:04These are the same species as what I've just sown out.
35:06These are four to five months old, and you can see by the size of the plant
35:11that they're getting ready to be pricked out into their own growing tray.
35:14Lenny Housie is one of the easier plants to grow, very forgiving, and not a slow growth rate.
35:20Is there a preferred season for sowing?
35:23The best season is really early to mid-spring.
35:29Grafting is your next method of propagation.
35:33You have to ask the question, I guess, why do I need to graft?
35:36Some things are obvious, like the plant has no chlorophyll,
35:39so it's a variegated plant.
35:41It's devoid of anything to feed itself,
35:43so it needs to be grafted into a green rootstock.
35:45And there will have to remain for the remainder of its life
35:48because there's no way it can actually be grown onto its own roots.
35:52Other times, the plant is rather rare and tricky to grow on its own roots.
35:56You might be saving a plant.
35:57You might have a rock in a plant and you want to save as much of it as you can,
36:01and grafting will just help you to do that.
36:04Grafting is the process of physically joining
36:07a vigorous, strong-growing rootstock
36:09with a desirable top half or scion.
36:12It's used in cacti to speed up growth
36:15or improve the resilience of particular species.
36:19All rootstocks are not necessarily created equal.
36:21These are the two that we principally use for our grafting.
36:25Hylocerius undatus, a rainforest cacti,
36:28and this is Matilla cactus geometrizans.
36:32Hylocerius accepts all cacti quite successfully,
36:35but it does tend to be fairly short-lived,
36:37usually around the five-year mark before the tissue will perish.
36:41The Matilla cactus is much longer-lived
36:43and you can have a plant for decades on this rootstock.
36:46So often I will start plants on this to get some size, get some offsets,
36:50and then I'll often transfer them to the Matilla cactus
36:54once I have the numbers that I do require.
36:57A few things to consider when grafting is when do I do it,
37:02because the time of year matters.
37:04You want the time of year when both the scion and the rootstock
37:08are at their premium growth rate.
37:13The middle of spring especially is a very, very good time.
37:15The other thing to keep an eye on when you're grafting is actually the weather,
37:18because the weather is a key factor in whether your scion survives.
37:22Make sure it's a nice bright day on the drier side if possible
37:26is a very good time to be grafting.
37:29OK.
37:30First of all, I'm going to sterilise my blade.
37:36For that I use just little alcohol wipes.
37:38After you've done that, dry it off with a clean towel,
37:42because the alcohol itself can actually damage the tissue of the plant
37:46that you're trying to save.
37:47So I get my approximate length, I do the cut,
37:51and you'll do a second cut in a minute,
37:54but I will bevel the edges, because as this dries it will curl inwards,
38:01and often it will curl in and pop the top of the scion off.
38:06So we're going to graft this little echinopsis hybrid variegate.
38:10We're just going to do a flat cut.
38:12There's nothing left behind.
38:15There's no spines or hairs or anything.
38:17And then we'll do a second cut from what we just did before,
38:21and just match up the vascular bundle.
38:24So there's a little ring of tissue,
38:27and that transfers the nutrients from the root to the tip of the plant.
38:31So we're just going to put that little guy there
38:34and give it a little wiggle to pop it in the air bubbles.
38:37And now all we need to add to that is some downward pressure
38:40so that the bonding process can occur.
38:43And that will take roughly about a week.
38:48And beyond that, the plant will then begin to grow.
38:53And just make sure the tension on your little elastic is nice and even.
38:58And one grafted plant.
39:00If you can master the art of propagation and grafting,
39:04you too can grow your passion and cactus collection.
39:15Australian native plants offer so much for any garden,
39:19but they go together in so many different ways
39:22it becomes a bit of an overwhelming design puzzle.
39:26Not when Sophie's here.
39:28She's checking out a native plant nursery
39:31to help inspire the masterpiece at your place.
39:39We visit all kinds of gardens on the show.
39:42Formal country gardens, vivid Mediterranean gardens,
39:46bush gardens designed for wildlife,
39:48and everything else to suit our diverse climates and tastes.
39:54I'm going for a walk in an Australian native plant nursery
39:57in the Adelaide Hills to take some inspiration
40:00from their mature plantings.
40:02It's pretty obvious, even at first glance,
40:05that with some clever plant choices and some creative gardening,
40:09Australian native plants can play to a wider range
40:12than they've typically been typecast in.
40:18Well, I think originally it comes back to the idea
40:20to remember what country we live in
40:23and also observe the magnificent vegetation that already exists here.
40:28Duncan spent his days here at the nursery chatting to gardeners
40:32about native plants,
40:33a daily practice of encouraging the wider use
40:36of our incredibly diverse native flora.
40:40So how did you get into native plants?
40:44So basically, as a six-year-old immigrating from the UK,
40:49I was very interested in birds back in England.
40:52But coming out here and spending time in the bush
40:55and then realising, watching what birds were feeding on,
40:58I could then get those birds in my garden.
41:00So that was a huge thing for me,
41:02and it's basically gone on from there.
41:04It's reality TV at its best, really, isn't it?
41:07It is.
41:07And when you're aware of it, you'll never be bored.
41:10There's always, as I say, that free entertainment, we call it.
41:13I'd love to be able to show people
41:14that they can use native plants in lots of more formal ways,
41:18but I'd love to get your input.
41:20So how about we go and look at some of these plants?
41:21Sure, why not?
41:26Traditional formal gardens call for neat structural elements
41:29like clipped hedges, symmetrical designs and a simple palette.
41:35Conifers are classic formal plants
41:37that provide density and simple, consistent shapes.
41:41This is pretty easy
41:43because this is a gorgeous Australian native conifer
41:45and yet people don't know much about them.
41:47No, exactly.
41:48This one's colitis oblonga, beautiful specimen, unpruned.
41:52It's about 10 years old now.
41:55And it's such a beautiful blue-grey colour.
41:57It's lovely, Sophie, isn't it?
41:59And it's a wonderful nesting habitat for small birds as well, we find.
42:03And very, very tough.
42:05If you want to achieve the structured look,
42:08but with a more iconic Australian twist,
42:11try Banksia integrifolia sentinel,
42:13which is an upright, narrow form of coast banksia.
42:16This one's approximately 20 years old
42:19and as it is now, it's completely untouched,
42:22but you could prune it and keep it to two to three metres.
42:26Gorgeous.
42:28Leptospurnum foreshore, a dwarf coastal tea tree,
42:31grows naturally into low balls
42:33or can be used as an alternative to an English box hedge.
42:39There are also plenty of natives available as standards,
42:43giving an Australian take on topiary.
42:46So, Sophie, I'd really like to show you two of my most favourite plants,
42:51the standard grevillea, the raw mantle.
42:54This one's been around, probably at close to 20 years old.
42:57A great alternative to a standard weeping tree,
43:00but these are evergreen and flower for many months.
43:04Yeah, exactly.
43:05And very easy to maintain.
43:07Basically, all you need to do is give them like a basin haircut,
43:10probably every two years, and they'll layer out from the top.
43:13You see the flower buds starting to come on it,
43:16and they're really good for bringing in the birds.
43:21Conifers are also used to create a Japanese aesthetic,
43:25providing an evergreen backdrop,
43:27while plants like maples and ornamental cherries
43:30highlight the changing of the seasons.
43:34Duncan suggests weeping wattles, like this Prostrate Acacia Hawitii,
43:39as a good alternative for our climate.
43:42As a 20-year-old tree, the twisted, gnarled trunk
43:46has grown to look like a bonsai,
43:47and at the right time of year,
43:49it will have yellow blooms that mark the transition
43:52from winter to spring.
43:56OK, Sophie, I've also got some other plants here
43:58that I believe will look really good in a Japanese-style garden.
44:01We've got the Prostrate Cajurina Caznit.
44:03The way it mounds up, structurally very interesting,
44:07and replaces that Japanese-style moss ground cover.
44:11But, as you see, quite architectural.
44:13Absolutely.
44:14Following on that, Clissman Great Balls of Fire.
44:17Look at that.
44:18Bamboo alternative, with that sort of colour foliage,
44:21and then vibrant red foliage this time of year,
44:23which really lights it up.
44:25And also the Prostrate Calathemnus Quadrophytus.
44:29It's an awesome ground cover,
44:31with that sort of unusual sort of look about it.
44:36Mediterranean-style gardens are designed for hot summers
44:39and dry soils.
44:41In Australia, that often means a blend of exotic plants
44:44from anywhere like South Africa to Europe,
44:48including aloes and other succulents, olives and lavender.
44:53Colours are a really important part of a Mediterranean garden.
44:56What are some of the plants that you like to use in that style garden?
45:02I really like to use the Eremophilus, the variety that's available.
45:06Intense colours, duration of flowering.
45:09They do like a heavy prune when they finish flowering,
45:12almost up to a third.
45:13Wow.
45:14And you'll get them shooting back as thick as ever.
45:16There's a range from ground covers right the way through to small trees.
45:22The Westringers, they ball up extremely well.
45:26Very tough variations in the foliage and also the flowers.
45:31So in terms of bling, you really can't go past the kangaroo paw, can you?
45:36Oh, they're incredible, aren't they, Sophie?
45:38I've never seen so much colour before like that
45:40and I never thought I'd see a blue-flowered kangaroo paw.
45:43Yeah, definitely one of my favourites.
45:45So do you think Australian native plants are used as well as they could be?
45:50I believe in the early days we were a bit restricted with our initial varieties
45:55but now with the breeding that's been done
45:57and the selections that have been made, there's a huge variety.
46:01So we can do basically whatever we need to do, I believe, with native plants.
46:09Australian flora is some of the most diverse in the world.
46:12Having evolved to our conditions over millions of years.
46:16Without compromising on aesthetics, you can choose something local for your garden,
46:21whatever your style.
46:31I enjoy listening to people talk about gardening.
46:36It's where you hear their passion shine through.
46:39If you live in the northern rivers of New South Wales and listen to Talkback Radio,
46:46I have no doubt that you've had a solid serve of our next guest's enthusiasm.
46:53And I absolutely love him.
47:07You know, I get very thrilled about seeing a plant looking happy and healthy and compost.
47:14Something about compost just excites me and it never ends.
47:17I've been doing it for over 35 years, growing food, and I can't get enough of it.
47:24My name's Phil Dudman.
47:25I'm a gardening writer and presenter and a broadcaster.
47:29And I've been writing for 25 years for Gardening Australia and Organic Gardener magazines.
47:36And I've been horticultural editor of both those magazines previously.
47:44Take a look around your local garden centre these days and you'll see a lot more of the type of
47:49plants that won't let you down in the dry.
47:51I've worked in TV years ago as well.
47:54I've written three books for ABC Books.
47:57And I run workshops in my garden showing people how to grow their food.
48:01And I also run garden tours travelling to beautiful gardening destinations across the world.
48:07Look, you know, I like to keep busy.
48:14So I've pulled out the garlic and I don't want to leave this space bare.
48:18It's really important to maximise your production to always have something ready to go to fill any gaps.
48:24So I've always got seedlings on the go.
48:26I never direct seed. You lose time.
48:29But if you've got seedlings that are established, they might already be four or five weeks old.
48:33You're ahead.
48:36So I'll rake this level.
48:38I'll layer down some compost and rake that level too.
48:41Then I'll use my magic dibbler.
48:44It's a giant dibbler stick, which I use to mark out the rows.
48:48And then I'll use the stick as well to put the holes in the ground in the rows and then
48:53drop those seedlings in, water them in.
48:55Good job done.
49:04I grew up in Brisbane in the 1960s.
49:08So I was born in 65.
49:09You know, my parents weren't gardeners, but we had a big backyard and I loved being out in the backyard.
49:16So I was always being sent out to deal with the plants, water the plants.
49:20That became my role was to basically maintain the garden from a young age.
49:24Later on, I sort of lost contact with gardening really because I was a young man studying, playing music.
49:32I joined a band.
49:33I moved to Sydney.
49:35But the drummer in our band was a horticulturist.
49:39But he taught me a lot about the plant world.
49:42And I realised years later, I travelled overseas, came back thinking, what am I going to do next?
49:47Like a flash.
49:49On a Greyhound bus one night, I had my epiphany and I thought horticulture.
49:53So I was about 25, 26 at that time.
49:56And once I made that move and started studying horticulture, everything fell into place.
50:02So there was no turning back.
50:07Another thing I like to do is multi-sow the seed in the cells in the punnets.
50:11So for example, with these spring onions, you can see I've got about 10 or more in there.
50:15And I plant them as a group.
50:16They'll grow beautifully.
50:17They don't need to be split up.
50:19It takes a lot of time to do that.
50:20And similarly, I've done that with my bok choy and my leafy greens here.
50:25I've put the spring onions down the centre.
50:27So I've got these wide growing things either side.
50:30So if I can mix it up through the bed, I can have tall things, shallow things around the outside.
50:35I can maximise my space that way.
50:39I had a midlife crisis, I suppose, in my mid-30s.
50:43I had two kids.
50:45And, you know, here I was busy as a home dad.
50:48And a frustrated one because I just wanted to get my hands into some kind of horticultural pursuit.
50:54So I decided to pursue media.
50:58And I really needed some stimulation, adult stimulation.
51:03And I was finding that I was forgetting how to speak.
51:06It was all goo goo ga ga stuff, you know.
51:09And radio offered a great outlet for me.
51:13Glorious.
51:14Have you had some time to get out into the garden?
51:16No.
51:17I'm only going out there putting buckets of water onto the poor, starving, dying plants.
51:24In radio now with ABC North Coast, doing gardening talkback on a Saturday morning, which I love, with Angela Coterns.
51:31Obviously, there's always the citrus questions.
51:34They're the bread and butter for garden talkback people.
51:37And if we didn't have it, we probably wouldn't have a show.
51:40We have a 700 square metre block.
51:43Most of the action takes place here in the backyard where the sunshine is.
51:48And there are loads of tropical fruiting delights.
51:50We just love the citrus espalier here.
51:53It's taken us years to establish, but it's a great hedge and it provides us with all the fruit that
51:59we need.
52:00And it's a beautiful screen and backdrop to the veggie patch.
52:03This is a beautiful bunch of bananas over here.
52:05What do you reckon?
52:06I just love looking at beautiful bananas.
52:08And we've got a lychee tree.
52:10There's some pawpaw over there.
52:12But the real delight for me is the plum tree.
52:15And here it is.
52:16We affectionately call this tree Frankenplum because it's got eight different varieties of plum grafted onto it.
52:23We started with one, realised we needed a pollinator.
52:27So we put that on and then some friends wanted to drop over and they came from a nursery and
52:32they said,
52:32Phil, what can we bring you?
52:34And I said, we'd love some more plums.
52:36So they brought over a heap of cuttings and we stuck them all on in a ceremony of grafting.
52:42And now we've got eight beautiful plums on here.
52:45Early, mid-season and late-season plums.
52:48And it's absolutely delicious.
52:53We managed to produce 75% of our fruit and veggie needs in this small backyard.
53:01Over 30 years, I've realised that the secrets to enjoyable gardening is to make it as simple as possible.
53:08You're not spending your time digging the soil.
53:12But when you leave all the soil in place, the structure is able to build.
53:17And you're just putting compost on the surface and it builds and it's permanent.
53:21And I've designed my garden in such a way to make that easy.
53:25You'll see that the compost heaps at the end of the beds on the terrace.
53:30So I normally visit that compost heap daily, sometimes twice a day, just to talk to the worms.
53:39The thing that drives me is the connection to the gardens and the gardening world
53:44and the interaction with people.
53:46The gardening industry, the people who are behind gardens, gardeners, fantastic people.
53:52I think I've found my tribe there with the garden world.
54:04Gardeners, on your marks.
54:06Your jobs for the weekend are ready, set, go!
54:16In cool temperate gardens, fill bare spots in your veggie patch with fast growing greens.
54:22Think spinach, coz lettuce, rocket, silverbeet and Asian greens.
54:26They're tough, tasty and terrific for you.
54:29Planning on bunging in some broad beans?
54:32Take the time to add some lime.
54:34Dust a handful over a square metre of prepared soil, two weeks before planting for sweet soil
54:40and bute beans.
54:42Head to the high country for some awesome colour.
54:45The native deciduous beech are shimmering gold.
54:48While exotic tupelo, ginkgo, maples and more are bold, beautiful and breathtaking.
54:55Warm temperate gardeners pop in a prostanthro rotundifolia, the round leaf mint bush.
55:01Native to southern Australia, this tough, tidy shrub is perfect in pots and the foliage is aromatic and edible.
55:08Cut back the feathery foliage of asparagus now that the cooler weather has turned the leaves yellow and brown.
55:15Chop the lot, leaving about two inches above the ground and mulch well.
55:19Keep an eye on clivias in the cold.
55:22Wet weather can see these beauties succumb to fungal issues.
55:25Ensure they're not kept too damp and keep mulch well away from foliage.
55:31Subtropical gardeners, if you're looking for a super citrus, why not plant a pomelo?
55:36These tough, fast-growing trees bear huge fruits, which are far sweeter and less bitter than grapefruits.
55:42If you're growing a handsome hardened berger at home, training their stems horizontally will encourage foliage and flowers from the
55:50ground up, making this native even nicer.
55:53Fabulous frangipanis can be propagated from cuttings now.
55:57Take a piece of hardwood about 30 centimetres long, leave it in a protected spot for a couple of weeks
56:03to dry and plant it out.
56:04Too easy.
56:05In the tropics, make your patch pop and plant some sweet corn.
56:10Sow seeds direct into rich, free-draining soil and instead of planting in a line, plant in a block for
56:16best pollination.
56:18Indoors and outdoors, is there anything more colourful than a croton?
56:22Tough, tolerant and oh-so-tropical, these fab foliage plants love full sun and their bright, bold foliage is a
56:29must-have.
56:30If you're in Darwin, contact the council and get involved in the Gardens for Wildlife program, helping to connect people
56:37to their environment and create precious wildlife habitat at home.
56:42In arid zones, stop the spread of brown rot by removing low-hanging branches of citrus trees and replacing straw
56:49-based mulch with chunkier wood chip mulches over winter.
56:52With olives ready to harvest, it's time to get picking and start pickling.
56:57Olives can be picked when green or black.
57:00The darker the colour, the riper the olive.
57:02Soak, salt, preserve and enjoy.
57:06Spend time checking over your irrigation system this weekend.
57:10Check connections, flush lines, replace strippers and adjust as required so you know it's going to work when you need
57:17it most.
57:19Have a ripper weekend in the garden and be sure to subscribe to our Gardening Australia YouTube channel for loads
57:25of tips, tricks, ideas and inspiration.
57:36Well, that's just about everything we could fit in the Shade House this week.
57:41But don't worry, we'll be back next time with even more.
57:45Take a look.
57:49Autumn is a busy time in my patch here in Tassie and it's a really good time to get lots
57:54of jobs done before the winter chill sets in.
57:58And today, I'm going to plan for future pops of one of my favourite colours. Pink, of course.
58:05And if you like the weather-beaten look, I've got a planning idea for you that's as rusty as a
58:09red dirt sunset.
58:11And I'm meeting a team of working dogs that are playing a very important role in plant biosecurity.
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