Gardening Australia episode 1 2021: Tino Carnevale visits a clever garden masterpiece, Jane Edmanson meets city-living bees, Millie Ross has the low down on garden tools, and Costa finds out what goes into maintaining an iconic Sydney landscape.
Gardening Australia has always provided practical, trustworthy and credible gardening advice to inspire and entertain. Inspiring, entertaining and full of practical advice, join Costa Georgiadis and the team as they unearth gardening ideas, meet avid gardeners and look at some of the most inspiring gardens from across the country.
Gardening Australia episode 1 2021
Job with a View
Costa takes a wander along Sydney’s iconic Bondi to Bronte walk with the gardening team who keep it in tip top shape. Created in the 1930s, the famous coastal walk sits above the beautiful beaches of Bondi, Tamarama, Bronte and further up to Coogee. Along the walk are well-kept gardens and native vegetation, maintained by a crew of council gardeners including Carissa Lambert and Ilin Shaool. Costa joined the pair for a day of planting, weeding, and pruning and takes in the stunning views.
Carissa “I thought gardening was one of those things you did when you retired, but I understand why people do it because it’s so relaxing and it’s enjoyable and I’ve heard someone say once ‘gardening keeps you thinking forward’. You don’t have time to think about all the other mess that’s going on when you’re doing this job.”
There’s a lot of variety in the types of plantings, including areas with steep banks and high foot traffic where plants are chosen to help stabilise the bank such as lomandra, westringia, correa, and saltbush. These plants also have adaptations that protect them from the harsh sun and ocean salt spray. In more protected beds in the surrounding parks, they plant flowering groundcovers such as Carpet Rose and Rock Rose.
FAQS – Lumps on native plant | Herbs indoors | Pea straw and nitrogen
Jerry explores what lumps on native plants might mean, Millie sheds light on growing herbs indoors, and Josh explains if pea straw fixes nitrogen.
Watering Succulents
Sophie shares watering advice for succulents. Succulents that are growing well in the garden are unlikely to need supplementary watering if they receive rain. However, if they are growing in small pots they can easily dry out in the heat of summer. Moving them to a semi-shaded position will help but it does depend on how much rain they are getting and your climate.
Drawing on Nature – Gardening Australia episode 1 2021
Tino visits in Gardening Australia episode 1 2021 a picturesque garden masterpiece cleverly designed with an artistic touch. Susan McKinnon began her working life as a painter, a skill that’s come in handy in her current career as a garden designer. Along with a passion for perennials, Susan has created a beautiful garden of her own on a 1200m2 block north of Hobart.
“The most important thing for me in designing a garden, is the garden looks inevitable. As in it looks like the garden was always meant to be there.”
Walking through the garden feels like a journey – the intention was to not have it all exposed or viewable from one point, rather encouraging you to explore and discover and making the space feel bigger than it is. The irregular shaped lawn helps guide you between the lush beds and draws your eye to the mountain view.
Originally from Queensland, Susan had a whole new palette plants to work with and found inspiration in the more distinct seasons. “I got interested in the herbaceous perennials just by noticing plants that went through seasonal change, which I’d never really been aware of before… So, then I started to read more books and look at English magazines, because the Tasmanian climate is a lot more English style.”
Bee Scene
Jane visits a rooftop haven for honeybees that are loving the inner-city lifestyle! It’s not the first place you’d think to look, but some city bees have their home on rooftops and Jane is visiting one in the middle of Melbourne’s CBD.
“Cities are beautiful safe havens for bees. There is far less pesticide in suburbia as well as a huge amount of variety in the flora around, so the bees have a huge diverse diet.” says co-founder of Rooftop Honey, Mat Lumalasi.
Mat and Vanessa Kwiatkowski started rooftop beekeeping ten years ago and now have 135 hives spread across multiple Melbourne sites. Vanessa says, “it really is an extension of gardening – it’s what led us to bees, and concerned about pollination, connecting people to food, that’s why we started what we were doing.”
The right site for bees should give them morning sun but protect them from wind corridors and afternoon sun. They also need a water source, both for drinking as well as for evaporative cooling of the hive.
Water-loving Natives – Gardening Australia episode 1 2021
Clarence creates a wetland wonder with water loving native plants.
It’s a popular myth that native plants are all drought tolerant that love the searing sunlight. But that’s not the case – there are thousands of native Australian plant species that have adapted to different niches, including damp, boggy wetlands.These plants are naturally adapted to high levels of water and shade. If you have a spot like this in your garden, such as a pond, dam or even a bird bath, there are some great native plant options.
You can also create a mini wetland in pots. Clarence uses a mix of coir peat, charcoal, and potting mix in a pot without drainage to keep the water in.
Rules for Tools – Choosing Gardening Tools – Gardening Australia episode 1 2021
Millie shares garden tool wisdom to help you make the right selection.
Common Grounds
Josh visits a remarkable kitchen garden designed to supply a restaurant load of fresh produce.
Fair Trade
Jerry profiles plants that can over-produce fruit and vegetables and shows how to share the abundance.
My Garden Path – Richard Mills
We meet renowned conductor and Artistic Director of the Victorian Opera, Richard Mills, who has a lifelong passion for growing orchids.
