This Gardener Plants to Paint | My Garden Path | Gardening Australia

Jerry visits artist and gardener Kerry Hardy, who plants to grow inspiration for her art.

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This is a segment from season 36 episode 25 of Gardening Australia

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JERRY: I’m in Mitchelton,
a suburb in north-western Brisbane. It’s home to artist Kerry Hardy, where for the past 30 years, she’s been adding vibrant colour
and rich texture to her garden to draw inspiration. I love purple, I must say. Everything that you’ll…
Oh, look at this. We have purple,
we have purple, we have purple. I just… Yeah, I know. I know. (LAUGHS) I love colour, and I just love
looking out and seeing colour. You have a lot of seasonal colour… Yes.
..in your garden as well. Yes. Waiting for things to flower
in spring. So in winter, I will put lots
of pots around with colour in them, just to make it feel nice and…
and just for… ..for me to enjoy myself, really. Yeah.
And all in eye-catching locations. They’re quite strategic.
Yes. I think it’s the art eye. If I’m putting
a bowl of yellow flowers… ..you know, I’ve got my blue plates. You know, they’re complementary
colours on the colour wheel. There’s a crossover, isn’t there,
between art and… ..and the garden. This has been your home for 30 years?
Yes. We moved here
when my oldest son wasn’t even one. So right at the beginning,
when you…bought the place… KERRY: Yes.
..was there a garden here at all? KERRY: No. There was nothing. And…there was a mango tree. There was a Queensland nut tree,
a loquat tree, and that was it for the backyard. And in the front yard,
there was one tree, and that was a tibouchina. So…the house being
very symmetrical, I decided that… ..if there’s
a tibouchina on one side, there’ll be a tibouchina
on the other side, so I’ve kind of
done the gardens in that way with the symmetry of the house
at the front. JERRY: Kerry’s character Queenslander sits on an 800-square-metre block, much of that dedicated to the garden, which features winding paths
and rambling garden beds and art. I’ve tried to create
little garden rooms. By hanging some of my…
my pottery plates, you can just come and sit
in any space and feel like you’re in another room of the… ..of the house. I…I am loving my blue sage
at the moment, because… ..I know it’s about to
burst into flower, and I’ve created walls of it,
which is really nice, and my wisteria, I think. What a lovely spot for a wisteria. Oh, it’s beautiful, Jerry. In winter, it lets the warmth of the
sun in, and you’ve got the blue sky. Um, in a few weeks’ time, it starts to get
the little puffs for the flowers, and then by summer, all the foliage
is giving us a beautiful shady area. JERRY: Well, it’s a lovely spot
to sit down and smell the blooms. KERRY: Oh, sure is.
And, of course, the flowers. JERRY: Hardy and easy to propagate, cottage filler plants
like geraniums, salvias and Pentas all contribute
to the overall high-colour scheme. You’ve got a lot of Coleus, Coleus caninus… KERRY: Oh, yes.
..all around the garden. Yes. Yes. Which, uh…thank you, Jerry,
for telling me what it really is. (LAUGHS) I’ve got a, um…a cutting from a lady at Stanthorpe
25 years ago. It has been one of the
most robust plants in the garden. If ever I want to fill a hole, I just take a few pieces off
and stick them in the ground, because…it’s easy to pull out
if you don’t want it as well. JERRY: Kerry started out as a potter
35 years ago, and creativity runs in the family. Your family’s artwork
is incorporated in the garden… Yes.
..around the pool area. Yes, so… ..I hand-made all the tiles that would go in between
the terracotta pavers, and we all painted a few tiles, and they’re still
a lovely memory of that time. JERRY: But she discovered the joy
of watercolours five years ago by chance. KERRY: My mum was very creative. She did watercolour painting for… ..over 70 years. She wanted to do a workshop. And I said, “Look… “..well,
I’m happy to keep you company.” And I absolutely loved it,
and I’ve never looked back. I won’t go on a holiday without a palette, a brush roll and some paper. If I’ve got half an hour
before I need to go out anywhere, there I am doing a painting
of what I’ve seen that day. I just love it. JERRY: And there’s one tree here which holds a special place
in Kerry’s heart. Over 20 years ago,
I did lose my husband, and… ..a group of friends
presented me with a jacaranda. And now,
from every room in the house, I can see that tree, and it’s now leaving a beautiful
carpet – purple, of course, my favourite colour – in October. The first year we had it, I thought
it was significant, because… ..it only had three flowers on it,
and I had three children, and I thought, “Oh, that was…” (LAUGHS) “..that was a bit special,”
you know. JERRY: After Kerry fell in love
with painting, she left her day job of 42 years and committed to running watercolour
classes in her beloved garden for the public six days a week. KERRY: They all say
that coming here to the garden, it just transports them
to another place. They just find it really relaxing
to be, um, painting in this environment. Often, people will walk down the
path with a handful of cuttings… (LAUGHS) ..from the…
from the garden on their way home. I…I think they’ve all got
my…my common plants here – every…every student’s probably got
them growing in their garden now. I probably always
do a bit of a roam of the garden before I go into my art studio
every day, just to… ..see what’s happening,
what’s changed since yesterday. You’ve managed to incorporate
your professional work… Yes. Yeah, yeah. ..into your life and this…
this home here. It’s…it’s quite a feat. Oh, I’m so lucky. (LAUGHS) I really am, you know. Oh, I’m gonna cry now. (LAUGHS) I DO feel so lucky. Oh. It’s, um… Yeah, to be…to be able to… ..to share your love of art with people
and bring people together, it’s very good.