A work of heart: A Tatura garden 20 years in the making

A work of heart

Two decades of devotion have nurtured an enviable urban oasis.

STORY: MADDY FOGARTY PHOTOGRAPHY: RODNEY BRAITHWAITE

It might be tucked away in Tatura, but at first glance it's as though something has escaped the pages of classical antiquity, a chaotic cornucopia spilled across two acres (in the old language). But it's a vision 20 years in the growing—an edible Eden, if you will, which helped nurture and raise the Flett family. For its creator, however, this wasn't just a dream—because it's real. And it wasn't just work either, rather it was—and remains—a labour of love. Denis Flett has rotated hundreds of plant varieties through his self-contained, sustainable oasis in the urban environment of the country town. Today more than 80 of the most productive sustain him and his wife Claire, surrounded with their own fruit and veg shop. If they want something not in the fridge or the cupboards, they can often just pop into the garden and pick whatever takes their fancy. As a visitor, even when you have soaked it all up, you still won't see the same thing Denis does. For him his garden is as much a home as the house at the centre of the block. For Denis the grounds are more like extra rooms—they don't have walls and there are no doors, but they are his rooms. “The general layout—we wanted to have a road that got around the back of the block and then have the concept of outside rooms,” Denis said. “Paths play the part of walls, the sky is the ceiling (and the limit) and it all slowly came together.” And while he is walking in the footsteps of countless generations of subsistence farmers, followed by surplus cropping and then orchardists, market gardeners and broadacre producers—all those historical pedigrees don't mean he can escape some of the harsh agrirealities circa 2021. Such as water bills. Because in an enterprise of this complexity and consistency, it's still all about water and, in this day and age, water does not come cheap. So to save himself from drowning in water bills, Denis put in automated drippers and micro-sprays to dry up any water wastage in his garden. “It is possible to automate all watering and operate it from an iPhone,” he said. “What I've got is 14 different watering systems for different rooms in the garden. “Some rooms rely on either rainfall or the occasional back-up squirt with a hose. “It's set up so we can go away, and I can have a friend, or someone else, manage it really easily. “And I do change the settings, or cease watering, to minimise water use as we go through the seasons.” Enjoying the occasional old fashioned approach, Denis confessed to preferring not to have the watering system fully automated; he likes to observe the changes in his eco-escape up close and personal. If you had stood there with Denis on day one, and come back 20 years later, you would take some persuading to believe you were at the right address. He said his number one priority from day one was “the structural stuff”. “When we bought this when it was just a permanent pasture block, there was no vegetation we wanted to keep on at all.

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“It was just a vacant block from that point of view. And then we just developed everything else from there.” The newest additions to the property are two water tanks. “We sort of had ideas of what plants we wanted, along with space for access and games,” he said. “And more recently what I started to do was integrate different aspects of the garden, rather than have sections dedicated to just one type of plant. “Most of what we put in, especially at the start, was about attracting native birds, because I'm a bit of a twitcher.” After he retired from full-time work, Denis embraced the outdoors and dedicated more time to his garden—his fruit and more vegies the most recent additions. “I'm pretty much a gardener now,” he said in the understatement of the year. “Initially it was nearly all native except for the lawn. Now I think I grow something like 86 edible plants. It's definitely in the 80s.” They aren't all kept in the same 'room' either. Rather, a row or small bed of of radishes, tomatoes, pumpkins and others line the many twisting and turning paths dissecting Denis' garden. “I use the small greenhouse to get an early start with vegie seeds, tomatoes in particular.” More practically, his has five enclosed garden houses, mainly for protection from pesky possums. “The garden houses also help with rotation, so I'm not always growing my tomatoes and association family plants like capsicum in the same place.” This green thumb on steroids also has some words of advice for gardeners who are just mere mortals. “Rhubarb,” he whispered, looking left and right. “It is the garden key, never ever have a garden without rhubarb. “Rhubarb is great because once you establish its crown you can just keep on separating it, rather than buying a new plant.” If water rules everything, even it would struggle without the right soils—and a super successful garden needs super soils. Denis has devoted his 20 years on the job to gradually improving the soil—every one of those 20 long years. “I did what I could to improve the soil and it's been a constant, ongoing thing ever since I've been here.” The soil of any successful garden caters to what the plants need. That's also why it's important to rotate some of the plants, Denis said. “My compost heap is really a compost complex,” he explained. “I get all the debris, the carbon from the trees, all the lawn clippings and green waste from the summer flowering plants, and usually put them initially through the plastic compost bin.” Sometimes mixing in some animal manure, from the bin Denis moves the compost into one of the two larger bays he has set up side by side. “This is finished compost ready to go on. Excellent garden soil,” he said about the small mountain of year-old compost sitting in the left bay, the right-hand side is still breaking down. “And I also keep a worm farm as part of a strategy to get more earthworms back in the soil.” Referring to it as the “worm café”, Denis regularly feeds the worms cutup food scraps. “Every time you add additional food, you're really after the castings. “And each time you add stuff, you add water and treat with a bit of lime to neutralise—or get rid of —the acidic stuff, which worms don't really like.” Advising against including citrus and onions, Denis said the worm water that rinses through that is also a fantastic fertiliser for the garden. Another ace up his sleeve is the companion plant. Companion plants, if correctly selected, “attract good insects and repel bad insects,” he said. “Gardening is a lot about the management of pests.” For those looking to try on their own horticulturalist hats, Denis said it

could be understandably dizzying to wrap your mind around. “When it comes to what plants you start with, versus time spent in the garden, it depends on your lifestyle at the time. “I found when I was working a heck of a lot, as much as I liked gardening, I wanted to keep it relatively simple. “I wasn't going to be able to do the high level of maintenance required now for the fruit trees and summer flowering plants.” Fun for the whole family, Denis recommended growing some vegies right from the start, things such as tomato and basil, or strawberries. “Having fresh herbs available to add to your meals is fabulous,” he offered as a suggestion. “I think it is wise to start small and grow some of the vegies you really like. Then think bigger.” One thing Denis did point out is that change is inevitable. “(The garden) will continue to evolve, no matter what,. “Your tastes will change. Plants will live and die. It's going to be an evolution and being aware of that is important. “One of the lessons for me is that observation is the key.” It's about being in your garden as often as you can and keeping an eye on the little things—like how ripe the fruit is, are there pests present, and what's about to flower or needs protection, he said. “It's amazing how therapeutic and good for our mental health it is to simply weed the garden. “Also, the garden has definitely moved our eating habits. In planning meals the usual starting point is no longer what meat will we buy, and what may go with it. “We look the other way now, starting with what is ready in the garden.” Not surprising, because everything he has achieved in the past two decades really is worth having a look at if you ever fancy going big with a garden of your own—or as big as you can in the space available.

See page 39 for Denis Flett's Zucchini Pickles recipe.

FLETT FAMILY'S ZUCCHINI PICKLES

INGREDIENTS:

• 1kg zucchini • 1 large onion • 2 tbsp salt • 2 cups white sugar • 2 cups white vinegar (a bit more to mix with flour) • 3 tbsp plain flour • 1 tsp turmeric • 1 tsp curry powder • 1 tsp mustard powder

METHOD:

1. Grate the zucchini, mix the salt through and leave for two hours. 2. Rinse in a colander and then squeeze out as much water as is practicable (suggest wrapping in tea towel). 3. Finely dice the onion and cook in microwave until soft. 4. Put sugar and vinegar in a saucepan, bring to boil, simmer, and add all other ingredients, except the plain flour. 5. Cook for 45 minutes and then remove from heat. 6. Mix flour to a thin paste with some vinegar. 7. Add some paste to the saucepan and mix, and then repeat this step until a thick consistency is reached. 8. Pour the pickles into sterilised jars and seal.

This recipe should make about four or five small jars of about 300ml.