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CDh6
  • 5/18/2025
Gardening Australia 2025 Episode 12
Transcript
00:00Ooh, aah!
00:02Aah.
00:03Hey.
00:04Hi.
00:05Hi.
00:06Ha, ha, ha, ha.
00:08Ooh.
00:10Ooh.
00:15Hey, buddy.
00:16Hi.
00:17Hi.
00:19Ah.
00:21Ah.
00:26Ah.
00:30Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:37It's a productive time out there in the garden and we've got everything you need to keep
00:42your patch thriving.
00:44Here's what's in store.
00:47I'm going to show you how to turn these tentacle-like roots and little plants into a delicious feed
00:53of spring asparagus.
00:56A lawn doesn't have to be full of chemicals or a drain on the water supply.
01:01I've got some great tips for making the grass greener on your side of the fence.
01:05I'm meeting a group of volunteers whose weekly social catch-up is helping to rebuild ecosystems.
01:13And I'm going to show you how to create your own little piece of high country in your backyard.
01:20Most places have something special, especially for those who live there.
01:36But there are places that just have something extra.
01:41Immersed in nature, water, sun, spectacular bushland makes you want to dig in and sink
01:48some roots.
01:52This is Gymea Bay.
01:54It's a suburb south of Sydney and it's nestled right into Port Hacking, de-bun to the Darrawal
02:01locals.
02:03And a few hundred metres up this gully live a gardening couple who have put down some
02:11very serious roots, tropical style.
02:16Wow.
02:18Look at the colour here.
02:29Steve and Edwina live on a classic Sydney quarter acre, but thanks to the block's amazing
02:35established trees and the benign Gymea Bay climate, they've established a flourishing
02:42tropical garden full of the most extraordinary plants.
02:46Hi, Costa.
02:48Hello.
02:49Oh, wow.
02:50Costa, what are you doing here?
02:53Well, I was drawn here.
02:55It's pretty easy to tell which place is yours.
02:58Your obsession is slowly taking over all of the hard surfaces of the district.
03:04I couldn't drive in.
03:05No.
03:06What a collection.
03:08You haven't seen the back yet.
03:09Oh, let's go.
03:10OK, welcome to the jungle.
03:11Oh, what?
03:12I feel like you've put me in a TARDIS and I've arrived in a forest.
03:13It just goes further and further.
03:14Where did all this begin?
03:15We probably moved in here about 19 years ago.
03:16What? I feel like you've put me in a TARDIS and I've arrived in a forest. It just goes
03:30further and further. Where did all this begin?
03:34We probably moved in here about 19 years ago.
03:38Landscaping our first garden was the start and this is the end result. We just kept going
03:45and buying interesting and exotic plants.
03:48And Steve's mum already had an interest in tropical plants, so I think that's where Steve's
03:52interest in tropicals began.
03:54It was passed down. And my first plant that she gave me was a bromeliad, which was her
03:59first plant as well.
04:01And what about you, Edwina? Did you come from a sort of plant background?
04:06Yes, I had my own garden before I met Steve. I had a couple of bromeliads, although I didn't
04:12know they were bromeliads at the time. But when I met Steve, I really liked what he was
04:19doing and I was hooked.
04:23How big is the place here?
04:24It's 1,000 square metres.
04:251,000 square metres. Wow, and it feels like there's about two square metres of pavement.
04:32We've gone vertical, there's canopy, there's shade houses and glass houses.
04:40Yep.
04:41But going out, it's beautiful.
04:44Originally, the house we bought here was termite infested and we knew straight away it had
04:51to be knocked down.
04:52We even made sure the footprint of the house wasn't too big so we could maximise the garden
04:58space.
04:59We had to get rid of the privet, there was a rust tree in here as well.
05:03Antenna.
05:04Yeah, lots of weeds.
05:05There used to be a lawn, which is all long gone now, and then we kept the things that
05:10were good, the big gum trees for the canopy.
05:16They certainly are some incredible existing trees.
05:21Yep, that's what we were looking for because we know for tropicals that they need filtered
05:25light primarily.
05:27We wanted a canopy, so we've got four gum trees, two big macadamia trees and a brown
05:33pine.
05:34Plenty of habitat for the local wildlife and king parrots, they love it here.
05:41And also with these big trees, because that's from west, it cools our house down in summer
05:46so we rarely ever use air conditioning in summer because we get the shade from the trees.
05:55For the tropical plant enthusiast, Gomia Bay does have some pretty exceptional characteristics.
06:02As far as the location goes, Edwina and Steve's site here has quite a bit going for it.
06:08First of all, it's facing northeast along a gully, which means it's protected from those
06:14notorious desiccating westerly Sydney winds.
06:19A couple of hundred metres that way, you've got Gomia Bay and Port Hacking, which put
06:24plenty of moisture into the air, which we know tropical plants love.
06:29And then as the crow flies this way, barely 600 metres, you've got the Royal National
06:34Park, a beautiful area of nature that also helps to moderate the climate.
06:41And in the last 80 or so years, the temperature here has never gone below eight degrees.
06:49It's just one of the reasons Edwina and Steve can grow stunning tropical wonders like this.
06:55I've got some Heliconias to show you, Acosta.
06:59Oh, look at the size of this one.
07:03That's incredible.
07:04Yeah, that's Heliconia bogeyana.
07:06Magnificent.
07:07It's a cool grower.
07:08It's not readily available, unfortunately.
07:11But it handles this cooler Sydney climate.
07:13Absolutely.
07:14Yep, yep.
07:15You can't grow it up in cans, believe it or not.
07:17Really?
07:18Really.
07:19And then the contrast, that's...
07:22That's Heliconia rostrata, so that one does need more heat.
07:26But we have got it in a warm spot in our garden so that we can get it to grow and flower.
07:35I love how you've got so much hanging vertically here and then, whoa, we come out and there's
07:41more light.
07:42And I've got to show you this, Acosta.
07:44Oh, you've got a fat plant.
07:47Yep.
07:48Right here.
07:49That's right.
07:50What, they're out of Sumatra, Indonesia, the deep tropics.
07:55Now they're growing down in Gamia.
07:57Yeah.
07:58What have you sort of done to find a perfect microclimate for them?
08:02It needs a lot of water and I think it helps that they've got the humidity from the pond
08:07here.
08:10Steve and Edwina's garden is home to some truly exceptional rarities.
08:15And Steve's particular favourite.
08:18These are from South America.
08:20They're called Kamudre Takarimi.
08:22They only grow to about a metre tall and the common name is potato chip palm.
08:28And they've got that name because of the shape of the leaf.
08:31Quite rare and unusual.
08:32There's only a few collectors out there with them.
08:35And with these, you need a male and female to get seed.
08:39And this one is a female on loan from a collector in Queensland.
08:44He knew we had plenty of males.
08:46So we're trying to get as many male and females together.
08:50And this one so far, we've got one seed on.
08:53And it's just starting to turn black, which means it'll be ripe.
08:57Wow.
08:58So that's going to dry and then you'll grow it on.
09:02Yeah.
09:05Their love for tropical plants is astounding.
09:08And Edwina's found a passion for a particular beauty.
09:13Come this way, Costa.
09:15I've got some beautiful Nepenthes to show you.
09:18Look how many there are in here.
09:19I know.
09:20There's lots.
09:21Lots.
09:22What a collection.
09:23Yep.
09:24And this one, this is a really darker sort of purple.
09:27Yeah.
09:28And it's got really like big teeth.
09:32The lime green and red stripes on this one is incredibly striking.
09:36I know.
09:37Like if you're an insect, you're just heading straight in there.
09:40Oh, for sure.
09:41And I've seen even grasshoppers in there.
09:43Actually, I've noticed that some of my plants that used to get nibbled,
09:46they're not getting nibbled as much now
09:48because I think these guys are doing their job.
09:55Oh, that's a beautiful Heliconia.
09:57That's Heliconia subulata.
10:00There's not a spot on Edwina and Steve's whole block, inside and out,
10:05that isn't all about gorgeous tropical plants.
10:09Their real problem is where to park more plants.
10:14Oh, you are kidding me.
10:16I have never seen a clothesline takeover like this.
10:22This is a first.
10:24Just started with one plant, just like, oh, I'm not sure where to put that.
10:28I'll just hang it up and...
10:30She added some, I added some, and it just...
10:33We thought they're growing really well on there.
10:36Would you say you're the perfect match in terms of your plant passions?
10:42Yeah, I think so.
10:44Yeah.
10:45There's no-one to hold us back though, that's the only thing.
10:48Where are the brakes?
10:49Are there any brakes on this plant vehicle?
10:52No.
10:53No, generally not.
10:55Maybe lack of space at some point, but I don't think we're there yet, are we?
10:59No, no, there's always room for one more.
11:06So how do you feel when you look at it now?
11:08Like, what's your take on it all?
11:10Yeah, we love it.
11:11We're excited about some of the things we've grown.
11:13Some things that we weren't sure would grow here have done well.
11:17I would have liked to have started ten years earlier.
11:20Some of these things take a long time to grow and, yeah, it's good to see them at maturity.
11:26You can never start too soon.
11:27That's right.
11:28No, never too soon.
11:32There's no denying that plants bring out the passion in people.
11:37To me, it's like there's a direct nerve from the soil to the heart.
11:42And when you're a committed duo with a shared joy, the opportunities are endless.
11:56Why has my succulent changed colour?
11:59If it's happened suddenly and your plant's not looking healthy,
12:02it might be in response to too much or too little nutrition or water.
12:07Have any of those things changed lately?
12:10But on a brighter note, some succulents have beautiful tones of pink and orange
12:15that become more vibrant as the seasons change or if their access to light changes.
12:21As long as your succulents are healthy,
12:23have fun observing how their colours can change in different conditions.
12:28Should you plant out or repot a plant as soon as you've brought it home from the nursery?
12:34Yes, you should, because by the time the plant is sold,
12:38it's normally outgrown the capacity of its container,
12:42which means it can be hard to keep it hydrated, especially with mature plants like this.
12:48You'll also find that the nutrients in the media will soon run out and they can become root-bound.
12:53If you do need to hold them for a while, make sure you put them in a nice sheltered spot
12:58and if the weather is warm, put them into a dish of shallow water to keep them well hydrated.
13:06Can I grow edible plants indoors?
13:08Yes, but the biggest limitation to growing edible plants indoors is the amount of available sunlight.
13:15Herbs need at least four hours and veggies around six to eight hours.
13:19You could try using indoor grow lights, which will certainly help.
13:23Edible plants need an adequate balance of ventilation and humidity,
13:27otherwise they'll suffer from limited growth and be susceptible to pests.
13:32One remedy is to grow your plants near an open window that gets direct sunlight.
13:37If you want to give it a go, try with herbs or microgreens or quick-growing veggies.
13:43And when they get too big, plant them outside to keep them going longer.
13:47Next up, Millie's got a plant that's tasty, easy to cook
13:52and will keep your basket full for years to come.
13:55Say no more.
14:01Asparagus.
14:03It's one of the most generous plants you can grow and an incredibly unique flavour.
14:08They produce delicious shoots for just a few fleeting weeks in the garden.
14:13They produce delicious shoots for just a few fleeting weeks in spring,
14:17but they actually live for decades.
14:24I've finally got a bed to dedicate to asparagus. I'm so excited.
14:29But as a long-lived crop, soil preparation is really, really key.
14:33So I've got to load this up with compost and aged cow manure.
14:43And just for good measure, I'm throwing in a good serve of organic fertiliser.
14:49This bed should be great for growing asparagus.
14:53It faces north and gets plenty of summer sun.
14:58Asparagus are a really dynamic plant.
15:02They are a herbaceous perennial, which means in the warmer months,
15:05they rocket out of the ground and we eat those emerging leaf fronds as spears
15:09which develop into that big leafy plant.
15:12And then in wintertime, they go completely dormant.
15:15And that's a traditional time to plant them.
15:17You can buy a dormant crown.
15:19This is the root system and then the little shoots emerge from the top.
15:23And they're the first ones I'm going to get in the ground.
15:25You can see that I have dug a really nice deep trench.
15:29But within that trench, I'm actually going to build a mound.
15:32I'm going to bring a little bit of soil back in
15:35with two narrow trenches down either side.
15:38And that gives me the ability to plant asparagus,
15:42asparagus with a bit of water,
15:45and then we'll water it down,
15:47and then we'll plant the asparagus.
15:49trenches down either side. And that gives me the ability to plant the roots of the
15:55asparagus really deep but keep that crown of the plant, that growing point,
15:59nice and high in the bed. So you take the crown, you can see really clearly that is
16:05the growing point of the plant. I'm going to sit that over this edge, lift that up
16:10so the roots go down but the crown sits up nice and high. I'm going to give them
16:16about 30 or 40 centimetres between each plant and then you just need to backfill.
16:26You want to make sure that the top of the plant is proud or just covered with
16:31soil so that can emerge in spring.
16:47Planting those dormant crowns is the most traditional method but you can get
16:52plants of asparagus and put them in the ground really any time of the year.
16:57Now these ones I've actually grown from seed myself. It was a variety that I hadn't
17:01seen available as dormant crowns so I wanted to give it a go.
17:17I'm just applying a light sprinkle of rotted straw mulch but I'll go much
17:29thicker once the warm weather hits.
17:36One of the benefits of having a crop that is so seasonal is it's dormant
17:40through many months. So I'm going to sneak a little crop over the top. You
17:44could use lettuce or mustard, any of your favourite cool season greens,
17:48sprinkle them on and enjoy all of those rewards.
17:58I can almost taste those spring spears but with asparagus there is a little bit
18:04of a hitch. You need to be patient. It's best not to harvest for the first couple
18:09of seasons and you let that plant actually build its strength. It's a
18:13little price to pay for what is a really fantastic feed for lots of years
18:19to come. I can't wait to serve them up.
18:30Weeds compete with plants in your garden for soil nutrients and some can even
18:35out-compete the plants you actually want in your garden. There are several
18:39effective tools for weeding and choosing the right one depends on your
18:43personal preference. You need to consider the type of weeds you're dealing with,
18:47where they're growing and which tool feels most comfortable. Here are four
18:51excellent options. This narrow transplanting trowel is versatile and
18:56perfect for transplanting seedlings, digging holes and removing weeds. Its
19:02narrow design and pointed end allows you to target weeds precisely. And this is a
19:10step up from your average gardening knife, the Japanese hori-hori knife. It's
19:14larger in size and it's excellent for removing weeds completely, roots, stems
19:19and all. The blade often has measurements etched in to help gauge soil depth when
19:24you're planting bulbs and it's made from rust-proof, scratch-resistant, stainless
19:29steel. It's perfect for weeding without disturbing nearby plants. I also find
19:37this knife really handy to bandicoot around my ginger when harvesting. It's a
19:42timeless tool that can be passed down to the next generation. For those who
19:46prefer not to bend or kneel, this long-handled garden hoe is perfect for
19:50removing weeds with shallow roots. Its broad blade allows you to cover large
19:55areas quickly, pulling out weeds which can then be raked up for the compost. And
20:00for those difficult to reach garden areas, a three-pronged cultivator will do
20:05the trick. As you can see, having the right weeding tool will make a world of
20:11difference to a day in your garden.
20:19There are few greater pleasures in life than spending some time outside, enjoying
20:26the sunshine and relaxing on some beautiful green lawn. Well, Clarence is
20:32here to show you how to keep your turf in terrific shape.
20:42A lush green lawn isn't just a beautiful feature, it's the perfect spot to enjoy
20:47any kind of outdoor activity. I am a passionate native plant man, but I also
20:54love a bit of lawn. Despite multiple stormwater events, this baby is almost
21:00back to its best. Luckily for you, I'm happy to share a few secrets to rolling
21:05out the green carpet. I know what you're thinking, however, a lawn doesn't have to
21:09be full of chemicals or a drain on the water supply. The healthier your lawn, the
21:14less fertilizer and water you're gonna need. And I'm gonna start with a good
21:18aeration. A well-used lawn gets compacted underfoot. The fork loosens the soil
21:24which gives the roots room to grow and lets in much needed oxygen. For a lawn
21:30like mine that survived a big soaking, get in there as soon as it dries out so
21:34that you can help it drain. Every lawn needs an aeration annually and if it
21:39sees a lot of use, more than once. Now if you are giving your lawn an annual top
21:44dressing with a bit of added nutrient, then it does pay to aerate first so that
21:49that top dressing and the organics can get down in there so the roots can get a
21:54really good feed, perfect for that annual top dress. A lawn like mine, about 40
22:00square meters, shouldn't take more than an hour and there's always a chance of a
22:10worm if you're quick.
22:16Next, I'll level up some patches of the storm washed away. I'm just using sand so
22:23it'll keep the level I want and the grass can still grow through. Then I'll
22:27top dress over it. To get your top dressing level, choose a garden rake.
22:31Here's a tip, use the front and the back. That's the last bit, get it really level.
22:40Now I've used quite a bit of sand here to top dress this section because I'm
22:44repairing this part of the lawn. I've got to bring those levels up, get it nice and
22:48neat and tidy, nice and level. The rest of the lawn looking pretty good. So I'm
22:53going to top dress that with sand and some compost. Top dress it a little
22:58lighter, get a bit more nutrient back into the lawn. The whole lawn will get
23:05about a hundred mil of the mix. Sounds like a lot but you see how it almost
23:10disappears and the grass roots will be encouraged to grow deep and strong. Just
23:16what you need for a hardy low water lawn. Now as good as I am with the shovel,
23:20I'm still going to use the rake to level this out and get a nice even spread across
23:24the lawn. Now I'll water it in, won't even know the difference. Of course if you've
23:29got a bigger area you're gonna have to use some machinery or even bring in the
23:32big guns, bring in a tractor, big spreader, big aerator. Now you're talking.
23:39There's more grass cover than crops in Australia so clearly people love it. This
23:44kind of easy maintenance can make it more resource friendly and cheaper to
23:48maintain for you. Last, put good water in, a diluted liquid fertilizer or seaweed
23:56solution. Liquid fertilizer is really easy to apply, you get a nice even spread.
24:08That's how you get an even spread. Just go with the flow. Swing low, sweet rosettes.
24:26Whatever you use to fertilize, keep it in light doses. I painted myself into a corner.
24:33You don't want fertilizer leaching into waterways. Finally hose your fertilizer
24:37into the soil. I feed my lawn three or four times a year. Lastly, leave your lawn
24:43a little bit longer. Don't shave it, whatever you do, especially in summer.
24:47Don't open up the roots, the sun damage, getting burnt. Keep it lush, keep the
24:52moisture in. Really look after it. A little bit goes a long way.
24:58Still to come on Gardening Australia. Gerry sounds the alarm on a common plant
25:09with a prickly disposition. Jane pots up some rare alpines and we meet a market
25:17gardener digging into the need for seed. I love that local environment groups not
25:29only protect and care for native plants, but they also build communities for
25:35flora and fauna and that includes humans as well. Hannah's visiting a group she
25:41knows well that shows how starting local can have a big impact. All around the
25:50country, volunteer groups meet regularly to plant trees and regenerate degraded
25:55land and we meet a lot of them. Rebuilding ecosystems takes thousands of
26:01hands and tens of thousands of plants. So today I'm meeting a group who are
26:08providing both. This is Nipalina Nursery, a small volunteer-run enterprise in
26:15Hobart's north. Nell Smith convenes the whole group and I happen to have known
26:21her for many years. She even came to my wedding. Nell, how did this come to start?
26:27You're in a very compact footprint here. Well, it's quite a confined
26:32space. I mean, it's fabulous because it's urban and it's central for everybody
26:37because we get volunteers coming from everywhere. We have a kindy area that we
26:42call it where we just start getting plants germinated and then this is where
26:47the more juvenile plants are and then we've got another area where we've just
26:53installed a whole bunch of tables and irrigation system over there. So we've
26:58slowly built it up over the last three years. 20 or 30 volunteers meet here once
27:05a week to maintain a year-round production of native seedlings and in
27:10the three years since they began they've supplied over 50,000 plants directly to
27:15conservation efforts. We focused on the Midlands biodiversity hotspot which is
27:21the driest part of Tasmania. The Midlands is a large area that
27:26stretches between Launceston and Hobart. Palawa people managed the region with
27:30fire, maintaining mostly open woodland and native grassland. But since
27:36colonisation, the Midlands has been seriously degraded with many local
27:40plants and animals now threatened.
27:44Restoration ecologist Dr. Tanya Bailey has worked in revegetation for decades
27:49and lends her botanical knowledge to the nursery.
27:55Tanya, can you tell me about some of the species you're growing and how they fit
27:59into the Midlands ecosystem? Sure. The main ecosystem in the Midlands is eucalypt
28:06woodland with a grassy understory and some shrubby layers. So here we have
28:10eucalyptus porcelain. It actually is one of the major species in the Midlands.
28:15It actually grows right up into mainland Australia as well in the higher
28:19regions too. So it's a really beautiful tree. In the Midlands it has quite a
28:22weeping form. So they're really, really beautiful. They're a really important
28:25habitat for birds and animals and insects in the Midlands. Another key
28:31species of eucalypt in the Midlands is eucalyptus tenuoramus, the silver
28:35peppermint. It's a beautiful tree, very silvery, mainly only found in the
28:39southern Midlands and on the east coast. But it's actually an endemic to Tasmania.
28:44So it only grows here where the porcelain sort of grows a much broader area.
28:50So Hannah, this is kangaroo grass or femida. It's a really important species
28:59in the Midlands of Tasmania in the ground cover layer. It's a really
29:03important habitat for little birds, insects and animals. It used to be very
29:08widespread but now there's a lot less of it. It's in sort of small patches. Some
29:13are in really good condition and others are really sort of struggling. What else
29:16have we got in front of us here, Tanya? This one's Bursaria spinosa or prickly
29:20box, a very common plant in the Midlands and across a lot of mainland Australia
29:25as well. It's quite prickly so it provides really good habitat for small
29:29birds and bats and animals. It also has fantastic flowering, great nectar source
29:35for pollinators and insects and birds and it's brilliant in the home garden as
29:39well. Is there anything in particular that you do to make these plants thrive
29:45so well in the nursery and beyond? One of the really important things to get
29:49them to grow here and out in the field is to think about where the
29:54seed comes from, so what we call the provenance of the plants. So we
29:58want to be able to collect seed and propagate from seed that comes from the
30:02environment that they're going into so that they're well adapted to that. At the
30:07nursery here we collect our own seed, then we germinate the seed and then we
30:13take it back to the Midlands and plant the seed. So we have weekends and we
30:18stay at the shearing quarters up there and help the farmers to actually plant
30:23those plants in the ground, which is really satisfying. A lot of our
30:26volunteers get really excited about just putting our babies in the ground.
30:30So hopefully you've brought them to life and you're sending them off into the big world.
30:35I find for me personally it's really cool to put the plants in the ground and
30:39come back to them and see that it's made a difference. And even if it's really,
30:43really, really tiny the difference you're making, but if 20 people do it, awesome!
30:48And like the Midlands is so bare and stuff and it would be really cool to see
30:52all the trees and things like that. Really inspiring and it's actually lots of fun.
30:58And I love it that we're all volunteers as well, we're all making a
31:01contribution, making that choice to do that. You know, not being paid but, and
31:07it's a great group, really great group.
31:09I do enjoy with the company here. They are so kind, so friendly, so I don't feel
31:15to stay home. I just feel to come and enjoy with these people.
31:19Yeah, all the people here are lovely, makes you feel like family.
31:22It's important to grow these trees for the birds and for the animals and for us.
31:29This work brings a lot of possibility for young people and the possibility
31:35that we can facilitate change in our world and take action. And each grows
31:40from a tiny little seed into, for a eucalypt, a tree that is huge.
31:46And that to me represents great possibility in a challenged world.
31:52Sometimes I think I should be an environmental activist and, you know,
31:56stand with the banners and go and talk to politicians. But I think it's important
32:00for me to use my skills around education and the social connections and social
32:07networks and to actually just make a difference in a practical way.
32:12And what does this whole project symbolise when you think about the future
32:16of Tasmania and beyond? What role does Nipulina Nursery play in creating
32:20that future?
32:22It's supporting, you know, biodiversity in a physical sense with the plants,
32:27but it's also nurturing a sense of community, a community with like-minded
32:33people who really want to take action and make a difference for the landscape
32:38in Tasmania.
32:40When it comes to conservation and healing country, we want big picture action
32:45on a huge scale. But even the small actions like volunteering in the nursery
32:51or planting a tree can still make a big impact. It might even grow into a
32:56beautiful forest.
33:06The Canary Island date palm, scientifically known as Phoenix canariensis,
33:11is a species of palm native to the Canary Islands and parts of North Africa.
33:16They have a classic palm look, a single patterned trunk with long arched
33:22deep green fronds. They thrive across Australia from Darwin to Hobart and
33:27beyond. They're heat and frost tolerant palms. Their ability to adapt to a wide
33:33range of soil types and climate zones, plus their grand looks, has made them a
33:39popular choice for private gardens and public landscapes. However, this plant
33:45poses significant risks. It produces masses of edible date-flavoured seeds.
33:52The seeds are spread by rats and birds, introducing it into places where it just
33:58shouldn't be. It's an environmental weed in New South Wales and Victoria, and
34:04pretty much wherever it grows, it's becoming naturalised. The spikes at the
34:09base of the crown are a major problem. They are super sharp and can slice into
34:15anything effortlessly. Eventually, the dead palm fronds will drop, and when they
34:21fall, they leave these vicious, sturdy spines facing upwards. These spines often
34:28end up embedded in the flesh, lips or eyes of unsuspecting gardeners or any
34:35children who happen to be playing underneath these palms. Because so many
34:40animals call these palms home, the spines are frequently coated with a
34:45cocktail of bacteria and fungi, meaning that infections are common. It's
34:51inadvisable to try to remove the spine tip yourself, and once embedded, these
34:58spines can snap and fracture, requiring delicate surgery to remove all the parts.
35:04If you have one of these palms, consider removing it to avoid this perpetual
35:10hazard. If removal isn't an option, then use expert arborists to carry out
35:16routine maintenance. Ensure fronds are removed before they can fall to the
35:21ground and come into contact with children or animals. Now, if you insist on
35:27doing the maintenance yourself, at least make sure you have some personal
35:32protective equipment, like goggles and sturdy leather gauntlet gloves. However,
35:39even these gloves are no match for the spines of a Canary Island date palm.
35:51Our gardens are so many things. A place to relax, to learn, to experiment and of
35:59course to express ourselves. But they can also be a refuge for rare and threatened
36:05species. Jane's showing us how to put together a collection of alpine
36:11treasures so they'll thrive in your garden.
36:20Australia's alpine regions in the southeast and Tasmania are home to
36:25unique plant communities that are amongst the most beautiful in the
36:29country, and they're also some of the most threatened. Plants like the snowgum,
36:35and alpine wattle, live only in the highest and coldest parts of the
36:39mountains. With average temperatures rising and intense bushfires becoming
36:44more frequent, these unique plants are now under pressure in the wild. You don't
36:51see them in gardens very often, but that's surprising because alpine plants
36:56are very easy to grow and they don't need much space. To create an alpine
37:02plant container, you need to select a nice pot. That looks great in that, and
37:06this one, being shallow and quite wide, is ideal. The big thing is that you have a
37:13drainage hole down the bottom because that's what they definitely need. The
37:18mountains in southeast Australia are amongst the wettest parts of the country,
37:22but water runs off the thin mountainous soil very quickly, so the plants require
37:28regular watering and a free-draining soil. And now the fun begins. You can
37:34choose whatever plants you want, and I would go for four or five plants in the
37:39one pot, and go for something a little bit different. Different textures are
37:43always good. This has got a very small leaf compared to the larger leaves. What
37:47about a ground cover just to flow over the pot? Maybe a splash of colour. I think
37:52that's always good. And something with a bit of height. This is a snowgum. It's
37:58good to start with the biggest one for the back of the pot, and I've got a
38:02choice here, and I don't like choices because it's hard. This is a North of
38:06Fagus Cunninghamii. It's a beautiful tree in the southern alpine regions.
38:12Evergreen, very tall tree. Or shall I pick this snowgum? I quite like snowgums. They
38:18do remind me of skiing and bushwalking up in the Alps, but such a tough plant,
38:23and they're really good. I think I'll go, yes, I'll have to go for the snowgum.
38:27Sorry about that, North of Fagus. Take it out of its tube stock, and just tickle
38:34the roots ever so slightly, and that looks really healthy. I'm going to put
38:38that at the back of the pot, so I'll swivel this around later on, but just
38:43plant it as you would normally do. Now you might think that this is going to
38:46get a little bit big, and certainly they will get big, but you can easily prune
38:51just a little snip, just to get some of the growth off the top, and that's all
38:57you need to do once or twice a year. You can see over here, this is the snowgum,
39:01and look how it's developed. You can actually see the trunk has got a
39:05distinctive look about it, sort of like a bonsai. It's got that nice little
39:09characteristic. Then comes the ground cover. Now you might know this. This is a
39:14lovely plant called Scleranthus. It's like a moss, but it isn't, and it's a
39:21lovely little ground cover that gets quite a mound to it, like a little
39:25cushion. When you see it up in the Alps, it is very pretty. It needs moisture, and
39:30again, just tickle the roots out or tease them out, and you'll find that that will
39:35fill up quite well. You can easily cut it back if it gets a little bit too big for
39:39the spot that you've got it in, and that will just grow nicely over like that,
39:44and form a cushion just here. This little fairy's mound, the Scleranthus, doesn't
39:49have very obvious flowers. It's just known for its beautiful lime green
39:53foliage, so I've chosen one that is a wow factor, and this is the little snowdaisy,
39:58Chelmicea, and it's a beautiful little alpine plant in Australia and New
40:03Zealand. It's got these fabulous, those green and lovely white undersides, but
40:09that sort of felty look to the leaves, and these white starry flowers like a
40:13daisy. Beautiful little plant, and it should do very well in this pot. Flowers
40:20in summer, and it'll be a long flowering thing. It'll spread out nicely into that
40:24sort of spot there, and then this little one is unusual. This is a little one
40:30called Spiridium, and have a look. It's just really quite delicate, but those
40:36grey leaves are rather nice. It'll spread out into a little pocket like this, just
40:41here. It'll just fill that nicely. You wouldn't call it a ground cover, more of
40:47a very low shrub, and it's a beauty. Here we go.
40:58Ha! Now these little plants are beauties. When you see them in flower, you'll be
41:02absolutely intrigued. They're called Stylidiums or trigger plants. They form a
41:08clump, which will be nice in this pot here, and then they send up pink flowers
41:12on a stalk about so high, and those flowers are extraordinary. When a bee or
41:18a pollinator comes along and nestles in there trying to look for the nectar or
41:21the pollen, the trigger goes like that and pats him on the back, and then that
41:27bee carries the pollen that's on his back to another flower, and hence the
41:31pollinator. Fascinating little plants. You'll see them around quite a lot in
41:35many various vegetation habitats around the place, but certainly alpine plants.
41:40They look really good. So look at that. That's needing to come out of the pot.
41:45Just a little tickle like that or a tease, and away you go. That's going to
41:51fill in a nice little gap just there, and this one over here. These Stylidiums are
41:57going to be terrific. There we go. As you would always do, make sure the plants are
42:03settled into that potting mix really well. Now, the final finishing touch is
42:09just to put a bit of gravel over the top.
42:18I think this is a good way to show them off. Well, I think that looks pretty good.
42:22It'll take a little while to settle in and then grow, but I'm sure you're going
42:26to be happy with your own little bit of high country in your garden.
42:33♪♪♪
43:03♪♪♪
43:32When you start to grow your own food, you begin to realise just how much relies on
43:39these precious parcels of promise, seeds. Sophie's visiting a market gardener
43:46who's not only living the dream, but digging in to the beautiful, diverse
43:52world of seeds.
43:54♪♪♪
43:58I'm in the gorgeous McLaren Vale region, about an hour south of Adelaide. Here, at
44:04the base of the Fleurieu Range, lies a beautiful half-acre farm filled to the
44:10brim with goodness. I've realised I'm just a plant person. I just love and
44:17review plants so much. So much joy from coming, from being with plants, viewing
44:23their forms and all their shapes and forms, from their bloom to their dry
44:27rattly seed stage. I love plants so much and the only thing that gives me more
44:31joy is sharing that love of plants with other people.
44:37Gardener Keitha Tui Young is passionate about creating healthy food systems.
44:42We're here by a land share agreement. The property owners are our friends and
44:46really good people and so we've gratefully been tending here for now
44:50nearly five years. It started out as a market garden. My partner was cultivating
44:54veggies and selling to a local restaurant. Pandemic came along,
44:57restaurants closed and so then I got to really indulge in growing all those
45:02seeds and interesting things. We ended up growing culturally significant seeds,
45:06diverse vegetables and medicinal herbs as well.
45:10So you're tending a half an acre of this beautiful patch. How do you manage it?
45:18So many different species of flowers and herbs and vegetables. Because they're all
45:21intercropped, we've never had any catastrophic losses due to pests or
45:25diseases. People always ask us, what do you do for these managements? And I have
45:29to say, it's barely anything because we've got the good beneficial bugs.
45:33And you've got healthy soil, so healthy plants. Exactly, it all starts with the soil and
45:36that's what we're really focused on.
45:42So one of the things that many veggie gardeners have come to learn is it's not
45:47just about having veggies in the veggie patch, you need to have flowers too.
45:52Some market gardens are now devoting a third of their space for flowers. How do you
45:58find having flowers in this space? It's quickly become all about the flowers
46:03really. I love the veggies for growing food and for nourishing ourselves but
46:07the flowers are what bring me joy and they're there to bring pollinators. I've got
46:12a lot of bug attracting plants that bring beneficial bugs such as lacewings
46:15and ladybirds and then they just bring so much joy to the soul. A big part of
46:23Keith's love of growing is about ensuring the longevity of plants through
46:27seed production. So seed saving is a bit of a forgotten knowledge isn't it?
46:35Seed saving should be as normal as brushing your teeth, they used to be, but it's
46:39definitely a lost art. I think through a lot of economic pressures, farmers aren't
46:43able to partake in it all the time, but it is such a missing piece of agriculture
46:51I feel like in the modern times. When you're growing seeds with stories and
46:54with history and cultural significance, it's bringing the culture back into
46:58agriculture and that's a big part of the work that I'm trying to do. So I've
47:01explored this through looking at plants from my own ancestral lineages, half
47:05Scottish, half Vietnamese. So my Vietnamese side, we looked at bitter melon, snake
47:10beans as long as my arm, perilla, which is teatau, and sweet anise herb, as well
47:16as amaranth, which is called Chinese spinach, Asian spinach sometimes. From the
47:21Scottish side, potatoes, which I've absolutely fallen in love with, the
47:24humble potato is such a treat to grow, and then Celtic herbs like yarrow and
47:30poppies and tansy as well.
47:34In addition to growing and saving feed from her own cultural backgrounds, Keitha
47:39is also saving other interesting varieties. Now corn's a really
47:44significant vegetable in that years ago there was so much more diversity, it
47:51wasn't just about yellow corn, there were all different colours. How did this
47:56particular one come about? You're right, most people only know the yellow
47:59supermarket corn, the sweet corn, they don't realise that there's a history of
48:03thousands of varieties of corn that were bred by indigenous nations across the
48:07Americas. This one is one of the examples, it's called Sunfire corn. I got
48:12the seed originally from Oregon, and it's a breeding project attempting to
48:17stabilise the trait of this beautiful sunburst pattern here. Isn't that
48:21gorgeous? It's like a little sunrise. You can see the grandparents and the
48:25ancestry of the immense genetic diversity that's in the gene pool of
48:28corn. So tell me about these ones. These ones here are Hoppy Blue corn, and I
48:33loved to grow them because corn has a really bad reputation of being a really
48:37thirsty plant in the garden. The Hopi Nation bred this plant to be drought
48:41tolerant, and you see it growing in desert conditions with no irrigation,
48:45cracked earth, and when I grew it here it was at least twice the height of me. It
48:49was such a vital, such a strong plant, we were laughing at just how tall it was,
48:52and then we have this corn which doesn't need water. How amazing, and still
48:57tastes good. It's not a sweet corn, it's a flowering corn, it's a
49:01maize corn, but you can make tortillas from it, you can make corn chips from it,
49:04and so it's a really healthy food crop. Beans are another interesting vegetable
49:11because there was so much diversity that's been lost. Absolutely. I'm a huge
49:16advocate for biodiversity, and I love to grow beans. Here's my little treasure
49:20chest, precious jewels. Aren't they pretty? Treasures in their own right. Here we've got
49:26some rare lavender beans I got from Tasmania, Fort Portal jades, a Ugandan
49:31soup bean, and in the middle here we've got 1,500 year old cave bean. This was
49:36found in a clay pot, sealed with pitch, in a cave in New Mexico, and when they
49:40carbon dated it they found it to be 1,500 years old. Sowed it, and it germinated, so it was in the
49:45most perfect humidity and temperature and storage conditions, and it survived
49:50all those years. So from New Mexico to McLaren Vale, it was thriving. Amazing.
50:01Observation really is one of the keys to seed saving, isn't it? It is.
50:05Observation is the key to gardening and to farming. It's the number one thing
50:09that I was taught and that I've practiced. You're observing them, you're
50:13watching them, you're listening to them. So what are you looking for when it comes
50:17to seed saving? You're observing which ones are growing the strongest, which ones
50:21are growing the healthiest, which ones don't have disease, which ones are
50:26resistant in climate challenges, heat or drought or rain, but then you're also
50:31looking for things that give you pleasure. That's the fun part. Humans
50:34have always chosen for flavor, for color, for beauty, for harvesting times, very
50:40important one as well. So any plant that looks strong, that you'd like to save
50:44seed from, tie a ribbon that lets everyone else know, hey, please don't pick the
50:48vegetables or the fruit from this for now. Pick from the other plants, and then
50:52once they're dried out, you know that's the one that you go to for collecting seed
50:55from. Where did this passion for seeds and food security come from? It's been a
51:02journey, and I haven't always been a gardener. Both of my grandmothers
51:07were gardeners, and I realize now that that's actually deep in my childhood and
51:11deep in my DNA. Growing up in a garden where I could pick guavas and pick
51:15passion fruits and cherry tomatoes and run amongst rose bushes, it definitely
51:20imprinted and affected me as a child. And I did my thing as a teenager in my 20s
51:24and I've circled around back to it. I was volunteering on a friend's farm and
51:28something just fit back into place. Here I am, this is it. And became obsessed, as
51:35you do when you get into gardening. So what do you do with all these herbs that
51:39you grow? Presently I've got a community supported agriculture model. I've got a
51:44seed club as well, so I share the seeds and share the herbs as seasonal medicinal
51:48parcels, and I feel so grateful that it's my job now. But it's through my own
51:53health journey that I've arrived here.
51:59In 2017, Keitha became severely ill and was subsequently diagnosed with the
52:06autoimmune condition Crohn's disease, whilst 13 weeks pregnant. I became very
52:13unwell overnight, and within a week and a half I ended up losing my whole
52:17large intestine and having an ileostomy bag installed. So now I operate without a
52:22major organ. I was in the hospital in a very sterile environment, white walls, blue
52:27curtains for 50 days, as well as the recovery afterwards. But being in that
52:33hospital environment, I used to just dream about gardens and think about
52:37flowers. And I kept saying to myself, if I make it through this, I'm going to raise
52:44my child amongst flowers and amongst the garden. That's just, that's all I want to
52:47do. It's pretty phenomenal to think about how dire those times were, and then see
52:55where we've arrived, having survived, and that's all come true. I've been able to
53:00keep that, that, keep that promise to myself.
53:15They say there's no time like the present. It's your jobs for the weekend,
53:28ready and raring to go. In cold climates, it's time to think about frost protection
53:39for your more tender plants. Wrap hessian around a frame of stakes to keep
53:44the chill at bay. Beautiful and bird-attracting, native corriers are
53:49flowering now, making it a perfect time to pop into a nursery and pick out a
53:54favourite. Plant out some cauliflower seedlings in a sunny position, protected
54:00from winds, and about 40 centimetres apart. In warm temperate areas, autumn
54:06flowering shrubs, such as crow ears, are finishing their flowering period, and
54:11will benefit from a light pruning all over the plant. Underrated and
54:16overachieving, plant out some spring onion in your patch. Harvest the leaves
54:22rather than the whole bulb, and you can expect one plant to last years.
54:28Lemongrass rhizomes can be sprouted in a warm spot indoors. By the time they're
54:33ready to plant out, it'll be spring again. In the subtropics, you may have
54:39spied a sensational seasonal show from the purple beautyberry. It's a large
54:45shrub currently covered in clusters of bright purple berries that aren't edible,
54:50but are showstoppers. Continue to harvest shoot tips from your Malabar spinach. It
54:57will encourage more shoots and delay flowering. He's off on the water for
55:02ornamental gingers and caladiums as the foliage dies off. In the tropics,
55:08jackfruit continue to ripen. Protect them from pesky possums with individual mesh
55:14bags. In West Arnhem Land, it's bungering. It's the late wet season, time to harvest
55:21goose eggs and water peanuts. The last of the rains and late storms knock down the
55:27tall spear grass. Snake gourds will grow right through the year without any fuss,
55:33so plant some seed out now. In arid areas, beetroot can be sown now. Seeds contain a
55:41few plants, so remember to thin out once they've germinated. As silverbeet
55:46continues to provide harvests, remember to get the leaves before they become big
55:51and leathery. Plant out a desert cassia, a fast-growing native to about two metres in
55:58height and suitable for a screen. It's covered in yellow flowers through late winter. Have a
56:05ripper weekend in the garden and don't forget you can always head to our YouTube channel for
56:10all sorts of gardening goodness anytime. Well, that's about all we could fit on the plate for
56:22this week, but we're already lining up for seconds. Here's what's in store for next time.
56:28I'm visiting a gardener who's transformed her footpath and is now dedicated to helping others
56:36to sustainably grow their shared spaces. There's been a recent outbreak of Queensland
56:42fruit fly here in Perth and it's in all of our interests to eradicate it. And I'm getting a
56:49behind-the-scenes look at how a huge estate like Tasmania's Government House is adapting
56:54its Victorian-era heritage gardens to help plan for climate change.