Episode: #3 16/09/2006
Presenter: Melissa King

Dr Chris Brown certainly knows how to talk to the animals. Melissa visits his garden to see if he has the same gift with his plants.

There are quite a few things that can be done in his garden. Chris has chooks in his yard so Melissa will have to consider them in the design and the plants that she uses in his garden. His chickens cause a bit of havoc by digging up the yard and push out all the dirt from the garden beds. Melissa suggests big pebbles that act as a mulch and the chickens are unable to push them out.

Chris has a challenging little corner because of the shade and it is under the eaves so it receives no rainfall so it is a really dry shaded area. Melissa has the answer and suggests planting Kafir Lily (Clivea miniata) as it is one of the few plants that flowers and does really well in dry shade. It is a good idea to add in some soil conditioner to enrich the soil and hold moisture. Once they have been planted it is time to add the pebble mulch.

Containers are another good option to keep the chooks out. Chris believes that the chooks will give it a go and Melissa expects Chris to talk to his plants like he does his animals. Melissa has a great glazed pot filled with a quality potting mix such as Yates Thrive Premium Potting Mix that contains a wetting agent and water storage granules. In the pot Melissa plants up an Agonis After Dark (Agonis flexuosa ?After Dark?). The foliage looks good all year round and in spring and summer you get flushes of claret coloured growth and through the winter time it is a deep burgundy colour.

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