Follow these tips to avoid beginner gardener mistakes | Gardening 101 | Gardening Australia

ONE - Gardening is not a race!

There is no beginning or end to the garden path, you can jump onto it, at any time and develop your knowledge and skills as little or as much as you like. Even after decades in the garden, there are new things to learn and new plants to perfect, it is one of the great joys of doing it.

A great way to get your basic skills underway is in the productive garden. Growing a little food can help you understand the foundational skills required for growing almost anything. Even to grow something as simple as lettuce, you will need to master some fundamentals.

You will need to investigate and understand your soil – the key to every garden.

TWO - Plants want to live

One big tip for new players is not to put too much pressure on yourself. Plants want to live; they were growing, flowering, and fruiting before we got involved so in most cases, they will work with you! If you can provide the basics, the chance of success is good.

A plant label will give you some information about a species or cultivar, its ultimate height or form, a basic soil preference, and whether it wants sun, shade, or something in the middle. But it is always worth digging a little deeper. Learning where a plant occurs in nature and its natural conditions can help you to recreate them in the garden.

Millie is growing climbing nasturtium Tropaeolum tricolour. While it is related to the warm climate annual nasturtiums many would be family with, it is a completely different plant. It comes from high altitude parts of Bolivia & Chile. They grow and flower through the cooler months, dying back to their tuber to survive the long dry summer. You can easily mimic these dry, summer conditions in a pot. Stop watering completely in summer and if it’s wet, tip the pot over to stop the rain getting in. A simple solution to successfully grow an exotic beauty.

THREE - They will also die!

Killing things is one of the greatest gifts of garden-learning, and everyone does it. The professionals kill more than most, but that is where all the learning is.

Millie planted some Leptospermum ‘Burgundy’ in a cool season potted display, and some into the garden, about 12 months ago. She is also growing another similar cultivar of tea-tree, ‘Copper Glow’. While they both grow strongly in the warmer months, the ‘Burgundy’ got cooked by the cold weather. In the pot, the tips all burned, while in the garden where it was even more exposed, the whole plant was destroyed. By losing these plants, Millie learned the hardier cultivar for the climate.

FOUR - It is OK to change your mind.

Admitting you were wrong is tricky in many parts of life and in the garden, it can be gut-wrenching! A few years ago, Millie undertook a big veggie garden renovation, excavating the soil and installing a geotextile fabric barrier underneath. It was an attempt to stop the adjacent elm tree roots from invading and competing with the vegies for water and nutrients. For the first year, it worked well with the vegies growing strongly, but after a few years, smaller feeder roots have made their way in. This took lots of work and utilised a high-quality, UV-stable product, made from recycled material, but ultimate it hasn’t done the job. Coupled with Millie’s changing feelings about such a high-tech, synthetic intervention – it’s time to admit she was wrong and find another solution.

FIVE - Push your luck

Even after 25 years as a professional gardener, Millie still regularly pushes her luck! Once you learn the rules, it is always worth experimenting and even breaking them.

Featured Plants:
CHILEAN NASTURTIUM - Tropaeolum tricolor
2020
TEA TREE ‘BURGUNDY’ - Leptospermum morrisonii cv.
TEA TREE ‘COPPER GLOW’ - Leptospermum polygalifolium cv.
2018
WOLGAN SNOW GUM - Eucalyptus gregsoniana

Filmed on Taungurung Country, in Central Victoria
___________________________________________

Gardening Australia is an ABC TV program providing gardening know-how and inspiration. Presented by Australia's leading horticultural experts, Gardening Australia is a valuable resource to all gardeners through the television program, the magazine, books, DVDs and extensive online content.

___________________________________________

[dannyryan]

Been watching Gardening Australia for decades since 1990. Always something new to learn and something to surprise me.

[danamckerrow]

"It's ok to change your mind" - thank you! I have been grappling with this; I spent months planning and constructing a garden bed and now, 75% in, I am not enjoying the design and underestimated the amount of maintenance - the plants know this and do not thrive :-( Aaaargh...so much time $$$ and effort! However, after listening to this episode, I feel ok about accepting the learnings and start again ☆☆☆☆☆

[katherineallsopp]

I really enjoyed the flashbacks and how projects didn't work out. So useful as a beginner to see this, and to see how to pivot and learn from it. Great vid!!

[tristansavery]

As a somewhat beginner at 36 and currently building my first house in Perth’s bushland, I find I just get quite overwhelmed once I start reading just how much there is to know 😅! But nothing beats skipping the books and getting your fingers dirty and running with that “luck”.
Great video Millie.
Any chance you guys could do one on propagating WA natives? I’m still not having much luck 😆

[KlayDoppar]

Great video (from a beginner), very encouraging

[ronaldkoh]

Love the way you rattle through all those tips. Great show, many thanks.

[VladAuTravel]

Great video! Very encouraging! Thanks!

[robjacobs]

Yes great advice as usual. You have good years and then bad years. This year red spider mite ruined my potatoes and tomatoes and now battling with white butterflies and their destructive eggs on my Broccoli. Out with the oil/detergent spray and almost back on an even playing field and gardening is enjoyable and keeps me going.

[mexicoify]

Tubs Millie...tubs along the edge of the drive way there. I have a morning glory infestation and another weird creeper that comes from huge brown tubers under the ground. In 29 years I have not been able to eradicate them. About 5 years ago I found some huge tubs at Cheap as Chips and now I can control the quality of the dirt inside them...and my gardening has improved 100 fold.

[prubroughton]

i have always said eyes before hands in garden you can nip pests in the bud before they become a plague and where a plant does best

[khakicam]

Great tips as usual. I'd say that for beginners, some money spent on design advice re site limitations and overall structure will pay off in plant survival and reduced heartache over the years. ~10 dead 6"pots = 2hrs of expert observations

[hmck]

Thanks Millie. Another Excellent video.

[mistybirdbush]

Love this video, the good & the bad is important to show! Thank you @gardeningaustralia

[lesliedevlin]

Great show people 💯💯💯👍👍👍👀👀👀 Les from Perth

[PurplePinkRed]

As someone with ADHD, I struggle with patience and pressurising myself. Thank you for putting a positive message out there for beginners 😊

[billygibson]

Gardening Australia must be fairer to people who don't normally garden of fruit vegetables tomato

[tasripahtasripah]

Saya mau kerja di australia bagian gardener

[frunomaol]

Go hiontach ar fad, go raibh míle maith agat.