Our gardening expert Patrick Honan has been writing for us for a few months now and has been a great hit with readers.
Patrick is a senior researcher with the long-running Gardening Australia and we thought it was time to put him under the grill to find out all about his love of gardening and some of his favourite gardening tips. Our fave tip? Patrick wants us to get used to killing plants.
Let’s hear from Patrick …
What got you into gardening?
I’ve always been interested in the natural world, and gardening was a way to get actively involved in that. As a kid I was always catching snails and caterpillars and things, and eventually made the link that plants are the underpinning of all that. Plants can change the world around us, and that’s something I find hard to resist. It’s become a career and a skillset, so I’m lucky.
What’s your favourite public garden?
It’s hard to pick one so I’ll split the difference and pick two, both in Melbourne. Rippon Lea estate is a historic home and garden in the suburb of Ripponlea and it’s everything I love about Melbourne’s heritage gardening culture. There are sprawling grounds, old trees, an apple orchard and a windmill, an ornamental lake and a stone grotto. For me the highlight is the huge, outside timber slatted fernery. The whole thing has this feeling of being in its own world, and a moment of peace from the frantic modern world outside.
The second is the Australian Garden at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens. Australia still has a long way to go in fully embracing our native flora, and this garden leads the charge. I worked there for a short time and it’s really interesting to see a botanic garden in its infancy. Some of the plants there will live for hundreds of years!
What’s the best gardening advice you were given?
Look around at what’s growing well in your area, and use that as inspiration. A lot of plant recommendation advice is a bit “one size fits all”, but your place can be a very different climate or soil type from even one suburb over. So, on your next walk around the neighbourhood keep your eyes open and take notes on what’s working for other people or what looks good to you, and go from there.
What’s the best gardening advice you would give to others?
The first is to use old newspaper or a paper bag to line the bottom of your kitchen compost caddy. It doesn’t sound groundbreaking by any means but it helps to keep it cleaner between taking it to the bin outside by stopping stuff getting stuck, and that makes it a lot easier to get the rest of the household on board.
The second is to get used to the idea of killing plants. Beginner gardeners often have this fixation on avoiding plants dying or having a “black thumb”. Obviously we want our plants to grow and thrive but it doesn’t always end up that way, and that’s okay. Sometimes it’s not even your fault. It shouldn’t hold you back in any way, or dampen your enthusiasm. The reality is I’ve killed hundreds of plants and it doesn’t diminish my gardening ability, rather it’s a badge of honour that means I’ve learnt a lot along the way. Production nurseries who spend a lot of money on making sure everything is perfectly catered to the plants requirements still kill thousands of plants!
What’s your favourite plant?
I like austrostipa stipoides or coastal speargrass. It’s native to coastal southern australia, a beautiful bronze colour and very tough. It reminds me of the beach and has this beautiful way it sways in the wind when planted en masse.
Goodenia ovata (hop goodenia) is another favourite, a fairly low-fuss shrub that is a favourite with invertebrates and the birds that eat them.
What’s your favourite gardening activity and why?
I worked in propagation nurseries for a long time so I’ve got a soft spot for that; seed sowing, taking cuttings, maintaining potted plants.
Weeding is a bit of a love/hate; it is something I put off but there is a pleasure in locking in and zoning out to the methodical nature of it. And it’s pretty satisfying when you step back and look at it.
Do you do any volunteering?
Community environmental volunteering is something that’s really important to me. I’ve worked in community environmental groups before so I know the impact volunteers can have on their local environment. I’m currently on the community representative committee for Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve as an environmental expert, which is a public open space and nature conservation park in Melbourne.
What’s the best gardening tip you have ever received? Why not share it in the comments section below?
Also read: Seed sowing for beginners
