- 9 hours ago
Better Homes and Gardens - Season 32 - Episode 05
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00:07Hello and welcome to our first Saturday edition of Better Homes and Gardens.
00:11Don't worry, we're still on Friday nights as well.
00:13All it means is you now get a double dose of inspiration every Friday and Saturday evening.
00:19Now to celebrate, we have come to Sydney's brand new fish markets,
00:23soaring high above Blackwattle Bay.
00:25I mean, how stunning is this?
00:26It is a great place to come to watch the bustle of the seafood trade,
00:30pick yourself up something for dinner,
00:32or sit here and enjoy some of the freshest fish in town.
00:35But there's nothing fishy about what's coming up on the show.
00:38Here's a look at what's on the menu.
00:41Tonight, they're slimy, they're creepy and they're totally cold-blooded.
00:46And all I can say is, wow.
00:49No grass, no problem.
00:52Charlie's got the solution all potted up.
00:54We're going to create a lovely container oasis where we can sit down, relax and watch the world go by.
01:01Your next beach holiday is just a few sizzles away.
01:05Now, if only I could be transported to a nice tropical island in Thailand.
01:12Plus, this garden might be small,
01:15but Melissa's got some great pointers about why you should have one.
01:19This little cactus garden is super simple and looks amazing.
01:23And Adam's sharing the board-approved way to prep your veggies.
01:28This is practical, but also, I have to say, will be a work of art in any kitchen.
01:45I'm at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and I haven't been here for quite a while.
01:49There's a lot going on.
01:50If you look over my shoulder, you'll read Amphibian Reptile Conservation Centre.
01:55And all I can say is, wow.
01:58Because inside that is every animal you could possibly imagine that slithers, creeps, crawls,
02:04and doesn't really swim and has a go at it.
02:06I'm going to show you a few, and you will be blown away.
02:10I promise you.
02:19What have we got here?
02:21So this is our alligator snapping turtle,
02:23one of the most incredible-looking turtles we have here at ARC.
02:27Most turtles, they can bring their head back inside their shell for protection.
02:31His head's too big to do that because it's just an absolute weapon.
02:34Generally, they're going to be sitting on the bottom with their mouth open.
02:37They have a little tiny worm appendage on their tongue that they can wiggle.
02:40It'll attract fish and other small crustaceans like that,
02:43which come in close to try and pick up the worm,
02:46and then that's when he snaps closed and ambushes them like that.
02:50No way would you put your fingers anywhere near that mouth.
02:55Oh, that went straight down.
02:59A walking dinosaur with a shell.
03:04I'm glad he said it, not me.
03:16Come on in, Harry.
03:17Well, what have we got here, Chris?
03:18Because it's a bit of everything.
03:19It's an exclusive little room that we keep lots of little animals in
03:22to show guests behind the scenes.
03:25And in fact, there's one over here I'd like to introduce you to.
03:27This is a Fijian crested iguana.
03:29And sadly, there really aren't too many left these days.
03:32They're critically endangered.
03:34This is an adult male.
03:35This is as big as these get.
03:37And they're quite different.
03:38So as far as iguanas go, these are one of the world's smallest.
03:43With some of the sharpest little claws.
03:51They're just marvellous, marvellous animals.
03:58You can see that this animal here has a really well suited to the canopy, like you said.
04:02It's bright green, big long claws to grab onto trees.
04:05And that tail, as you can see, is certainly the longest feature of the lizard.
04:09More than half of his body length is his tail.
04:12Now, it's pretty rigid.
04:13It's not overly flexible.
04:15Yeah, it is.
04:16And that's because they don't use it for grip at all.
04:17They use it for balance.
04:18To do your bit as a zoo, breeding animals, I think, is super important.
04:23Yeah, absolutely.
04:24Don't just display them, conserve them, you know.
04:26Let's breed them as well.
04:27That's the important part, is contributing back to changing that wild conservation and improving where we can.
04:32Yeah, yeah, certainly.
04:44Michael.
04:45Harry.
04:45Now, they tell me you are officially a wildlife conservation officer.
04:51I am.
04:51I am.
04:52I shall know him in future as the frogman.
04:54Is that fully grown?
04:55It is, yeah.
04:56This one's a fully grown adult female.
04:58And this is a corroboree frog.
05:00It is, yeah, yeah.
05:01That is the most beautiful, is that not the most beautiful frog you've ever seen?
05:05What's the population like in the wild?
05:07What's our situation and where do they come from?
05:09Unfortunately, pretty dire.
05:10So, this species, the southern corroboree frog, is only found in Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains.
05:16Yeah.
05:16And unfortunately, in the wild, there's very few of them left.
05:19There's less than 50 mature adults left outside of fenced enclosures.
05:23You might notice he's doing a lot of walking.
05:25Yeah.
05:26They don't jump.
05:28So, tell me what you're doing.
05:29We're looking at ways where we can hopefully selectively breed for frogs that are more immune to chytrid fungus.
05:35The long-term aim is chytrid fungus will be out there forever.
05:38We want to make the frogs, I guess, better equipped to deal with the fungus long term.
05:41Yeah.
05:41Surely that's the thing.
05:42These animals have to be equipped with a better disease resistance.
05:51These are our largest reptiles at the moment.
05:55These are our Aldebaran tortoises.
05:57So, this is the female Esmeralda.
05:59She's slightly smaller than her male counterpart.
06:02And we recently weighed her at about 130 kilograms.
06:05And she's still growing.
06:06So, she'll get even bigger.
06:08How old is she?
06:08She's 109.
06:09And still gaining weight.
06:11That's right.
06:12And him over there, what's his name?
06:15So, that's Lance.
06:16He's a bit younger.
06:17He's only 71.
06:18But the males do grow quite a lot larger than the females, hence the size difference.
06:23But again, he's growing still as well.
06:24So, he could attain a weight of 250 kilos or so.
06:28Wow.
06:38But I want to ask you, as a reptilian creeper, what's the big attraction?
06:45Just how different they are, really.
06:46How prehistoric and otherworldly they are and how different they are to most other animals
06:51you'd normally come across.
06:53I like the weird and wonderful.
06:56And for reptiles, boy, have we seen some diversity.
07:00I think it's fantastic.
07:01I wouldn't have believed that we could have seen what we've seen today.
07:04So, thanks a lot.
07:06No worries.
07:07Thanks for coming.
07:14Perfect spot to sit and enjoy a drink at the end of the day.
07:17But it didn't always look like this.
07:18I'll show you how we got here.
07:20Who loves outdoor entertaining just as much as we do?
07:24Mozzie's.
07:25Here is how you make them buzz off in style.
07:34Over time, our houses change as families move in and adapt them to their needs.
07:39But that can sometimes cause tension between the practical and the pretty.
07:42This garage is the perfect example of that.
07:45It was put in a few homeowners ago.
07:47Why?
07:48Well, it gave them a nice secure space for their car.
07:50However, they didn't think about how it connected to the pretty Federation cottage.
07:53So, what are the options?
07:55Well, we could completely knock it down, but that has a huge expense.
07:57So, instead, I'm coming up with a solution with plants.
08:00This space is a real challenge.
08:02It's stark, uninviting, hot, windy, and not to mention there's zero soil.
08:07But it's not all bad news.
08:08It is nice and level, and there is a tap down there so we can set up some essential irrigation.
08:12The answer will be pots.
08:14We're going to create a lovely container oasis where we can sit down, relax, and watch the world go by.
08:27Now, before you head out and buy a whole heap of pots, it's well worth having a look around.
08:31We've all got that area where we store the old plant here and there.
08:34And down the side, we've got these absolutely cracking citrus.
08:37These are going to set the tone for the whole rooftop garden.
08:39There's a couple of things that perhaps might not make it there, but this is a great start.
08:45Because rooftop gardens are generally a lot higher, they don't get as much humidity as gardens down at ground level.
08:50We've already got some citrus, so we're going to combine it with some Mediterranean plants.
08:54They tend to work perfectly.
08:55Things like the olives, the lavenders, rosemaries, they're all classics.
08:58You can also use some succulents as well.
09:00I'm going to use a native as well.
09:02This is the woolly bush.
09:03Now, this has evolved in Perth's Mediterranean climate, so it's perfect, incredibly tactile, and even gets an orangey-red flower.
09:23You'll often hear me say, get the best potting mix you can afford.
09:26And in a location like this, it is really important because we're in such a hot spot.
09:30So, I've got two different types here.
09:32This one is an inexpensive one.
09:33It's basically just wood chip, and there's just not much oomph to it.
09:36In the more expensive one, though, there's lots of different particle sizes, which means it's going to stay open for
09:41longer, so it's going to keep draining.
09:43There's also some compost in there, so as well as the drainage, you get water retention as well.
09:48You'll notice there's bits of fertilizer in here, and there's a wetting agent as well.
09:52So, although it may cost you a little bit more up front, in the long run, your plants are going
09:56to be healthier, so I know which one I'd be buying.
10:03When you're setting out your plants in a space like this, I always start with the biggest ones and put
10:07them at the back.
10:08In this location, they're offering us a little bit of screening from the road, but really just starting to create
10:14a garden room and a little bit of atmosphere for the space.
10:17Countdown every hour until May, once o'clock move them in, and so wait till then, I'll see you when
10:26it's there, among the weaker days.
10:46The thing I love when it comes to reusing plants is not only the size you get, but they've also
10:53got a sense of character.
10:54They're not perfect like the new plants are.
10:56This does need a bit of a prune to tidy it up, but it does look pretty good as well.
11:10With all our big pots placed out, we've sort of got the structure, and before I want to start putting
11:15in the smaller pots to add the layers, I'm going to start the irrigation system.
11:18Now, we've got a lot of pots here.
11:20They're going to dry out really quickly, and it would be a nightmare for the homeowners to come out and
11:24have to keep everything watered, and it becomes quite stressful, and then you forget about it, and everything dies.
11:27So, an irrigation system is the way to go, and it really doesn't have to be that expensive.
11:32We're just going to use a 25mm pipe that runs around the outside, and each pot's going to get its
11:36individual sprinkler.
11:48Now, I've placed our main line on this side of the pots because it's going to be much easier to
11:52put the spaghetti into the top pots and the layered ones in front rather than it all being tucked in
11:57the back.
11:57You need to get yourself one of these little tools, which allows you to put a hole in the main
12:02line, simply like that.
12:04You're going to take one of these barbed joiners that goes into that hole, like that, and then spaghetti on
12:10top of that.
12:15Then cut that to the right length.
12:17I like to always give it a little bit extra so you've got some flexibility in the movement.
12:21Then one of these drippers that just goes into the top, and then you have to do that for every
12:27single pot.
12:29When it comes to placing your dripper, I like to go towards the center, and these drippers will give you
12:34about 4 litres an hour.
12:49Now, one of the benefits of working with pots is you can move them around to get it looking exactly
12:53how you want it.
12:54Here we've got lots of different layers and textures, but, you know, if you get bored of it, you can
12:57always move it around as well.
12:59Once I'm happy with this, I'm going to run the irrigation to all the smaller pots and then finish it
13:03off with mulch to make sure the pots don't dry out too quickly.
13:21Now, with the hard work done, it is time to fire up the irrigation system, and there's a couple of
13:24things you do need to remember.
13:26Here we have a pressure reducer.
13:27This makes sure the pressure doesn't get too much in the pipes and blow it all apart and you get
13:31a flood.
13:32Down here, we have a filter as well. That keeps the water nice and clean so your drippers don't block
13:36up.
13:37You then have the timers, and there's lots of timers you can get, one for every single budget.
13:41Here, we've gone really super simple. You turn to get the water flowing.
13:45Now, when it comes to timing, I wouldn't do it every day for a little bit.
13:49I'd probably do it every couple of days for at least 15 minutes.
13:51Of course, if it's raining, don't turn it on. If it's really hot, maybe give it an extra boost.
13:55And then, you'll have a flourishing oasis in no time.
14:06So, we have transformed what was a barren, desolate space that had nothing to do with the house
14:11into an inviting, green oasis where you can imagine yourself doing some work, reading a book, or enjoying a drink
14:17at the end of the day.
14:18The best part is, it's only going to get better as it matures.
14:25One of the many wonderful things about life in Australia is the potential to entertain outdoors year-round.
14:32But do you know who else loves it almost as much as we do? The mozzies.
14:36They just can't resist the buffet of arms, legs and feet when you're entertaining outside.
14:41But here is how you get them to buzz off in style, by making your own citronella candles that look
14:47as good as they smell.
14:52This project starts by having a dig around one of those drawers that collects all the bits and pieces that
14:58you never use.
14:59You know the ones I'm talking about.
15:00And what you're looking for is anything glass or ceramic that can hold wax.
15:04Things like these ramekins are perfect.
15:06This gorgeous ceramic vessel and glassware is great too.
15:10I love the shape of these glasses.
15:13Citronella candles often come in these tins, which are fine.
15:17But if you're going to place them on the top of your table, they're not the most chic look.
15:21So the idea behind using these is that you can create a really pretty display on the top of your
15:26table.
15:27You can play around with heights.
15:28You can see these ones are a little bit lower, these are taller and this is mid-sized.
15:32Once you've got all your vessels, it could not be easier.
15:35All you need to do is take this tin and pop it into a saucepan and you're just going to
15:40boil it.
15:42Now you don't want to boil the wax, so make sure that you just put it on a gentle heat
15:46and melt it low and slow.
15:56While the wax melts away, I am going to place a wick into the glasses.
16:02So you can buy these pretty much anywhere, any craft store.
16:06You place that in and what you want to do is take a couple of thin skewers.
16:11I've tied a rubber band at one end to hold them together.
16:15Place that across the top and then another rubber band at the other end to hold it in place.
16:23Once you've done that and it's in place, you can then pour your wax in.
16:35Once the wax has completely melted and turned into liquid, you can then take it and pour it into your
16:40jars.
16:53Once the wax is set, you can take some scissors and just trim the wick.
16:56Usually to the top of whatever vessel you're using and it is as simple as that.
17:02So gorgeous and I love that with this project, you can use up old citronella candles that you might have
17:07lying around.
17:08And also use some of these vessels that are sitting in the back of your cupboard.
17:13And they look so attractive.
17:15They'll be gorgeous on the table and the mozzies are going to hate them.
17:27To finish the salad off, some chopped peanuts and fried onions.
17:35I'm piecing together a chopping board that's going to make your life easier in the kitchen.
17:50Travellers around the world flock to Thailand for its beaches, warm weather, shopping and food, of course.
17:58One of my favourites is a Thai beef salad.
18:07Now, through the years of making this Thai beef salad, I have chopped and changed it to suit what's in
18:15my fridge or in my pantry.
18:17Coriander is one of the key ingredients.
18:20And I only use the stems for the paste.
18:23And then I have two stalks of lemongrass.
18:27Just take off the first layer because it can be quite woody.
18:32Just roughly chop them.
18:34And in it goes into the mortar and pestle.
18:38Next is the peppercorn.
18:40I use whole peppercorns rather than ground peppercorns because I do want that crunch when you bite into your beef.
18:48I'd say about 30 to 40 whole peppercorns and two garlic cloves.
18:56And next, pound them together.
19:04You'll know when the paste is done when you can smell this beautiful perfume permeating from this.
19:14Next, to prep the beef, here I've got porterhouse steak.
19:18You can use whatever cut you like for this.
19:25Slice quite thinly.
19:33We're going to marinate this with the paste that we made earlier on.
19:38Just for a few minutes.
19:40It doesn't have to be long.
19:42But if you do have time, definitely marinate it for about an hour.
19:49Because we already have pepper in it, we're going to add sea salt.
19:53Good crack of that.
19:57And then mix it.
20:00Oh, this is smelling so fragrant.
20:07It's so nice.
20:09Dressing.
20:09First things first, palm sugar.
20:13This is Thai palm sugar.
20:16It's lighter than the Malaysian palm sugar.
20:19The best way to do this is to grate it with your knife like so.
20:26Using half a block.
20:28Put that in a bowl.
20:29If you don't have palm sugar, light brown sugar as well will do.
20:35Next, chillies.
20:37You can use however much or however little you want.
20:41Lime juice.
20:43About two limes.
20:47And four tablespoons of fish sauce.
20:55So what we want here is to make sure that the palm sugar is dissolved into the liquid.
21:03I'm going to give it a taste.
21:09We're going to go to our beef now.
21:11A good glug of oil.
21:15On a medium to high heat.
21:17You can see it's smoking slightly already.
21:20And in the beef goes.
21:28Spread it around your wok.
21:36Do not toss it until it caramelises on one side.
21:41So see how it's just starting to cook at the top.
21:44Now you can start tossing it.
21:46And it's only going to take 30 seconds now.
21:54That is done.
21:57I'm going to set that aside while I do my salad.
22:01Here I've got some cucumber, red onions and some grated carrots.
22:08So just scrape the seeds off the cucumber like this with a spoon.
22:15I slice them like so.
22:20If you didn't have a cucumber, you can just bulk it up with a bunch of salad leaves.
22:33Some sliced onions.
22:37I've got red here.
22:39If you have brown onions, you can use them.
22:42Grated carrot.
22:47Some cherry tomatoes.
22:50I like my tomatoes chunky.
22:52So I leave them half.
22:53So remember how I use the stems of the coriander?
22:56I'm using now the leaves.
22:59I'm just going to just roughly cut them.
23:02I like it chunky.
23:04I want to taste the herbs.
23:06Next, I have Thai basil.
23:09You can use just normal basil.
23:12Make sure you don't put the stems in because the stems can be quite woody.
23:19Next, mint.
23:20It's like a bouquet of herbs.
23:23The aroma of this is so beautiful.
23:26Now I do have another special herb, which is Vietnamese mint.
23:30It has a beautiful aroma.
23:33And not only that, it tastes delicious.
23:36Here I've got some lettuce.
23:39So I'm just going to pluck a couple of leaves.
23:43If you're feeding a family, you can put more of the leaves just to bulk it up as well.
23:52And last but not least, the beef.
23:58The beef.
24:06The dressing.
24:09I would just go in with about two or three tablespoons first.
24:18And then mix it around because a little bit goes a long way with this dressing.
24:26To finish the salad off, some chopped peanuts and fried onions.
24:38It's fresh, it's herby, it's sweet, salty with a hint of heat.
24:44Now, if only I could be transported to a nice tropical island in Thailand.
24:57Coming up, it may look like an ordinary chopping board, but what lies beneath?
25:02You slip a plate underneath and slip your food straight onto it.
25:06And there you have it.
25:07No more juggling.
25:09And Melissa's back with some breaking news for your cactus collection, that is.
25:14Next time you break a pot, look at it differently and turn it into a showpiece.
25:19Doesn't that look incredible?
25:29How many of you can relate to this?
25:30You're madly chopping up meals at home.
25:33Or you could be at work like myself and I just want to have a nice salad.
25:36But you're running out of room on the chopping board, so you need to try and pick it up,
25:40pour it onto the plate, you lose half the ingredients, you start chopping up the food again.
25:45It's just a constant juggling act.
25:47Well, what if I told you I've got a design solution that would take your board to new heights?
25:53You'll thank me.
26:00The secret trick to this timber chopping board is to build some elevation into it.
26:05That way, you can slip a plate underneath and slip your food straight onto it.
26:09And there you have it.
26:10No more juggling.
26:11So the material I'm using is some spotted gum timber.
26:15It's 40 by 19.
26:16You can pick this up from the hardware store.
26:19But one thing you want to look at is make sure that it isn't H3 treated,
26:23because we're obviously using this for food.
26:25Now, the first thing I need to do, start cutting all my sizes.
26:53All right.
26:55All right, so I've got 14 pieces at 455 mil, and then I've cut two pieces of this 70 mil
27:02wide spotted gum, and they're going to be on the ends, and that's what's going to allow
27:06me to elevate this cutting board.
27:09So now I'm ready to laminate all these together.
27:12But I'm not going to be using the face.
27:14I'm actually going to be using the edge of the timber as the finished product.
27:18So I'll lay these out face down.
27:21I'll then put on my PVA glue.
27:23And you just want to make sure that it's an exterior grade, because that is water resistant.
27:26And then basically, I'll stand these all up and use my clamps to laminate them together.
27:31Don't forget my life.
27:47Don't forget my life.
27:55Don't forget my life.
28:11and one thing you want to be mindful of when you're laminating timber like this is the more
28:16pressure you put in this direction the more it wants to bow so a simple solution i've just got
28:21some off cuts of timber now i have put some clear tape on that way the pva glue doesn't stick
28:26to
28:26this and i'm simply going to be putting one underneath one on top using these g clamps
28:32and clamping it and i'll do that to both ends
28:35wake up in danger imperfect arrangement
28:42talk in the mirror i'm just not myself
28:50creature in danger
28:56so i have left this to dry for 24 hours and this is the end result already you can see
29:01the beautiful
29:02colors in the timber which is only going to be enhanced once we dress this up so now i want
29:07to
29:07tidy up these edges so i'll square them off i'll use a circular saw to cut it and then i'll
29:13use my
29:13sander with an 80 grit pat on it to smooth this all out
29:41you can see this spot of gum timber is absolutely beautiful
29:46but it is obviously very dense so i am giving it a good work over with this 80 grit paper
29:52but the
29:52problem with that is if we put some wax on it now you'll see all these scratch marks so what
29:57i'm
29:57doing is i'm getting off all these high spots with the 80 grit i'm going to move to a 120
30:02get
30:03everything super fine once that's done we're ready to give it a go
30:20look at that super smooth now we've actually dulled down the color here so now what i'm going to do
30:27is
30:27wipe this board down to get all the dust off it and would you have a look at this absolutely
30:36gorgeous
30:37look at those colors to seal this board i'm going to be using a food safe beeswax you want to
30:43make
30:43sure that whatever you use whether it be the wax or oil that it is food safe a lot of
30:47people might
30:48want to reach for the oil that's in their cupboard but that will make your board go rancid
30:59all right now let's see how this works
31:03now remember we did raise this 30 mil so we can fit the plate underneath and that way when you're
31:08chopping you can simply just push your ingredients on so that means you're not lifting the chopping
31:13board and taking it to where you want or you're not pushing a plate up against the chopping board
31:18and losing most of your ingredients on the side so this is practical but also i have to say
31:24will be a work of art in any kitchen
31:34transform your broken pots into a miniature cactus garden
31:39if gardening is your passion check us out on seven plus where you can find all your favorite
31:45stories plus explore hundreds of beautiful gardens from all around the world and lots more
31:57i love using decorative vases like these around the home to pop flowers and candles in because they
32:03look so pretty and add so much warmth and personality to your space but they can be expensive so i'm
32:08going to show you a fantastic way to make these at home using things you probably already have on hand
32:17if you're anything like me you'll have lots of these old glass jam jars and vases already at home
32:23and that is what we're going to start with
32:28first up you'll want to protect whatever work surface you're using and then
32:32take some gloves to protect your hands trust me on this one you'll thank me later use some rubbing
32:38alcohol just to clean off any old glue residue or grime from the glass
32:50now you need a bucket filled to about halfway with water and it needs to be about twice the width
32:56and depth of your vessel you could protect your bucket with a plastic bag but i'm happy
33:02for this one to get some paint on it now for the fun part adding in some spray paint to
33:07the top of
33:07the water and that'll create that beautiful marbled effect satin or gloss paints work best for this
33:12so avoid chalky or matte finishes and metallics also work really well but they do dry quickly so put
33:17those ones in last for me i'm going with these gorgeous blue tones real pop of this gold
33:38and take your jar place it inside your hand and roll it over the top of the water
33:52and that's it how pretty
33:58so that first one i just kept the clear glass which i really like the look of but if you
34:03want
34:03more opaque finish you can use a white primer on the glass first let that dry and then apply the
34:09marbled effect
34:15the beauty of this is that there's no perfect way to do it marbling is just like that it's
34:20slightly imperfect and you'll notice this one i actually dropped into the water i thought it was
34:24going to be a disaster looks really pretty such a simple project but looks really lovely and you can
34:30leave them just as they are or to finish them off you could add some ribbon or some cord just
34:34around
34:35the top here and then pop a flameless candle a real candle or even some flowers inside and that would
34:41look absolutely gorgeous even make a really beautiful gift last year i showed you around this beautiful
34:55cacti and succulent garden which was lovingly created by rose it's full of some great take-home
35:01project ideas and this one really caught my attention this little cactus garden is super simple and looks
35:07amazing i always like to upsize by planting some using a bigger pot i mean how often do you have
35:18a broken
35:18pot at home i just smashed one the other day just to get the plant out and it's a really
35:22great way of using
35:23them now this one in particular is really good because a big chunk is missing from the front
35:27and it will provide the perfect picture frame for our planting so all i have to do is get some
35:32free
35:32draining cacti and succulent mix in there so this mix is nice and coarse and gritty there's a little bit
35:45of perlite and sand in there even some controlled release fertilizer now you have to build the house
35:56before you put the furniture in so i always find that it's better to get the structure of the pot
36:01and create those tiers before you do your planting so i've got a few broken pot pieces hanging around so
36:07you can get a little bit creative with your design but i think these two will look really good as
36:12perhaps
36:12that first tier in our pot and then i can backfill it with potting mix and we can continue to
36:18create
36:18those layers okay so now we can get our next tier in place and this rim piece is perfect so
36:34the key
36:35is to just make sure you leave lots of little spaces and pockets for planting
36:44i just want to add one final little broken piece just to break it up visually
36:58so i'm going to start by planting the biggest cactus first
37:00now this is a silver torch and here's a little tip for you when you're dealing with these spiky
37:06critters get your hands on some styrofoam or polystyrene just to help you with your planting
37:11so i want this one to be the hero of our pot so we're just going to plonk it in
37:15there
37:31it helps to have a few rocks or pebbles around that you can simply poke into the soil around those
37:38taller plants just to help stabilize them a little bit
37:50so to balance things out and just bring a little bit more height to the display
37:54i'm using this spectacular blue torch just look at the color on it
37:59see if i can get it in without prickling myself
38:24so this one's falling apart a little bit so if you've got fiddly work like this
38:29how cool are these little tiny tools they help you get into those little tight spaces
38:47so i'm playing around with different textures and colors that work together but i think it's also
38:52nice to play around with form so i'm using this little trailing string of pearls just in the corner
38:57here to cascade down the sides
39:08and if you've got any succulent cuttings hanging around you can always pop them into
39:24you're bound to get a little bit of potting mix into some of those spines so just use a little
39:28old
39:28makeup brush or even a toothbrush just to clean up the pot and then all we need to do is
39:35put some pebbles
39:36in there for a bit of decorative mulch and it'll be good to go
39:53so there you go next time you break a pot look at it differently and turn it into a showpiece
39:58doesn't
39:59that look incredible
40:08well that's it for tonight's show enjoy the rest of your weekend and i'll see you again
40:12next friday night for the first of two more big nights of better homes and gardens
40:20next time meet the aussie rock star of the jewelry scene from fitzroy to london to new york
40:27meet millie savage and her wonderfully creative life oh thanks joe graham's visiting some of the finest
40:35gardens we've ever seen and they're just a stone's throw away a rare and special place this is the
40:41only botanic garden in new zealand that is dedicated to native plants how about a dish for the cooler
40:50weather you'll absolutely fall in love with what better way to celebrate autumn then with some
40:56beautiful land meatballs and the best autumn vegetables easy quick and loved by everyone
41:04adam's making the diy equivalent of fast food do you like kfc not much how about a kentucky folding chair
41:15plus this prawn curry brings the flavor without the food coma and it's fresh it's delicious and it's light
41:24and she might be reigning supreme on australian idol but in this household her dog marshes to a
41:31different beat is this the problem child yeah that's a brother that's next time on better homes and gardens
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