One of the best things about working for Gardening Australia
is occasionally you get to visit your mates for work.
And today I'm at the home
of one of Australia's most creative and, I think, inspiring gardeners.
He's my friend and yours, Steven Wells.
(PEACEFUL MUSIC)
STEVEN: The park level is a good example
of how nature was integrated into this design.
Steven was a guest presenter on Gardening Australia
with stories that highlighted
gardens as places of interactive fun...
Go, boatie! (LAUGHS)
..but also for healing and recuperation.
What do you get out of the program?
On top of this busy work life,
Steven has also managed to create his own incredible garden
that's tucked away in the Melbourne suburb of Montmorency.
Steven, it has been so long since I've visited,
and, as always, lots of change.
It has been a while, and in that time,
we've done a whole lot of different things.
It's the little front courtyard.
I really wanted to have a nice little welcoming space.
Once that gate's closed,
I'm now in my little world
and I can just immerse myself in my own little sanctuary.
Like, literally you're surrounding yourself with plants.
I mulled over a lot of different options.
As a gardener, there's a multitude of plants I'd love to use,
but really chose evergreens here
because I wanted it, for 12 months, to have this nice green outlook,
whether it's windy, whether it's hot, whether it's raining,
I can look out and feel that
it's just a nice lush, verdant spot for me in this little courtyard.
There's so much to look at here,
but it is actually only the entrance court,
so I think we better keep checking out the garden.
Let's go for a wander.
(RELAXING MUSIC)
Steven, this is an iconic part of your garden.
Tell me a little bit about the red pod.
For me it was about creating that essence of privacy in the space.
It's a little nook.
I deliberately created this so that I can both sit in it
but I also fit in it if I'm lying down.
It's something that's so intentional and specific about your garden.
I mean, this is a busy place.
I can hear construction going, there's trucks whizzing past,
but you really try to create a garden that is respite for you.
Absolutely.
That is a very important aspect, you know?
We all work busy lives, various things,
and I work in health care,
so that has its challenges.
And, you know, the last two years have been even more so
for health care settings and aged care settings as well.
So, you know, there's a lot of pressures and stress for staff
in that.
I love the analogy of the bucket, you know?
When you're giving and you're putting out to other people
and supporting other people, whatever that may be,
you're emptying the bucket,
and you can't just keep emptying the bucket.
At some point you've got to stop and go,
"How do I fill my bucket back up?"
It's different for different people.
Some people get out and do things out and about,
others, it's about retreating
and having a garden to immerse themselves in,
just, you know, fully get into that.
I love the way you've designed the whole garden
into different sections.
I mean it's...it's not big,
but it feels like you've got all these different spaces.
Yeah, I think that's the creative use
of dividing with different types of screens,
living screens like the muehlenbeckia there...
Yeah.
..but then some solid timber screens that help just...
Some divide the space up
so you feel there's an end,
but also then some have different heights,
so then you actually feel more enclosed
but they also then create a spot behind some of them too.
This is the gathering outdoor space
where I can catch up with friends, and it's a table that's big enough
to have six, eight people around comfortably.
I love the more rustic style of construction. (LAUGHS)
Flat black steel and sleepers. You've made that yourself.
Pretty much, yes.
There's some pots of succulents and cacti here that I really love,
but that bench that's there is about showcasing some of those.
The fan aloe is just a beautiful structural plant,
and I love them.
As you'll see, I've probably done plant collections
with pots that let them be their own hero in their own pot.
They are subtly repeated, aren't they?
Like, there's a few individuals,
but they're kind of tied together
by reusing beautiful old terracotta pots.
Yeah. So good for succulents.
And then also just repeating a few of those real hero species.
Correct, and I think you've probably hit the nail on the head there
in regards to how this becomes a bit more cohesive.
So there's these different zones that I've got in the garden,
but there's a flow-through of plant species
and/or foliage tones that tie it all together.
I love this. Busy gardeners, no time for stairs.
Let's go down the quick way.
(DYNAMIC PERCUSSIVE MUSIC)
Whoo-hoo!
You travel a couple of metres
and it feels like you've gone to a whole new garden.
It's so shaded and secluded down here,
cooler, moister,
and there's a whole different range of plant species.
Absolutely, so things like the abutilon here
is a great one for this spot.
It's a nice shady...
Little bit of sun, but it does love the shade down here.
And you can really hack 'em back, let 'em be big, small,
they're such a great plant.
You'll also see under here things like some of the plumbago.
It doesn't flower as much down here because of the shade,
but it gives me the green substance.
And again you've used this bamboo.
You've used this a lot in the garden.
I have.
It's been a really good conscious process of working out why.
For me it's about a tall, narrow, upright aspect,
lush green,
but it's in privacy zones.
So I've got them here in the lower section,
in between the ornamental pears here,
so that when they're deciduous and have dropped all their leaves
then the bamboos will be...
what will be the green element in the space.
And yet again, another spot to sit.
And it's a nice little secluded, tucked-in spot.
(RELAXING MUSIC)
I love this.
It's a garden with everything. You've even put in a pool.
(LAUGHS) Well, yes, it's my mini-pool.
It's so good.
But it's...it's pretty private, like, people can't see you in here.
That's exactly the case. This is my little nook.
Tucked away, making use of the...
It's a narrow spot here. Yeah.
And it was just a little perfect nook to put a bath.
I lie there and I look back that way,
looking up at the tree, hear the birds chattering in the evening,
thinking this is a wonderful spot to be.
Where else would you want to be?
Whether it's providing some respite
from his busy career caring for others
or just for the sheer fun of being outside,
Steven's garden manages to pack a lot into a small space.
For me it's part of who I am.
I need to be connected or in my garden daily.