Presenter: Phil Dudman

We all are doing our bit to save water in the garden so Phil visits the garden of Premier Peter Beattie to see what he is doing in the garden to save water.

Peter is not the green thumb of the family so he leaves it all up to his wife Heather. They have a lot of Pentas or Egyptian Star (Pentas Ianceolata) in their garden. Pentas are a self seeding plant so in the dryer months the leaves can turn yellow but when the rain comes they will green up beautifully.

The Beattie’s are very careful with their water and they try not to water at all. They save the water from the kids’ bath and it is thrown over their balcony for it to run off into the garden.

They have a spectacular backdrop of natives such as the Bottlebrush (Callistemon Viminalis cv.) and they attract many Lorikeets. Phil is amazed at how well the palms are doing in the dry and their Golden Cane Palm (Dypsis lutescens) is looking fantastic. They planted them for some privacy and they have doubled in size in about thirteen months, which has been a very dry period.

Peter has a plan to install some tanks, two in fact, with a five thousand litre capacity that they can use for the pool and gardening. (For more information on the Queensland Government’s Home and Garden Waterwise Rebate Schemes visit www.water.qld.gov.au).

Peter and Heather are honorary members of The Garden Gurus Club that has many wonderful waterwise tips and hints. For more information on club membership please visit the website and follow the links.