Design Elements

with Christopher Owen landscape designer.

The inaugural Australian Garden show, showcased quite a few less garden designers than you would’ve seen at Chelsea.
As I mentioned last week, compared to garden shows in the UK, the Australian garden show has plenty of room to grow.
But, there were some very different designs that were none traditional and more inventive than those that I saw at Chelsea this year.
I spoke to some of the garden designers to see what inspired their designs.
Here’s a landscape designer from Sydney
Firstly I must apologize for the wind noise because the interview was done at the actual location. Listen to these inspiring thoughts


Grasses can be a wonderful addition to your garden if you plant a clump of them. The grasses not only add colour but texture and sound.

Tall grasses in a large grouping can be a perfect solution for screening an unpleasant view and they soften hardscaping like around a pool.

Plus the sound of rustling grass can be therapeutic or calming,

If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it our email address, or just post it.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation

REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK

The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Spice it Up

with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au

Is Cardamom one of the spices in your cupboard?

If not have you ever wondered how to use cardamom?

Did you know that Cardamom is used in Indian, Middle Eastern and even Scandinavian cooking? The Scandinavians use Cardamom in baking.

Listen to this.

PLAY Cardamom_9th October_2013

For those living in warmer climates, you can grow your own Cardamom. Cardamom is a perennial shrub up to four metres high with very long leaves.

The flowers are small, yellow with purple tips.

As Ian suggests, if you only want a pinch of Cardamom, use the pre-ground spice.
The flavour is less strong, but cracking open the pods, scraping out the seeds, and grinding them up can be a pain when we need more than a pinch of the spice.
If you have any questions about Cardamom, or any spice or herb, why not drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return..

Is Cardamom one of the spices in your cupboard? If not have you ever wondered how to use cardamom? Did you know that Cardamom is used in Indian, Middle Eastern and even Scandinavian cooking? The Scandinavians use Cardamom in baking.

For those living in warmer climates, you can grow your own Cardamom. Cardamom is a perennial shrub up to four metres high with very long leaves. The flowers are small, yellow with purple tips. As Ian suggests, if you only want a pinch of Cardamom, use the pre-ground spice. The flavour is less strong, but cracking open the pods, scraping out the seeds, and grinding them up can be a pain when we need more than a pinch of the spice. If you have any questions about Cardamom, or any spice or herb, why not drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return..

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Wildlife in Focus

Living Planet

with Sophie Golding
It’s great to have all kinds of creatures visit your garden. You put out those buts of white bread for the maggies, or those seed bells for the cockatoos.What’s wrong with that? Animals that expect to be fed by people can become aggressive, harassing people for food when they are hungry.The Ibis at the Botanic gardens where I work, are an example. I’m often asked by visiting why the Ibis seem to harass them.Whatever your thoughts,
 Listen to this….

The NSW department of Environment and Heritage suggests that when you feed native animals you're giving them the wildlife equivalent of junk food.
When kangaroos and wallabies become used to being hand-fed, they sometimes attack people in their quest for food. Remember, they have sharp claws and a strong kick.
Another example is in Flinders Chase on Kangaroo Island where they’ve had to put up cages around the eating tables in the national park, so people can eat in peace.
If you have any questions about this Feeding Wildlife, send it our email address, or just post it.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Wildlife in Focus

with Sue Stevens
This bird is one of Australia’s loudest and most beautiful songsters but scientists give it a most unkind name. There’s even one group on Norfolk Island that they call Tamey.
The call has been described as up to 35 loud, rapid, ringing notes without pause, or a high, thin call with a whip-crack.
Listen to this.
PLAY Golden Whistler_9th October_2013
As Sue mentioned, the Golden Whistler is found from Cooktown in North QLD to the Eyre Peninsular in the South, as well in Southern WA. This bird inhabits most kinds of dense forest, its diet consists of insects, grubs and small fruits
The Golden Whistler will visit suburban areas close to nature reserves if gardens include thick vegetation, layers of trees, shrubs and ground cover. Collecting firewood from local reserves is not a good idea if you want native birds to visit your area.
 Keep your cat in at night and give it a stimulating indoor environment and a cat run or enclosure, to minimise the threat to birds.
If you have any questions about the Golden Whistler, or have spotted it in your neighbourhood, why not send in a photo or drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return..

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Design Elements

with Louise McDaid

 Last week, Design Elements explored the structures in the Seeability garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower show.
Seems like it was an age away already!
The SeeAbility Garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower show was designed to raise awareness of eye health and the effects of sight loss. Four different sight conditions were represented conceptually through distinctive planting and hard landscaping.
This week, because the garden was so cool, Louise, is talking about the planting.
What an inspirational garden.
Listen to this….

The seeability garden represents various eye conditions that seriously affect sight.

If you want to see more of the garden other than the photos that I’ll put up on my website, go to www.seeability.org
Move your mouse over the garden image on the website to see how it might look if you had an eye condition, and find an explanation on the eye condition below it.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation

REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK

The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Compost Capers

So you’ve had problems with your worm farm or you’ve heard that they smell?

Did you know that the stuff you get out of worm farms helps your plants to grow and resist disease?

These worm castings also helps your soil hold onto water longer-that’s called water holding capacity. Yeah that goes up.

Australia’s been heating up so it’s going to a good idea to get more of that water holding capacity into your soil.

But hold, on, you’ve tried worm farming but the worms disappeared or just grew thin.

Well, don’t give up because Cameron’s got plenty of tips to fix things up.

Listen to this.

Australia is second only to the America making waste.
Each year every Australian produces around 800kg of solid waste.
In New South Wales, an average of 65% of our household rubbish is food scraps, garden waste and other organic matter.
The best way to reduce our food and garden waste is to convert it to compost.
Organic material that is deposited in a landfill breaks down in anaerobic (without air) conditions, releasing methane and carbon dioxide.
Both of these gases are major contributors to the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Good reason to keep on composting I reckon.
If you have any questions about a worm farming, need some help, why not drop us a line.
Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return.