Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
GARDEN TIPS FOR YOU
1 THE GARDEN PATHS
Turn a way to get from A to B into a pleasant meander. The grounds at Belmore High have three gardens that link one part of the school to another and had a purely functional role. The students have turned the ugly, neglected links into attractive environments for birds, animals and insects – and them! You can do the same and line your paths with very tactile milkwort (Polygala myrtifolia) that brushes softly against your skin as you pass by. Wattles and lomandra grasses are beautiful, and will germinate from seeds fallen from mature plants. See if you can get bark mulch free from a local arborist as the boys did. And add found objects among the plants as garden art.
2 JARDIN DEL SOL
Got a truckload of cacti or succulents and are unsure where to put them? Think of Mexico and famed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s vibrant colours. She was the inspiration of this riot of a rooftop courtyard where the plants – donated by a man who unwillingly inherited his mother’s vast collection and delivered them all to the school in his ute bounce off lime-green and cobalt-blue walls or outdoor furniture.
3 THE RAINFOREST
Trees with huge canopies make it hard for you to grow anything under them. Well, the boys have a solution for you. Thriving under their trees are variegated corn plants (Dracaena fragrans), taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza), flaming torch bromeliads (Billbergia pyramidalis) and a young loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) that will become part of the school’s food forest.
4 THE WILD COURTYARD
Concrete or paving can look utilitarian and harsh. The students have softened their practical quadrangle shaded by plane trees with a wild garden on one side along a building, where they have put in plants that thrive on neglect – sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), wattles, aloe, agave and pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli).
5 THE CHOOK HOUSE
Give your garden a boost with chooks. They give you fresh eggs and free manure, plus if you put them in a chook tractor you can move them around the garden to eat insects. And they make great pets for you or the kids, as they don’t need walking and can be quite affectionate!
6 URBAN FOOD FOREST
Learn the art of patience and the joy of eating homegrown with a vegie patch. The students grow vegetables from seed and seedlings for food they can harvest and cook. The waste is composted into rich organic material or given to the chooks.
7 THE WETLANDS
If you have sloping ground, you know how lower levels collect rain run-off. You can channel the water with logs and stumps to create a bog garden. Try kidney weed (Dichondra repens) as a groundcover, and purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum rubrum) and society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) to stabilise the soil and hold the water.
bottom row
LEFT You can grow curry, olive, citrus and fig trees in old-fashioned Aussie metal rubbish bins to give your cooking international flavour. MIDDLE Group your succulents together for a lush effect.