Collab: With Erin The Impatient Gardener - Climate challenges in our gardens!!

This week on The Horti-Culturalists a very special collaboration with Erin of ‪@TheImpatientGardener‬ ! We had a wonderful time exploring what the key differences are in our two very different gardening climates, and how they dictate not just the how, the what and the when of our gardens, but also the philosophy of the design! In this video Erin shares with us how her climate has shaped how she gardens, her plant choices and how she structures her gardening year. And if you head over to Erin's channel ‪@TheImpatientGardener‬ here: kor01.safelinks.protection.ou...
You can see how we have to shape our gardening year to suit a very different set of climate challenges.
So MANY thanks Erin for your generosity in sharing your time with us at The Horti-Culturalists and we're looking forward to your garden bursting forth into all its action packed glory over the next few months!

[@j.m.7056]

Watched Erin's video yesterday! The three of you are my favorite KZbin gardeners! This was a fascinating discussion. I am in Tennessee, US zone 7. Friends in your country live and garden in Brisbane. Thank you for doing this collaboration!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

A pleasure and thanks for the compliment. Regards Stephen

[@sydneykasmar]

It was fun watching both videos but even more so to learn the differences in your garden experiences. Thanks!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it! Regards Stephen

[@heatherw.2751]

Hello from coastal NC! Erin is one of my absolute favorites! So cool to see y’all collaborating! I really enjoyed both videos 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Awesome! Thank you! Regards Stephen

[@maryb6065]

So interesting. The closest this Maine gardener has come to year round gardening was a short stint in Florida. I found the endless growing season a bit difficult. So many more diseases, bad bugs, endless watering. I came back to New England with a renewed appreciation for our winter, our rest.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@mellfraze8112]

Hi from California. I subscribed way back when you first started the channel because I'm always looking for different & global perspectives. Love to see you collaborating with Erin, I've been following her for quite a while too.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for subscribing and glad you liked our collaboration. Regards Stephen

[@fionaallen3794]

Hi From Geraldton WA it has been a lot hot dry summer for us. Loved this collaboration it was really interesting to see the two types of gardens I was in Melbourne in March for the Garden show and enjoyed visiting the Botanical Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens while I was in Melbourne, totally wonderful gardens

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it! Regards Stephen

[@maryellenhardy]

This was such a great pair of videos from both your channels! I so enjoy hearing your commentary on Erin's gardening, and then to hear hers on your gardening. I live in the Pacific Northwest (Washington State, north of Seattle) and my USDA zone is 8b, which is quite mild--not too many extremes in either temperature direction--but we have distinct seasonal changes. I don't think I would do too well in Australia, but my niece who lives in Queensland loves it!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching and Queensland is again a vastly different climate to ours!

[@grandmothergoose]

I'm a little surprised that there was no mention that around Erin's part of the planet greenhouses to keep plants warm and protect them from frost is common, whereas in Australia it's more common to have a shade house to keep plants cooler and protect them from sunburn. Little known fact: there's a number of reasons why the sun in Australia is harsher than in the northern hemisphere, and one of the big ones is simply that the Earth's orbit around the sun isn't a circle, it's an uneven ellipse. When it's summer here in Australia, the sun is at its closet point to Earth, and at it furthest point from Earth during the northern hemisphere summer. The difference in that distance is a smidge under 5 million kilometres, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it's enough that when added to less particulate pollution blocking the sunlight, dryer climate, less ozone, latitudes closer to the equator, and other factors, it makes the Australian sun more vicious than it is in the northern hemisphere. For this reason, many plants that can grow in full sun up there need to be grown in part shade down here.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

All good points and thanks for the thoughtful response. Regards Stephen

[@leelastarsky]

Loved this crossover episode! Thanks, guys! While I envy Erin's snow, it made me appreciate Melbourne's climate more. I love my tree ferns!! 😍

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@christinahaftmann4065]

Lovely collaboration! 💐 💐 💐

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@jcking6785]

Hi from central Kentucky, USA. Great collaboration with Erin.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!!

[@HolidayGlow]

Having grown up in Michigan near the GL (and gosh I do not miss the windchill factor, Lake effect and having to use a tractor to dig out my car and driveway every day lol) and now living in outer Melbourne, this was a bit of a 'past and present' reminder for me! The deer over here, while pesty, are no where NEAR as bad as in the States. Because it gets so snowy and there is often NO other fodder no matter how hard they paw under feet of snow or nibble the bark before coming into gardens, they are verging on starvation by the time they hit the all-you-can-eat garden buffet. Here they are more nuisance than utter decimation. I'd say a bigger nuisance animal for many gardens here, at least locally, are probably the cockies! I love them but the destruction they can wreak is pretty impressive!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I certainly agree about the Cockies! Regards Stephen

[@dianbedggood8361]

Hi from Tasmania, I have recently moved from far western NSW with extreme temp range. -7 to 46° recently, a challenge. I am looking for plants to grow in northern Tasmania near Launceston, not familiar with the climate as well as considering what will thrive in a changing climate, it’s been a very dry summer and autumn here. Many thanks for being willing to talk about the change in climate and how we gardeners may adapt , i have a unique opportunity to select plants that not only will adapt but thrive.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Good luck! What a great adventure to begin!

[@angielyons2146]

Came to your channel from Erin’s. I’m in the suburbs in central Ohio and I can tell you we have an over abundance of rabbits and groundhogs that are eating all the plants in my garden 😂🤦🏻‍♀️. So far the deer are keeping themselves to the park across the road from me 😝

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Best of luck. Regards Stephen

[@b.a.d.2086]

Such a beautiful public garden! The trees are wonderful. I live about 6 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. Our valley is approx. 4300 ft. in elevation. However we also have abrupt, high, steep mountains and often deep snow. We get withering, literally pruning dry winds from the west desert with little humidity despite the Great Salt Lake. We get perhaps 23 in. of rain a year, if we're lucky. I love gardening here! Fewer pests, little disease and annuals just thrive. Another plus is that if you have something in bloom on the valley floor, up at 5200 ft. (where I live) it won't bloom for another week or ten days so I can "visit" a wide season of the same blooms. A short drive can prolong the appreciation of whatever blooms you like. Right now lilacs are done in the valley while they're just peaking at my house and if I take a short drive uphill they're still in bud. I can follow a road further uphill and be in true alpine habitat.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Sounds lovely but I think I’ll stick with what I have. Regards Stephen

[@ryanharvey1098]

I like gardening here in Northern Utah as well! But I have to admit, I would enjoy having a bit more green throughout the year. Then again, the stark contrast between winter and spring makes things very exciting!

[@jaqmackie]

Hi I watch channels from around the world just because I love to see what other gardeners are doing, get some pointers etc. Love Erin’s garden even though I have totally different conditions here in Aus. 💚

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@allisonsnz]

Hello from the Midwest! My growing zone is similar to Erin 's and I am on my way home from work and I'm ready to jump into the garden to kickstart our short and intense growing season 🌱❤️

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Enjoy it and thanks for watching!

[@AninhaPST]

Great video!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@terrivance8750]

From the U.S.--thank you. 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

You’re welcome 😊 Regards Stephen

[@kerryjean2223]

Erin, one could, well I did, even though knowing that you were at home in your garden at the first think that you could well have been in Australia. Our countryside looks not too dissimilar.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

We'll have to plan a field trip! Thanks for watching!!

[@MyFocusVaries]

Another great collaboration. Interesting points. Greetings from Canada's south west coast, temperate rain forest, zone 7b. Slugs and raccoons are my worst pests.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

At least yours are smallish! Regards Stephen

[@nyuntnyuntpyone7857]

Great session as usual, please do visit Minnesota Botanical garden too.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Maybe one day! Regards Stephen

[@pocketsofmayhem]

M two favorite gardening channels to watch now collaborating 🙀👊❣️

[@thehorti-culturalists]

So nice of you. Regards Stephen

[@j.d.4246]

Hello from the United States (Ohio)! I love this collaboration between these 2 channels! I would love to hear you collaborate on different insects and/or animals you struggle with browsing in your gardens.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!! Possums are biggest issue!

[@anne-9374]

Hello from Ottawa Canada! Very interesting videos. Must admit I simply can’t imagine not having the 4 seasons and the variety that goes along with it. Although a shorter winter would be nice! Over 40 degrees celsius? No thanks. I understand you staying inside. One thing not mentioned until the very end of Erin’s video, snakes and spiders! Gardening where things can kill you is not for me. ;) hearing you speak about possums, I wonder whether it could be a similar issue as raccoons and skunks are here (although they don’t attack trees).

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Snakes and spiders aren't really the problem you might be lead to believe, particularly in urban gardens! And Melbourne certainly does have four seasons, just not as extreme. Thanks for watching!

[@elainewashington3004]

Hi there from Ontario Canada. I garden on a huge scale. Wouldn't survive gardening all year round. I really need that four month break in winter to physically recoup,!😂

[@Debbie-henri]

I don't rest so much during the winter, I just do different work. I'm doing as much propagating, divisions of perennials, and mulching. Planting is a big thing during the winter and I'm always aiming to plant something each week, keeping an eye out for cheap edible berries and fruits at those supermarkets that produce potted edibles. But I understand the need the natives to support pollinators, and I'm spreading these throughout the garden to encourage them. I detest mowing and haven't done it for 21 years now. The grass is long, consists of many grass types, many wild flowers dropped in by Mother Nature, and I add a few grown from seed/divisions. As a consequence, the grass is full of amphibians - frogs, toads, newts and lizards, plus lots of different butterflies (a better representation than anywhere else in my locality), and even ground nesting birds now. My neighbours slave over their mowers, shuffling up and down their gardens like zombies, and they pay for the privilege, wasting their precious spare time into the bargain, never mind chopping up no end of insects, small mammals and amphibians. I always think that if you really want short grass, get an animal to do it, not a machine.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@scallywags12]

On Vancouver island BC., Canada, there are deer. If you do not have a high fence around your yard, they will eat anything. especially the young ones. It is the flavor of the week for what plant they try.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad neither of us have Elephants. Regards Stephen

[@scallywags12]

@@thehorti-culturalists Oh yeah!🤣😜

[@Debbie-henri]

I'm in Scotland and we have a similar problem with Red and Roe Deer. They're not so much a problem with nibbling leaves, but a serious problem when they start to scratch their new antlers (although this scratching can go on all summer long). Last year, I lost 20 trees thanks to deer vandalising them, and as I am in a low income family, any loss hurts. I've tried various ways to repel deer. Nothing works. Those deer repelling scent products are just a con. So, I thickened up the young main hedge across the south side of my property, especially including more thorn plants. I started planting thorn plants along the other 2 sides, and shoving tall sticks into the gaps between. It was then I noticed something interesting. It concerned a few plants that were being repeatedly attacked, and I was desperate for them to survive, so in a moment of madness, I cut a load of dead sticks and shoved them in the ground to create a 12-18 inch thicket surrounding each of these precious shrubs. They were left alone. I looked around other parts of the garden and went into the woods too. Deer repeatedly attack plants on the outside of thickets. The thicker the thicker, the less likely they are to push their way in to get to something yummy. Even plants they will demolish in a heartbeat are left alone if they are surrounded with something less tasty, especially if there is a surprise branch of Hawthorn or dead bramble stem in there. So this what I have been doing in earnest for the past few weeks, gathering lots of sticks, any kind of stick. Luckily the neighbouring landowner sent his gamekeeper into the woods to cut pathways for hunting parties. The result is armfuls of dead sticks piled to either side of the path. I've gathered them up and surrounded every vulnerable plant I can think of, and will probably continue to do this for another few weeks. It doesn't look pretty, but a willow and some volunteer Ash trees are being shredded by incoming deer. I don't know whether they can't see the good plants, can't smell them, or whether they just don't trust thickets (for reasons of being trapped by predators? Injury to eyes? No idea). But, for me, it appears to be working so far (hope these aren't famous last words). Some plants that are regularly attacked I'm surrounding with common shrubs deer seem to leave alone. They're not native, but the pollinators love them - Spiraea, Buddleia, Symphoricarpus and Weigela for instance. These plants aren't great, but the deer don't think so either, pass them by and leave the plants within alone. No, it doesn't look pretty, and it's not ideal, but at least I have the 'real' plants establishing in safety within these 'thickets, the deer marshalled into the small meadow patches and along thoroughfare pathways.

[@mariale7821]

Such a great video. I sure hope you guys do this again with another gardener in a completely different continent.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

We'd love to! Thanks for watching!

[@oxwoman8]

Hello from the Piedmont of North Carolina USA! I'm a long time subscriber of Erin's though I've seen y'all on Alexandra's The Middle-Sized Garden channel. So interesting how you Southern Hemisphere folks garden. All the things you get to grow! Curious to know if Australia has wildly different soil types like here in the USA? Clay, sand, loamy, rocky -- we have it all across the country. My soil is red clay. We make bricks and pottery from it. Literally. I have to be careful when I plant to make sure that I am not creating a clay pot in my soil. I have to raise the crown of my plants 2-3 inches above the top level of the soil so they won't drown. We average about 40-42 inches of rain here annually so I only have to spot water my yard in the low rainfall months. Digging in the clay can be back breaking work especially when it hasn't rained. But I've slowly been improving my soil by adding compost and covering it with pine fines mulch. It's helping. Is that something y'all have to do? Or are your soils just delightful everywhere? Subscribed!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for joining us! Our soils are definitely not delightful everywhere! A real mixed bag across the country and from region to region. Stephen had particularly poor and thin soil which took years of mulching and improving! We actually made a video about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGW8nqxoobyba7c

[@oxwoman8]

@@thehorti-culturalists thanks for answering my question. I'm off to watch your video.

[@karlsorchidparty2395]

Watched both. 🎉

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Well done! Regards Stephen

[@kathijohnsonrock5856]

Thank you for this wonderful video. We garden for hummingbirds in Madison, Wisconsin and so much enjoyed learning more about gardening in Australia. Do you grow any salvias in your gardens?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching! Yes, Salvias are grown widely here.

[@fromseedtobloommedia9340]

Imagine an American garden without an Hydrangea of any kind, simply I can’t comprehend😅

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Well it does happen in Australia! Regards Stephen

[@alexp3127]

Hi there, I’ve recently found your channel and love it. I have a question for you! I live on the bellarine peninsula and am trying to grow some grevillea “moonlight” from seeds I’ve harvested from some that I have growing in my garden (I’m using a stocking to catch them, which is very effective). I’ve tried quite a few times to grow the seeds inside my greenhouse but none are growing. They are in commercial potting mix, and I keep the soil quite moist - but nothing happens. Most recently (about 4 weeks ago), I made some smoked perlite and then placed this on top a fresh batch of seeds on the potting mix. I also scraped a few gently with sandpaper to see if that helps. But alas, still no seeds have grown! Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

For a start they are unlikely to match the parent as they are of hybrid origin and may not even be fertile. Cuttings would be a better bet. Regards Stephen

[@laurelscott4466]

Hi thank for this episode. Question: with our very strange weather in Vic.(4ks inland from surf coast) , hot,dry,cold,wet all in one week or so, plants have started springing to life when they should be going dormant! ie my grape vine . Lost its leaves at least a month ago but uddenly bursting into new shoots! What to do when the cold weather shuts it down or burns those leaves?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Just leave it to nature as there is little we can do. Regards Stephen

[@brocktoon8]

Don't care about other youtube gardeners, I come here to see you guys!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Well thanks for the accolades. Regards Stephen