Gardening Australia episode 24 2023 – Jane and Costa, two avid garden enthusiasts, find themselves captivated by the picturesque beauty of the Heide Museum gardens. As they meander through the pathways, every corner reveals a new botanical marvel, allowing them to bask in the serenity and artistry of nature. While they indulge in this verdant paradise, Tammy, with her innate curiosity for rare flora, ventures into an exclusive plant nursery. Here, she uncovers a treasure trove of unique species, each with its own story and origin, waiting to be discovered by passionate horticulturists.
In another part of the city, Sophie immerses herself in the radiant allure of a kitchen garden bursting with colors. The garden, a testament to the harmonious blend of utility and aesthetics, showcases a diverse range of edible plants, herbs, and flowers. Their vivid colors, tantalizing aromas, and the promise of fresh, organic produce make this space a haven for both the gardener and the gourmet.
Elsewhere, Josh, a seasoned botanist, is diligently tending to native plants. With a gentle hand and sharp eye, he employs his expert pruning techniques, ensuring each plant thrives and flourishes. His deep knowledge and appreciation for native species ensure they remain resilient and vibrant, playing their role in the ecosystem.
To culminate this series of delightful garden tales, we encounter a masterful floral designer. This artist, deeply rooted in tradition, specializes in the intricate and mesmerizing Japanese art of ikebana. Through deliberate placements and thoughtful design, they craft floral arrangements that transcend mere decoration, elevating them to a form of meditative art that speaks volumes of the harmony between man, nature, and spirit.
Gardening Australia episode 24 2023 – A Garden Journey Through Nature’s Wonders
Step into the verdant world of Gardening Australia’s episode 24. Jane and Costa wander through the exquisite gardens of the Heide Museum, inhaling the fragrance of spring blossoms. Tammy unearths stories from a unique plant nursery brimming with marvels. Sophie indulges her senses in a riotously colorful kitchen garden. Josh shares his expertise on pruning Australian natives. And we peek into the meditative art of ikebana flower arranging.
This episode is a garden journey through nature’s wonders.
Tranquil Wanderings at Heide Museum
Strolling through the gardens of the Heide Museum of Modern Art is like entering a sanctuary. Towering gums stand sentinel as Jane and Costa meander along dirt paths lined with flowers. Bee balm, lavender asters, and goldenrod bob their cheerful heads in the breeze. The mustard-hued tips of weeping grass flutter beside weathered sculptures. It’s a living museum where art and nature entwine.
Heide began as a dairy farm and market garden in 1934. Art patrons John and Sunday Reed envisioned it as a haven for emerging modernist artists like Sidney Nolan and Albert Tucker. Sunday adored gardening and planted swathes of irises along with kitchen gardens to indulge her vegetarian diet. John dotingly added trees, including the towering 500-year-old gum that still spreads its branches over Heide today.
The Reeds created a place for creatives to find both inspiration and respite. Costa chats with head gardener Dave Murphy about Heide’s evolution. Once neglected, the gardens are now painstakingly restored in consultation with the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of the land.
Costa connects with Wurundjeri elder Uncle Dave Wandin near a healing garden where designer Liz Herbert honors Sunday Reed’s memory. Mounded beds of herbs and flowers resemble the original kitchen garden. The sky-blue color Sunday loved accents forget-me-nots she planted decades ago. Indigenous plants edge the Yarra River, part of the Yaluk Langa revegetation project. Uncle Dave describes reawakening Indigenous practices so people can experience Heide’s Aboriginal heritage.
Tranquility emanates from Heide’s gardens, art, and history. Jane and Costa’s meandering journey models how to wander through nature mindfully, as if in meditation.
A Nursery Brimming With Nature’s Marvels
Tammy ventures to a family-run nursery near Sydney brimming with marvels from all corners of the world. Charles and Clayton Harland tend venerable dragon trees and South African bulbs alongside ancient hippeastrum from Brazil. This cornucopia reflects four generations of plant passions.
The Harlands’ appreciation of unusual plants grew from Charles’ grandparents, who cultivated acres of cacti. Cacti gave way to fruit orchards that eventually yielded to the nursery. Tammy spies the majestic 60-year-old dragon tree Charles’ grandparents planted, its branches spreading like a grandfather surveying his progeny.
Clayton shares his favorite oddities like the corky stems of dragon trees and alien curlicues of South African Aloe. The next generation shares this fascination too. Clayton’s 12-year-old daughter Cora dotes on her cactus collection, especially a Mammillaria with hooked “fishhook” spines.
The Harlands’ nursery brims with marvels from near and far. Tammy sees the generations’ shared passions living on through their stewardship of fascinating specimens collected across decades. It is a living legacy.
A Kitchen Garden’s Riot of Colors and Scents
Some gardens dazzle the senses with color, scents, shapes, and tastes. Sophie explores one such riotous patch – Marga’s kitchen garden in suburban Adelaide. This small space bursts with treasures – scarlet bottlebrush trees, jujube heavy with amber fruit, and unruly mangoes. Sophie gasps over rare finds like acerola cherry. Each fruit holds a vitamin C bonanza.
This edible cornucopia mirrors Marga’s decades as a chef and lifelong passion for food. Fresh herbs season every meal from Marga’s 50 varieties, including lovage that smells of Maggi stock cubes. Marga plucks anise hyssop leaves to show their powers as a mouth freshener. She chops them into salads to lend licorice zest.
Sophie indulges in Marga’s garden, inhaling scents as she brushes herbs and crushes berries. This garden feeds body and spirit. Its riches overflow, shared with neighbors who also harvest herbs and fruit. Sophie sees a core sample of one gardener’s soul in this kitchen garden’s dazzling hues and spice cabinet scents. It nurtures community along with plants.
Expert Tips on Pruning Australian Natives
Australian native plants thrive untamed in the wild, so do we really need to prune them in our gardens? Josh and horticulturist Chelsea Payne demonstrate why and how to trim natives. Chelsea explains that while no intervention is needed in bushland, pruning helps garden plants hold their shape and remain vigorous.
It’s less about hacking plants into submission than honoring their natural forms. Josh watches Chelsea prune a Chamelaucium’s stray branch to enhance its inherent beauty. She stresses starting slowly and sparingly, removing no more than a third. Native shrubs like grevillea rebound rapidly from hard pruning. Even trees with lignotubers that allow regrowth can be lopped back to the trunk.
Chelsea shares ideal tools for fine pruning – clean, sharp secateurs and high-quality handsaws that prevent torn stems. Safety eyewear, gloves, and sanitizing gear guard against harm to people and plants. Thoughtful pruning keeps natives healthy while revealing their graceful character. Josh learns hands-on tips to help native plants flourish on their own terms.
The Japanese Art of Ikebana Flower Arranging
The meditative art of ikebana exemplifies a Japanese reverence for nature. Ikebana master Shoso Shimbo creates living sculptures using elements from his garden. He distills plants’ energy into asymmetrical arrangements evoking the universe’s harmony.
Shoso discovered ikebana when asked about Japanese culture after moving from Japan to Australia for studies. His art reflects a lifelong fascination with beauty and nature kindled while growing up on his family’s mountain farm. Ikebana once showcased 16th-century samurais’ power and wealth through lavish installations. Shoso prefers restrained arrangements emphasizing negative space and imperfect asymmetry.
His contemplative approach resonates through his diminutive Kyoto-style garden, featuring pruned maples, stone lanterns, and water basins. Every detail promotes meditation. Shoso believes deeply that gardens and ikebana reflect nature’s essence when created with presence. His garden and art represent meditations mirroring nature’s harmony.
Conclusion
Meandering through Heide Museum’s living artworks, marveling at a family nursery’s living collection, inhaling a riotous kitchen garden’s vivid scents – this episode of Gardening Australia feeds body and spirit. Lush gardens bloom but so do insights. We glimpse the cultural riches within Ikebana’s contemplative art. Experts decode pruning’s nuances so Australian natives thrive untrammeled.
Most of all, we reconnect with nature’s gifts by savoring gardens’ diverse delights. Their beauty restores our senses, their colors and textures inspire, and their scents awaken memories. Amid spring’s daily bustle, we pause, look, listen, inhale. For a moment we inhabit a simpler space – open, attentive, immersed in nature’s grace notes all around us. Gardens model mindfulness, bringing tranquility within reach. We need only stretch out our hands to touch it.
FAQ
What is Gardening Australia?
Gardening Australia is a popular ABC television program focused on gardening. It provides expert tips, practical demonstrations, and stories about gardens and gardening in Australia. The show has been airing since 1990.
When does the new 2023 season of Gardening Australia air?
The 2023 season of Gardening Australia premiered on January 28, 2023. New episodes air on ABC TV on Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, with repeats on Sunday afternoons. Episodes can also be viewed online via HDclump.com.
What are some highlights of Gardening Australia episode 24?
Episode 24 features segments on the gardens at the Heide Museum of Modern Art, a family-run nursery near Sydney, an edible kitchen garden in Adelaide, tips on pruning Australian native plants, and a look at the Japanese art of ikebana flower arranging.
Who are the presenters on Gardening Australia?
The presenters for the 2023 season include Costa Georgiadis (host), Josh Byrne, Sophie Thomson, Tammy Woodrow, and Jane Edmanson. Other regulars include Jerry Coleby-Williams and Millie Ross.
Where can I find more information about plants featured on Gardening Australia?
The Gardening Australia website has a dedicated “Plants” section with profiles of many plants featured on the TV show over the years. This includes growing guides with tips on propagation, cultivation, and care. The site also links to nurseries where plants can be purchased.
