Gardening Australia – Season 35 Episode 3 – Summer: Contaminated soil and coastal habitats
Costa visits a harmonious garden; Millie investigates soil safety; Josh fortifies his summer supply; Tammy marvels at wondrous Haworthia; Clarence explores shoreline rejuvenation; and we meet a resilient plant shop owner.
Stars: Costa Georgiadis, Peter Cundall, Stephen Ryan
[Applause] hey Hi Oo hey Buddy hello and welcome to gardening Australia we are well and truly back into the swing of things we got gardening stories coming thick and fast I hope you’re comfortable because here’s what’s coming up how safe is your soil well I’m meeting some scientists who are running a program to map soil contamination and
I’m going to learn what gardeners need to do about it in the veggie patch the tail end of the summer crops means it’s time to transition to the Autumn crops I’ll be getting an early start to make sure my patch remains productive I’m diving into the world of her worth ear a
Cute and collectible bunch and one thing for sure there’s no shortage of variety and we meet someone who’s found her happy place among a jungle of indoor Plants building a garden with a loved one could be a way to strain a relationship but today I’m visiting a couple who’ve come up with a unique partnership in their Garden I’m in the blue mountains west of Sydney visiting the home of Norma and Andrew to have a look around their stunning Garden
Taria hello Norma hello Costa nice to meet you Lely to meet you too Andrew great to have you here wow here what an incredible View very nice how big is the Block it’s about 3/4 of an acre most of which is steep slope we still have a bit
Of bush down the bottom that we haven’t got to yet the plants do really well the orchard does really well a garden is Paradise the name Taria comes from a power station in Tasmania that Andrew’s father worked on in the 1950s when Norma and Andrew moved here
13 years ago the block was Bare Bush so they started Ed planting straight away now as gardeners do you share the same Outlook and focus not really Andrew’s more the he’s more the orchard the fruit trees uh produc his side and the chooks and I do the the flowers the bushes and
The pretty things so would you say It’s the Great Divide of of hazelbrook or or is it the east west of Berlin here how does it work oh we’re we’re fairly fairly good with each other he actually built the paths for me all the steps up
Through my side and I help weed every so often on his side it’s an interesting divide because it’s not really like the Berlin wall or anything we do infiltrate it occasionally and and now there’s actually some fuches on my side and it’s good cuz I can do what I like on my side
I don’t have to go and talk about it talk about it and you can do what he likes on his side and we’re happy well it’s clear the gardens in two so scissors paper rock Norma let’s go to your half first and Andrew we’ll catch a
Bit later okay we’ll go this way Costa thanks nor why you step we go down here I like this ramp natural ramp it’s great isn’t it that’s what’s lovely is the natural rock that we The Rock here is stunning you’ve planted in every nook and cranny even on the stone here I do
And succulents are great for that you don’t have to to wait for it to take or anything you pop it in and off it takes yeah and they get their water in the in the little drainage L weeding bit weeding that’s all right I can’t sort of
Talk to you without no that’s right weeding man after my own heart I kind of want to I want to go that way go that way yeah go that way just here around that corner I that’s where I broke my ankle so that’s when Andrew came and built some steps for me
Which was lovely so when you stand here in the middle of what you’ve created what do you love about it I just love all the different shrubs and plants I’ve got mixed in with the succulents and mixed in with the roses and the dailies and the fuches and
I’ve still got room for so many more things bangs is gravas I mean there’s no discrimination it’s just I’ve got natives in as well so they all blend in really well together what are some of the te tips that you’ve learned on this steep sloping block with little soil
This doesn’t really get fed with anything um it’s too big an area so it just relies on the mulch which I do yearly and the rain or our watering system and I’ve got all the rock that I find when I did the garden I do little little terracing throughout so because
Everything just tends to wash down and everything’s got a bit of a lean on it because we are downhill on a slope so all the trees are leaning was that yeah the way no it’s actually backwards oh yeah that way Norma estimates she has around 250 fuchsia plants in the garden including
Over 100 different varieties wow they’re beautiful aren’t they they really are I can see why you love them so much you’ve just got so many versions so this is the Great Wall it is the Great Wall that’s shut can we go through do I need a passport oh okay just it’s
Not electric it’s electric jeez this is I’ll open it and see how we go oh there he is who goes here what’s the purpose of the fence here how come it’s the purpose of the fence apart from dividing the two halves is actually to to help provide bird
Protection for the orchard I’m Keen to get into the productive Zone and see what you’ve got see you later Costa bye-bye you know we’ll come through this way Andrews Orchard is teaming with about 30 different kinds of fruit there’s a lot of volume here what
Do you do with it all I make jam out of all the fruit that’s grown here and I sell them and a proportion of that money goes to a group group in Nepal that look after some children I love the feeling of growing and picking and making the
Jam people know where it’s grown and they know who’s made it and they can experience a bit more than just buying a JY jam and I’ve had people come here on open Gardens and just sat down and cried because they they’re really moved by just how productive it felt and how nice
It fil what a beautiful connection what have you learned along the way when it comes to Growing your berri lots of berries have really specific microclimate requirements we grow some blueberries and we tried them in five or six different spots until now they’re in the spot where they’re producing so you
Get so much out of it on a real variety of levels yeah a lot of this initial work I did because I was having a bit of a a burnout experience and the physical and growing nature of what I was doing was a real help through that situation
That’s probably why it got so big so quick because I had two or three years where I was just putting all my my energy into it um and it was was good therapy got more figs Here so what’s this this is what we call the Rotunda it’s an ideal place for growing lots of fuches everywhere you look there’s just so many flowers it’s a really special little place it is makes you happy and you can look at each one because they’re all different and just a happy
Spot why don’t we go and uh make some Jam damn let’s make jam definitely I I’d love to do that let’s do I’m not a jam man when it comes to the making so I need to learn so this is where it’s all taking place where did you begin in the jam
Making process pick the fruit put it in the saucepan couple of kilos of fruit in there and you put about the same amount of sugar in bit of lemon juice takes about 25 minutes to come to the boil and then you cook it for about 30 minutes to
40 minutes and it comes to this stage ready to put into the jars it’s a very easy Jam to make actually Norma here’s some beautiful pikelets that you prepared earlier I did with Andrew’s Jam here we go this looks nice that’s the best way here go
M yum more cream in your beard than mine that’s my put a white beard so there you have it a garden in two halves which Norma and Andrew have made work in Perfect Harmony who said you can’t have it all in the Garden why the leaves on my banana turning yellow and brown around the edges well bananas are fast growing plants and the reason this one looks good is because I regularly remove the leaves and because they may have fungal diseases on the leaves I never mulch the bananas with banana leaf I’d move it
Elsewhere in the garden there’s another reason why they may be going yellow and that could be a need for calcium and magnesium that is readily applied by a handful of dolomite per stem really have three stems per plant so three handfuls will deal with it that will energize the
Plants and boost their resistance to disease and that should give you nice green leaves I bet you that you know a lot of people who’ve got a driveway and then a very narrow Garden space between the fence and people often put in plants that just hang right over the driveway
Well what about A really lovely upright plant and this one the chamelia Avalanche will do the trick it grows eventually about 5 m high but it’s a slow growing one so you’ll get it up to about 3 m in a number of years and it’s got masses of these wonderful white
Flowers flowers from Autumn and into winter and it’s just a very elegant slender upright hedging plant are seeds organic while you can control your own garden practices at home many commercial seeds will be treated with various pesticides and fungicides if growing truly organic crops is important to you you can Source
Seed that is produced by certified organic farmers that will be marked on their seed packets a good tip is to look for seed locally a seed produced in your climate is much more likely to thrive in your garden and once you’ve grown it successfully you can then start to save your Own us gardeners love growing food but in cities and urban areas it can come with risks Millie’s here with a story of about how we can use the latest science to manage those risks and make informed decisions oh yeah look at This there’s no doubt that so many of us love growing food it’s one of the key reasons that we Garden but one of the big questions that we all ask is how safe is my soil and how do I find out Professor Mark Taylor and Hannah Elliot are from Victoria’s environment
Protection authority which is running the garden Safe program to help gardeners understand the state of their soil tell me about what is it that people will find in their soil well organic matter and worms but also Trace elements and remember the periodic table from high school we focus on those
Elements that are associated with industrial pollution that commonly found in cities arsenic copper cadmium zinc lead manganese for example and we’re concerned because there are potentially neurotoxic risks they get into the soil they then can get into the food the soil can get inside people’s homes in the
Last 200 years or so we’ve done a really good job in certain parts of the environment of contaminating them so we just need to be cognizant that if we want to use the gens for food production let’s find out what’s there the main risk that we find is lead particular in
The older parts of the city if you live in an old home closer to the city center which is made of Timber and painted it’s more likely than not that that home will be subject to more contaminated soil than a newer home and the fringes so that’s about lead paint which was used
On houses and in and in vehicles so right lead leaded fuel Leed petrol which we had for seven decades so how does it get in the soil well it comes out the tail P those emissions they become depositions cuz they’re particles they fall out they land on the soil and it
Accumulates over time so it won’t go anywhere no unless you dig it up and take it to an appropriate waste facility right and why is lead so dangerous well lead is uh a classic neurotoxin and what that does it interferes with people’s neurological development and exposures over lifetime assoc associated with
Poorer outcomes socio economic outcomes and early onset of dementia children are most impacted because their neurological and sceletal systems are developing so that’s the time of life when we try to minimize exposure and that’s why we need to be cognizant of what’s in the garden gosh it’s such an abundant front garden
Isn’t this a beautiful mury tree it’s gorgeous and so a garden like this you know is it worth testing absolutely um you never know what was going on in your your yard before you live there so everything’s worth taking a look at get a bit of a pulse check of what’s going on
So this will take an x-ray of your soil and tell us a bit about what’s going on in there so you can see uh potassium and phosphorus at the top so they’re beneficial for human and plant health so we’ expect to see them in your soil
Lead’s coming up at 9 which is fairly low so that’s in milligram per kilog of soil now the limit’s at 300 so Nine’s pretty good we’d say carry on garding that is such an amazing result and so quickly but obviously not everyone can get the machine delivered to the house
How do people get their soil tested with you send it to us and we’ll do it for you so can you show me how to get a sample yeah let’s go collect some soil so if there’s a certain area of your backyard or front yard that you’re
Interacting with a lot or your kids are playing in and you’re interested in that then then let’s sample that cuz and we can tell you what’s going on in there 15x 15 cm square is what we recommend and then taking the top 2 cm so the soil that you’re really interacting with that
Top layer how much am I after oh we say a tennis ball or about half a cup that yeah that’s great seal it up send your tree samples into us and we’ll screen them and send your report back for free Victoria’s Garden save program gives people a report on any pollutants
In their soil and a free soil analysis that includes nutrient levels and physical properties like amounts of sand and clay hi Tess so this is where the action happens m These Are soil samples that have come in from all over Victoria gardeners in other states can
Pay a small donation to use the veggie safe soil testing program at mcari University so we’ll grab this one this one’s from inner Melbourne just a small sample of the soil so it’s about 2 teaspoons that we actually take so Millie let’s take a look at the
Results that have just come through that lead’s really high oh wow that is high so that’s over 1,000 milligram per kilog of soil correct so that’s quite High the limit’s 300 and that’s about three times over three times the limit of what we’d say is safe I really feel for that Gardener
Like if I got that result I think my heart would break a bit you wouldn’t recommend gardening in it we wouldn’t we’d recommend and taking steps to to reduce your exposure to that soil the information is then deidentified and added to the map my environment website so if we zoom in on Melbourne
You can see the the spikes there where you can see there’s higher lead concentrations in those inner north and west suburbs so where the industrial activity was that’s where you’re going to find yeah lot contamination lots of Legacy contamination yeah wow so everyone can contribute to this AB it’s
A great example of Citizen science um and getting victorians to really contribute to the scientific um efforts of the apaa as well as testing your soil for free the program also gives victorians clear information about practical steps they can take to reduce the risks posed by contaminated
Soil mark this is a great example of one of the best Solutions raised bed fresh soil you know Mulch on the top it’s perfect it stops dust being produced right it’s obviously producing great food and so what are other things you can do to minimize your risk well the
Most obvious one is when you get the veggies from the garden you make sure you wash it properly uh you wash your hands um and you when you go in the house you take your shoes off you just reduce that risk of exposure from the soil and it’s just good it’s just good
Basic hygiene right it’s nothing complicated gardeners are also advised to avoid planting vegetables near the drip line or Eaves of older houses and to mulch open soil to reduce the Dust if you’ve got chooks make sure they’re nesting and scratching in a deep bed of clean litter and if you’ve got kids
Create a safe play area such as a sand pit with clean sand there’s such a variety of productive plants in this Garden that different things take up those elements in different ways yes they do and the the plants that we should be most concerned about are the leafy greens
Such as the the spinaches we can see here these are well known to be susceptible to the uptake of lead whereas other plants such as your fruit trees for example are not affected in the same way so growing it in a raised bed with mulch to limit the production of dust is
Perfect so they’re big issues and they worry us but we don’t need to panic we can keep gardening we can carry on gardening and and by taking sensible simple actions to mitigate that risk my view is uh uh every little bit counts little things matter so the cumulative benefit of everybody taking pragmatic
And sensible action so they can maximize the use of their Garden there huge benefits for the Population a question every Gardener should be asking is how do I attract pollinators into my food Garden well the best way to do this is to have two different types of flower blooming in your garden all year round the first type is this Cosmos it’s a flat-shaped
Flower and it’s pollen Rich this plant is Cosmos cordatus otherwise known as King salad and it’s an edible medicinal herb the other type of flour that you need is like this brassas mustard ocean greens and basil have small cup-shaped flowers which are full of nectar now why
Two different types of flour well the flat pollen Rich flowers provide protein and the small cup-shaped flowers provide nectar which is sugar rich and these are ideal foods for a wide range of pollinators the small cup shaped flowers are really important for the majority of Australian bees because they have
Co-evolved along the merasi the Myrtle family and they produce small cup-shaped flowers they’ve got short tongues or proboscises so you’re working with nature Now by having these plants growing in your garden you can disp with growing ornamentals to bring pollinators and that way you’ve got a regular supply
Of pollinators you’ll get seed and abundant crops and you can make full use of all the space you have even in a small Garden a lot of Veggie growing is anticipating what’s to come being one step ahead so you’re not caught short Master strategist Josh is already making his next move in the veggie patch and he’s letting us in on the Plan summer is a super productive time in the veggie garden and even as we slide into Autumn I’ve still got leftover summer favorites including tomatoes basil onions and watermelon the transition between Seasons at this time of year can be tricky call weather is undoubtedly on the way but there is
Still productive summer crops in the ground and warm days are still common I call this the in between period and I’m going to share a couple of simple ideas to make the most of it let’s start with these Tommy Toe Tomatoes which have been super productive for months we’ve
Feasted on them we’ve made sauce out of the Surplus they’re still going okay and we’ll keep cropping for a few more weeks so I’m going to leave them in there in the next bed on these Stakes I had GR sess Tomatoes now they finished up a few
Weeks ago I’ve already pulled out the plants and composted them and now I’m going to plant beans it’s a bit too early for me to plant winter legumes like peas and broad beans so I’m putting in a late crop of warm seasoned beans starting with climbing beans on the poles there’s no
Preparation here just pull back The Mulch and soap alongside I’m making furrows and planting bush beans which are more Compact and don’t need a trellis it’s a bit unconventional to grow these beans this late but that quick growing will fix nitrogen in the soil and improve it
For the next crop it cost me nothing other than some leftover seed and if we have a warm Autumn I should get a decent Crop I’ve got some spare real estate in the next bed and in there I’m going to plant celery and rainbow ch which are repeat cropping plants and they’ll produce well over the next few months these are hungry plants so I’ll need to build up the soil using homemade
Compost aged chicken manure and a Sprinkle of Blood and Bone then work it all in with a fork I’ve spaced these charred and celery seedlings about 40 cm apart and regular picking of the stems will stop them crowling A few hot days could knock these young seedlings over so I have these sha tunnels on hand to provide some shelter until they’re established they’re really easy to make from some fencing wire and 50% sha cloth meaning enough sunlight and air gets through for the seedlings to thrive
There’s a couple of simple hacks to help you straddle the seasons the main thing is be creative to keep your patch productive the space is too precious not to if there’s one plant you can rely upon to create a stunning display from mid spring to early summer it’s flus
Known as the Jerusalem Sage now it’s not actually a true Sage but it is in the sage family it’s a Mediterranean climate plant and it’s perfectly suited to South Australian Gardens flus gets its name from the Greek for flame flus are Frost and drought Hardy and like plenty of
Room to express themselves so give them a large bed with good drainage and plenty of sunshine this flus was covered in flowers you can see it produces long slender spikes which have whirls up the spike and they start flowering at the bottom and work their way up which gives
You an extended flowering period now at the end of flowering you simply come in and remove the spent flower Spike usually when we dead head a plant we cut back the old flower Spike to just above a set of nodes but in this case I can see there’s lovely New Growth lower
Down and if I prune it further down I’ll get a more compact plant it may have looked daunting at the beginning with all the dead flowerheads but once you get going it’s not that hard just use your secur and methodically work your way around the plant I find that when I’m pruning flus
I often end up sneezing because of the Dust on the leaves so be aware if you’re a bit sensitive I’ve finished the basic pruning I could actually take it back harder than this if I wanted to because there’s growth lower down but I’m happy with this a little bit of effort now and
Your flus will look so much better and reward you with a stunning display of blooms in Spring still to come on gardening Australia Clarence uncovers a project turning back the tide Hannah shows us the shape of things to come trees come in all different shapes and forms even within the same
Species and the same garden and we meet a hoarded culturist Whose Garden Path led her Indoors who who doesn’t love succulents they’re cute colorful collectible I mean they’re really quite irresistible Tammy’s looking at a particular group of easy to grow succulents that I reckon you’re going to want to add to your Collection these Little Cuties are whole worth is part of a group of succulents that you can easily grow at home you’ll love exploring them as they come in such a variety of colors shapes forms and patterns whole worth is don’t grow very big and due to their small size make them quite
Collectible many of them look like tougher miniature allows with a characteristic tightly packed rosette of leaves they’re versatile and can often be grown both indoors in bright light as well as outdoors in the garden people grow them for their patent leaves and interesting colors no two plants are exactly
Alike Heria come from the southern region of Africa so they are adapted to hot dry environments their Leaf tomata only open at night which reduces water loss this makes them very drought tolerant but slow growing what we call HOAs are actually three different Genera including true hotha hopsis and
Chista these different gener names are just a Botanical classification based on their lineage and characteristics but they all have similar care requirements and are similar enough horticulturally to be thought of collo as the same group true hor worthy are former stemless rosette unlike the stemmed rosette of the other Genera they also
Have distinctive flowers haia flowers form on tore spikes they’re white tubular and often Striped haia come in a huge variety of forms some with pointed leaves While others like this haia truna also known as Horses teeth have these striking cross-sectional leaves that well look like large teeth you’re going to love this one of the most interesting physical characteristics of some hooria like this
Haworthia cerai are these clear sections on the leaves they look a bit like stained glass windows this is actually called Fenestration the second horthy opsis and these are characterized by their coalescent rosette which means the rosette forms along and elongated stem and the pups or the babies spring up tightly from the base of the mother plant now the third one chalista they look so similar you think
That they’re the same plant but the difference is in the genetics horia are easy to grow they need enough light for the colors to look their best especially if there is any fenestration on the leaves grow them in a free draining Cactus mix ideally in an unglazed terracotta pot with a saucer
Underneath to Aid moisture retention bring them inside and put them on a brightly lit window sill or grow them under cover or on a balcony water regularly when actively growing and they can benefit from a slow release fertilizer at the beginning of the growing season now if you’ve neglected your
Plant it might take on this sunken appearance specialized Roots known as contractile Roots pull the plant Underground when it’s stress but don’t worry once conditions improve it will pop right back up whether heras are kept inside or outside you’ll be amazed at the she variety of colors and patterns they’re
Truly magical and worthwhile adding to your Collection lots of people like to take cuttings from their Gardens and now late summer and into early Autumn is a perfect time to take cuting that are called semi hardwood or semi-ripe cuting this is a Celia and you can take cuttings from Chamas right now or even gardinas and Daphney there’s different
Patterns of growth at the end of the stem of plants that’s the tip obviously the end of the branch down further the branches had time over the seasons to get a little bit more mature it feels hard between your fingers and then down further it’s really quite hard wood
That’s not what I want I want the semi hard wood to take a cutting you can use your fingers just to pull them neatly off or use your secur to make a nice clean cut with this chamele cutting I need to just trim off that little bit of heel
That’s a little bit of the old wood which is a good thing to have but just to make it a bit neater just use your secur and trim it off like that trim off any of the bottom leaves because they’re going to go underneath the propagating
Material and LIF with two using a little bit of the rooting hormone powder just dip the end into it and then tap off the excess and with a dier make a hole in your propagating medium and just slide the cutting in and then press around so it’s very stable that’s quite
Important and that cutting you don’t have to use B heat or anything like that this time of the year should grow roots in about 4 to 5 weeks you’re not doing any damage by removing some of the foliage or by cutting it in half you can
Make these cuttings about 15 cm long 10 cm is fine but if you haven’t got enough material just tiny ones even 5 for 6 cm long is fine into the rooting hormone powder and there we go you will see the little roots coming out the bottom and that tells you it’s time
To move them on as with any cuting it’s important to keep them moist and a little misting spray does it well sometimes you can find that if you use a great big Watering Can it can dislodge the cuting but this gives enough moisture and plenty of humidity around
The plants for them to get going a plastic bag or a little salad bowl top works well also just Nestle it over the top of the cuting that’s working as a little mini hot house that will work like a treat and it’s a terrific time to
Get out in the garden in Autumn to take cuting just like That so many of us love living by the ocean but as our coastal cities grow we need to get smarter about how we make space for the natural world around us and that includes the ocean here’s Clarence with More this area of Coastline on the George’s River just south of botney bay also known as K was once fortified against the tides with a concrete seaw wall then Along came a man with a good idea a lot of fores showes the habitats been lost the idea of this one is
Through the planting of salt marsh and also the reintroduction of rock pools we’ve now got ability for the tide to move in these zones and reintroduce habitat that’s been lost previously Tom Heath is a marine biologist by training yet this Shoreline project for Georgia River Council incorporates a whole lot
More looking at it it’s really quite seamless from the the water to the intertitle to the Salt Mar well that’s how natural into tile Zone would be that natural transition from one to the other so we’ve got that movement from the the rock into tidle and The Rock pools
Directly into our salt marsh which is our endangered ecological Community which was really been lost around this area and then straight into our riparian vegetation which is those June species that that have been lost as well I guess the salt marsh area that would have all
Been mud flats and at one point in time yeah Salt March is a is a pretty funny um community in terms of if it’ll succeed or not so we’ve been really fortunate to have the success rate of sire sea blight and Marine coaches as three of the species that are in this
Area I really like the the flow from the salt marsh into the riparian zones where you see a lot of the junus and a few other species in there yeah the the riparian zone is one of those Landscaping features that’s also been lost but really has Community benefit
And value so the reintroduction of the pig face as well as your Coastal Rosemary and your junker species as those zones to to protect the foreshore but to also provide some amenity to the community this is one of our rocking to tial foreshore zones these Rock pools
Here flood on both high tide events The Rock pools like any natural fores or hold water for those species that that need that so there’s a lot of juvenile fish that are in these we get octopus kjoy all sorts of different species that that you wouldn’t necessarily see on a
Vertical concrete or Sandstone seaw wall Tom I love the way this Boardwalk set up we’re actually on the water and away from this plant zone yeah the idea of this was this is that transition from stage one to stage two of the the foreshore project where the idea was to
Reintroduce the community back to cogra Bay but also that introduction and that visual of the salt marsh actually seeing and and experiencing that sort of Zone yeah and and a much softer edge here with the Sandstone Boulders yeah so we’ve we’ve tried to transition from those vertical hard seaw walls to the
The traditional rip rout which is a bit more of a an eco-friendly design reintroducing some of those into title fores habitats that would otherwise have been Here we’ve just walked over the bordwalk where the community has that ability to to look back on the salt marsh the idea of this zone is that they’re actually sitting with it so this is a bit of a an informal seating Zone that we’ve got salt marsh
Pockets but we’ve also below us got the rock pool so we’re reintroducing the community directly to the thep of intertitle habitats that we’ve reintroduced to the Site this is a pretty um rugged zone right on the point so we’re buffered by the wind and the sea spray here so it’s it’s been mainly the focus on those those rushes and those hearty species but interestingly we found that we’ve got some salt marsh Pockets starting to
Pop up in these zones that wasn’t planted so that’s a pretty interesting and exciting sign Tom hat is a marine biologist come to be redesigning foreshores and project managing such a big job it was just more of the focus of thinking about a foreshore from a marine perspective rather than an engineering perspective
So I was thinking more about the habitat structure and the the ecology rather than just protecting a fores sure and nothing else this looks a lot more natural than uh some of the other sections yeah this is probably our most Innovative and and new section in terms of the design for
It so the original foreshore was actually 5 m into the water now but this was more focused on the reintroduction of of those soft engineered species in the coastal areas so we’ve got you know this Coastal June that’s been planted out and it’s the root system that’s holding everything in place rather than
Being a a hard structure of rock and things like that so it’s reintroducing and enabling the salt marsh to naturally self-seed in the levels where it needs to be but providing some structure behind for the Parkland all this sand that you see is actually naturally accreted none of it was was added so
Just shows that the coastal processes can occur when you allow them to to do their thing the way that this is set up it’s almost like a recreating a June environment yeah it’s it’s the real the focus on the root system of the tree species and then the shrubs the into
Keeping that that June intact so we’ve got you know Karina Banky nasu species which are those larger trees and shrubs and then we’ve got some of our our June L mandas salt cooch and then we’ also got tetron things like that which is that undercover that’s holding that intact as well
Naturalizing this part of the foreshore also included a storm water drain that had been a concrete Channel it happens a lot in these sort of Parkland areas the removal of natural Creek line system so we’ve got a storm water drain we’ve naturalized to emulate the Meandering of of a natural Creek
Line in this area so it opens up into a broader Delta mouth which you you’d see in these sort of Muddy environments rather than being a hard concrete channel so that’s integrating into the the June behind us and the planting associated with it it’s really about reintroducing
Habitat to a zone that had significantly lost what had had prior to the construction of vertical seaw wall so we’re pretty proud of this project and the other ones that we’re looking to do similar to this why do some tree species have variable shapes trees come in all
Different shapes and forms even within the same species and the same Garden some will grow tall and straight While others will spread out or form wonky shapes the difference can be due to a range of factors natural form some species are naturally variable in form just like you
Don’t look like other members of your family if you need consistency do some research on the species you want to plant and look for cultivar that are bred to to have a particular growing habit resource competition lots of light and space at the beginning of its life
Can help a tree grow into its ideal form but if there’s lots of competition and not enough light then the tree is forced to grow into whatever it can in its own personal limited space soil or wind similarly when Roots hit rock or compacted soil they’ll look
For another way to spread out and this can affect the above ground growth it may even stunt growth if there’s nowhere to go strong winds might cause a strong lean or more horizontal form than those in more protected s makes you appreciate how resilient and creative trees can Be Indoor plants have become such a part of our lives and it’s been so inspiring to watch you transform your homes into your own indoor plant Oasis our next story is with a Sydney cider who’s helping others on their Journey indoors where a Stones Throw from the city
Really Rosel is just an amazing inner city Village and it’s like you’ve stepped into a country Town it really is the colorful locals there’s lots of artists there’s lots of young families lots of children it’s it’s just such a wonderful supportive Community I’ve been blown away by the support My name’s adua nikolic I’m a horticulturist I’m a plant biologist and I constantly study plant morphology and I now own a plant shop in Rosel everyone that walks into the shop loves the shop and they love how the shop makes them feel and I explain it’s
Not the shop it’s the plants hi hi here is my beauty from home a lot of the people straight away say to me how do you keep them alive it’s like it’s this big Enigma cuz these people that call themselves black thumbs are petrified of killing another plant so I try and
Demystify it a little bit take them around and show them the harder plant and give them strict instructions on what to do and I’ve had such success stories it’s like when you’ve got a newborn parent and they show you baby photos they show me their plants Ed do
You remember this plant you want a plant to suit the person’s personality is that the fire I think you can solve everything with gardening I really do I do I told you she loves you I want a back oh I don’t remember a life without plants my parents both were plant
Addicts um my mother coming from a farming background but my dad had a love of bonsai that fascinated me as a child so we we began making Bonsai I think that for me really sparked my journey my my my miniature World Sparks my journey also when we went grocery shopping with
My mom there was a plant shop and I’d say to her I’ll help you with the grocery shops if we can just go into that plant shop as a child um the imagination just started coming out and I was in a different world for that little bit I
See kids coming to my shop too and they they are me when I when I was that young they are taken to that magical far away land and I I think it’s I think it’s really special I think my shop is more than just a shop it’s embracing
Imagination in the Next Generation so and hopefully creating new green people I was born in Darwin and we came to Sydney after Cyclone Tracy devastated our family home actually destroyed everything the only thing I really remember was the wind breaking the wall in our house and my dad popping me on
The table with the mattress over our head and the Water Rising so it was pretty Fierce so yes nature can be beautiful but it does it does quickly slap you just to make you realize we not in charge that nature is in Charge my my career was chopped up a bit um I’ve done a lot in the horiculture industry after I finished my Horticultural certificate I unfortunately within my career I was diagnosed with cancer three times so I had to stop studies and stop work for
Periods of time um to to to go on to treat my my cancers which it’s not sad cuz I’m here I don’t know why I’m crying so I was diagnosed when I was 25 um I had breast cancer uh I battled that three times it was it was it was tricky
It was a challenge but I had the time off that I needed um to do what I needed and then I found lots of time to travel the world and while traveled the world that just made the love of plants grow more and more cuz I went into the deep
Forests of of um Europe the the redwoods in California I’ve been to Alaska and I saw the spagnos in real life growing naturally which to me I read about them and I studied all these plants but to physically hold these plants and see these plants in real life was was a joy
So I don’t think I would have gone down that road had I not had cancer but I found out two months ago that finally the treatment that I had seven8 years ago actually has worked I am now lump free which just makes me feel like I am the luckiest woman on
Earth so there was a life change and I met a wonderful man who entered my life and helped me bear children so I had the miracle of falling pregnant with him which was I say a miracle because I lived for 15 years and thinking that I would never bear children cuz for years
I’d cut off the maternal wanting to hold children I never held any child the first child I held was my son and I was terrified and it wasn’t a beautiful moment it was very awkward I’ve got two kids now and they love the shop um my oldest he’s a great
Coder and he used to love insects and he’d helped me with the insect identification cuz he loved entomology my youngest one he’s he’s handson he loves to pick up the pots empty the van come with me plant shopping um my partner comes here he’s great with customers they all love him what it’s
Not to love he’s a lovable person thank you so it’s a big family affair which is great who have thought I’m really happy I I’ve got to say out of all my experiences this simple plant shop has made me the happiest I really feel content and just
Relaxed I’m I’m done I’m happy I don’t need to move on I don’t need to to try new things I’m I can happily say that I’m one of the few people I think that have found what I was meant to do and what I was meant to be it’s a plant shell [Laughter] Burner Now I hope you’re ready because we’ve got all the jobs to fuel your gardening efforts for this weekend here we go here ch ch ch here ch ch ch here you Go cool temperate gardeners it’s time to pop in your pnps sewing now allows them to settle in and get cranking before the cooler weather hits sew fresh seeds into fluffy soil about 3 cm apart if some of your foliage is looking furry and funky reach for the full cream milk one part
Milk into nine Parts water is a fantastic fungus fighter and will make short work of powdery mil add color to your Cottage Garden with wall flowers plant in a sunny spot where there showy flowers and clove scent can be appreciated from Autumn right through to Spring in warm temperate Gardens
Wisterias are romping away so it’s time to tame them prune back young whippy growth and cut side shoots back to within 10 cm of the main lateral stem prep for Autumn plantings is underway so it’s time to turn to your compost literally air eight and turn your heat
The more love you show it now the better it’ll be come planting time lift and divide old clumps of daffodils which failed to flower last season shake off the loose soil and store in a cool Airy spot like the shed or garage for replanting in April subtropical gardeners if your
Chamas are producing bucket loads of buds but few flowers thin them out by twisting off some of the buds leaving one to two at the tip and two along the stem if you’re a lover of lawn summer in the subtropics can be tough to keep your
Turf Tip Top and Lawn luscious mow as high as possible to conserve moisture and prevent weed infestation with Autumn on the doorstep take time to plan your patch before you plant nurseries and public gardens are great places for ideas and inspiration on trees shrubs and plants perfect for
Your place amaranth is an amazing addition to Tropical veggie gardens that can be sewn now the leaves are edible when cooked and are a super spinach substitute plus they great companion plants get a green manure crop going and add life and new nutrients to fallow beds before Autumn planting so barley
Loosen peas and beans cutting and turning into the soil before seed set it’s a very good time to prune your mury tree cutting it right back to a round waste height M’s fruit on new wood so pruning hard now means more fruit that are easier for you to pick next
Season arid gardeners aphids are active but spraying with white oil can do more harm than good in the heat instead squash them with your fingers or blast with the hose while we’re talking pests set up some molasses traps to catch hungry grass Hoppers add 500 mil of
Molasses to a bucket of water and pop it in the patch you’ll catch handfuls of hoppers in no time native hibiscus is a tough tidy shrub for a Sunny Spot growing 2 m by 2 m this stunner will reward you with masses of showy purple flowers from Spring through autumn
With Autumn around the corner Now’s the Time to get prepping and planning before some serious planting let us know what you get up to on the ga Socials well that’s a wrap for another week but if you’re anything like me you’re already wanting more so here’s what’s ripening nicely for next week I love Cal frames because they help me grow and maintain a steady supply of veggies no matter what the weather but
If you thought they were just for the colder months well I’m going to show you how you can also put them to use in summer I’m taking a tour with a designer of three very different but equally impressive