Quandong Garden
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Episode: 21 (15 September 2007)
City Beach, near Perth, is one of the dress circle suburbs nestled as the name suggests close to the ocean. There is one garden that stands out from the formal and cultivated types in the area because it attempts to use local area natives to create a marvellous water-wise example.
Like many things with a real Australian theme it has copped a moniker, a sort of nickname, of the ‘Quandong Garden’. The reason is that it is surrounded with a small forest of the trees called native peach or sweet Quandong.
The plant is a real curiosity being a parasitic plant that draws sustenance from other trees that are adjacent such as wattles and she-oaks. The fruits are ripe when a bright red colour and the flavour varies from sweet to not. You can make jams jellies, pies and chutneys from the fleshy thin layer that surrounds the seed. Inside the shell is a tasty and nutritious nut that is so rich in oil that it can be burned like a candle nut.
These trees grow right down by the sea and are important in bush tucker farms as well as revegetation schemes. They are classed as recalcitrant as they are difficult to germinate and tricky to grow. Garden owner Jenny Holder has successfully cracked the code and now grows hundreds for schools and parkland revegetation at her home.
Seeds are laid on a bed of native potting mix and then covered with a blanket of shade-cloth filled with wet newspaper. This keeps the bed cool a dark and moist just the sort of condition she observed in nature to get the best results. Introducing earthworms into the potting mix was a masterstroke as they don’t eat the seeds but do improve the fertility of the soil plus they keep fungal pest totally under control. Once seeds have split and sprouted then they are potted up together with a small host plant such as a local wattle.
The ‘Quandong Garden’ contains a host of other Aussie coastal treasures including Guichenotia which has pretty mauve bells and the dazzling winter blooming Cockies tongue, which both just love the sandy soil. The garden is also home to the original Dianella revoluta, Mum of the famous indestructible ‘Little Rev’.
This 40 year old Aussie native garden offers real inspiration for new gardeners because conditions so close to the beach are pretty tough. After a short season of watering to establish a root system the only source of water here is rain.
You can view this totally organic, Aussie native, 40 year old coastal garden under Australia’s Open Garden Scheme on the 22 and 23rd of September.
The Garden:
The Quandong Garden
2 Adina Rd,
City Beach WA
The Plants:
Native Peach or Sweet Quandong (Santalum acuminatum)
Guichenotia ledifolia
Cockies’ Tongue (Templetonia retusa)
Little Rev (Dianella revoluta)
Episode: 21 (15 September 2007)
City Beach, near Perth, is one of the dress circle suburbs nestled as the name suggests close to the ocean. There is one garden that stands out from the formal and cultivated types in the area because it attempts to use local area natives to create a marvellous water-wise example.
Like many things with a real Australian theme it has copped a moniker, a sort of nickname, of the ‘Quandong Garden’. The reason is that it is surrounded with a small forest of the trees called native peach or sweet Quandong.
The plant is a real curiosity being a parasitic plant that draws sustenance from other trees that are adjacent such as wattles and she-oaks. The fruits are ripe when a bright red colour and the flavour varies from sweet to not. You can make jams jellies, pies and chutneys from the fleshy thin layer that surrounds the seed. Inside the shell is a tasty and nutritious nut that is so rich in oil that it can be burned like a candle nut.
These trees grow right down by the sea and are important in bush tucker farms as well as revegetation schemes. They are classed as recalcitrant as they are difficult to germinate and tricky to grow. Garden owner Jenny Holder has successfully cracked the code and now grows hundreds for schools and parkland revegetation at her home.
Seeds are laid on a bed of native potting mix and then covered with a blanket of shade-cloth filled with wet newspaper. This keeps the bed cool a dark and moist just the sort of condition she observed in nature to get the best results. Introducing earthworms into the potting mix was a masterstroke as they don’t eat the seeds but do improve the fertility of the soil plus they keep fungal pest totally under control. Once seeds have split and sprouted then they are potted up together with a small host plant such as a local wattle.
The ‘Quandong Garden’ contains a host of other Aussie coastal treasures including Guichenotia which has pretty mauve bells and the dazzling winter blooming Cockies tongue, which both just love the sandy soil. The garden is also home to the original Dianella revoluta, Mum of the famous indestructible ‘Little Rev’.
This 40 year old Aussie native garden offers real inspiration for new gardeners because conditions so close to the beach are pretty tough. After a short season of watering to establish a root system the only source of water here is rain.
You can view this totally organic, Aussie native, 40 year old coastal garden under Australia’s Open Garden Scheme on the 22 and 23rd of September.
The Garden:
The Quandong Garden
2 Adina Rd,
City Beach WA
The Plants:
Native Peach or Sweet Quandong (Santalum acuminatum)
Guichenotia ledifolia
Cockies’ Tongue (Templetonia retusa)
Little Rev (Dianella revoluta)
AS SEEN ON 
