Gardening Australia episode 32 2020

Gardening Australia episode 32 2020: For bird week, Josh Byrne shows how to help nesting birds and Millie Ross makes a birdbath. Tino Carnevale plants an olive grove and Costa Georgiadis meets a woman with some smart ways to growing vegies on her balcony.

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 32 2020

Balcony Bounty

Costa visits a Sydney gardener who has devised some smart solutions to growing vegies, despite being limited to her apartment balcony. Wendy Siu-Chew Lee has turned her fourth-floor balcony into a bountiful vegetable garden and is out to prove “there’s nothing I can’t grow up here”.

“I’ve made every mistake in the book, from planting too many things … to planting for the wrong season, planting the wrong type of plant for the situation. Keeping in mind it’s a container garden, so space is at a premium.” After 5 years Wendy now has it all figured out and goes for the plants that give “the best bang for your buck” including leafy greens, broccoli and broad beans, that are some of the most productive in the sunny,north facing site.

“Soil is everything” says Wendy, and she does everything to improve the soil – from composting with worm farms, to digging fish heads into the soil, to collecting pine needles to increase acidity for the blueberries. Wendy’s homemade compost bin is an easy-to-move, 100L wheelie bin with holes drilled in the sides for aeration, that gets filled with leaf litter. Kitchen scraps go into the worm farms along with a sprinkle of lime to reduce smell, and shredded paper, cardboard and dried leaves to add carbon. “There’s a balance of about four to one – four being the carbon, one being the greens that come out of the kitchen.”

FAQS – Agapanthus stems | Paw Paw from seed | Pea production

Tino shares his tip on maximising your crop of peas, Jerry explains how to grow pawpaw from seed, and Jane shows how to keep agapanthus tidy.

Life of Brian

Sophie visits a native-plant enthusiast whose huge wild bush garden is dedicated to Australia’s standout flowering plants. The garden sprawls over 2 hectares with every specimen single-handedly planted, and mostly propagated, by owner Brian Freeman. Brian moved to the property 19 years ago to retire, but transforming bare paddocks into a dense flowering garden isn’t the gentlest retirement plan!

The plants here are from all around Australia – any native with colourful flowers that can survive the wet, frosty winters and baking hot, dry summers makes the cut. The stunning Grass-leafed Hakea with bright flowers that fade to pink, and golden new growth, was spotted by Brian on a visit to Alice Springs and sourced for his garden.

There are many specimens from Western Australia as well such as the One-sided Bottlebrush, which Brian says is lovely even when it’s not covered in bright red flowers.

Orchid Renewal – Repotting orchids

Jane shows how to divide and rejuvenate an overcrowded potted Cymbidium orchid.

The Great Indoors – Location and Light

In the second in our series on indoor gardening, guest presenter Craig Miller-Randle shows how important location is for your indoor plants, and how to understand light and temperature from a plant’s point of view. Light is an essential ingredient for your plants, and one way to ensure they are getting the right amount indoors, is to replicate the natural environment of a forest.

Build a Bird Bath in Gardening Australia episode 32 2020

Millie builds a bird bath for her local flock and shows some simple ways to create a safe garden space for birds.

Bedding for Birds – Nesting Dispenser

Josh looks at how birds use our gardens for material to build nests and how we can give them a hand. Our gardens are an incredibly important resource for our feathered garden visitors. Shelter, food and water are easy to provide in a well-established garden, but what about nesting materials?

Birds will collect twigs, dry leaves or bark but if it is in short supply, they might start pinching from other bird’s nests or use synthetic materials that can be a hazard to them.

Brian’s Propagating Tips in Gardening Australia episode 32 2020

Brian shares his tips on propagating native plants.

Plant Profile: Red Trumpet

Jerry profiles this easy to grow evergreen perennial.

Planting the Good Oil in Gardening Australia episode 32 2020

We head back to Tino’s family farm to see the newest addition to his patch of paradise – the olive grove.

Bush Recovery

Clarence shows how people can help the bush recover after the fires by joining a volunteering group and assist in weed removal.