26 -5/6What plants should you choose

Transcript:

Costa: Hi,it's Costa here. Thanks for joining us at Gardening Buds. If you're new to the podcast,head back and start from episode one. If you've been with us from the start,let's get into it.

[sound of aphone ringing] 

[hold music starts] 

Costa: Welcome back to the Gardening Buds hotline.Your bud is sowing some seeds and will be with you shortly.

[hold music ends]

Costa: Hello?

Caylee: Hi, Costa.

Costa: Caylee,how are you?

Caylee: Good, how are you?

Costa: Really good. What's happening?

[upbeat music starts]

Caylee: Got any new jokes for me?

Costa: I've always got a joke. Are you ready?

Caylee: Yeah.

Costa: Which letter of the alphabet is most like a flower?

Caylee: Uhhhhhmmm

Costa: The letter A, because there's always a B after it.

[Caylee makes a buzzing noise]

[Costa and Caylee laugh]

Caylee: Wait, is today the day we're going to pick the plants for my garden?

Costa: Yes,today's the day.

Caylee: That's going to be so much fun. Yeah, I'm ready.

Costa: All right, well, you'd better get over here.

Caylee: I'll be there in a jiffy.

Costa: See you soon.

[dial tone]

[door opens and closes]

[skipping along a footpath]

[knocking at the door]

Costa: Coming.

[door opens]

[bell rings]

Costa: Caylee!

[music ends]

Caylee: Hi.

Costa: How are you? Welcome, welcome, welcome. This is the big day. Are you ready to pick some plants?

[inquisitive music starts]

Caylee: Yes, I am so excited and ready.

Costa: All right, come over here. So, Caylee, after all the things that we've learnt over the last little while, what are some ofthe things that you want to have in your garden?

Caylee: Well, I really want strawberries.

[chimes]

Costa: Good choice. I'm a strawberry man.

[sound of pencil scratching]

Caylee: I would like host plants that will welcome bees to the garden. I want flowers.

Costa: Flowers.Any particular types of flowers?

Caylee: Sunflowers.

Costa: Sunflowers.I love sunflowers. The sunflowers are going to bring happiness because they smile and all the bees and all the pollinators are going to say, "Yes,let's go there and party."

[Caylee laughs]

Caylee: I also want corn.

Costa: Corn,yeah.

Caylee: Potatoes. I do like mint.

Costa: Well,there's lots of different types of mint we can plant, but we could plant a nice native mint and that will smell beautiful when it blows in the breeze and bring the smell into the house.

Caylee: Yes, I like that mint. I want native mint.

Costa: What about for salads?

Caylee: Tomatoes! Tomatoes, tomato, tomato. Cherry tomatoes.

Costa: Cherry tomatoes. That's easy. They grow for along part of the year, so I think that's a really good choice.

Caylee: Um, I might get some cucumbers too because my mum and my family also love cucumbers, even though they're not actually myfavorite.

Costa: I can make a prediction that if you grow the cucumbers yourself, they will taste better than any cucumbers you've ever had before. Home-grown rocks.

Caylee: (chanting) Home-grown rocks! Home-grown rocks!Home-grown rocks!

Costa: Home-grown rocks! Home-grown rocks! Home-grown rocks!

[music ends]

Caylee: Home-grown-rocks! Home-grown rocks!

Costa: Home-grown rocks! Home-grown rocks! That's it.

[Caylee laughs]

Caylee: Costa, I have a question. Which one's better for plants, summer or spring?

[light, happy music starts]

Costa: Well, every season has a reason. Different seasons, different things grow. When it's winter, for some things that's when they're dormant. That's when they're asleep. And then they come to life in spring and then they flourish, they grow leaves and flowers and fruit, and then in the autumn they drop their leaves and then they're quiet over winter. Other things are grown in winter when it's cooler because they don't like the heat.Some things do well in spring and autumn.

       So that's what you'll learn; the more you get to know the garden where you live, the more you get to understand the climate where you live, and that way, with your micro climate goggles on, you can get lots of answers every day just whenever you're walking around.

Caylee: So does that mean I can't have a strawberry for breakfast every single morning?

Costa: No,you can have them for breakfast in the season where the strawberries are fruiting.

Caylee: That'll give me something to look forward to. When's the best time to start a garden?

Costa: Last week, last month, last year.

Caylee: Why last week?!

Costa: Because it's always a good time to start a garden, but you just have to do what's appropriate. You just have to do what's the right thing in that season. So I think the best time to start a garden is when you've done a bit of homework,assessed your space, got a plan, put all the pieces together and thought,"Okay, let's go."

[music ends]

Caylee: Costa, this is all very exciting, but I'm starting to get a little bit worried. What happens if something goes wrong?What if one my plants dies?

Costa: Things go wrong for the best of us, Caylee, but that's not bad. That's how we learn.You ask any gardener, whether they've been gardening for one year or 50 years,they will tell you that they've killed plants. When those things happen, that's one of the best chances for you to learn a little bit more about gardening.

[hopeful music starts]

Costa: So when something fails, that's the best chance to look at it and think, "Well, why did it fail? Did I plant it at the wrong time of the year? Did I over water it? Did I forget it and not water it, or did it need to be in the sun and not in the shade?" And you know what? When something dies, you can put it into the compost and then it breaks down and becomes food for the next lot of plants.

Caylee: That's smart.

Costa: All of these things are a way for you to be able to take something that fails and turn it into success. So, Caylee?

Caylee: Yeah.

Costa: When you make a mistake during your tap dancing lessons, what does the teacher tell you to do?

Caylee: Well, I get lots of mistakes because we learn lots of new and tricky things, but my teacher says keep on going. So all that really counts is that you tried.

Costa: So you don't give up just because you don't get something the first time?

Caylee: No. If you can't do it the first time, you shouldn't give up and you should, when you get it wrong, you should actually restart and try again. Oh, I get it. It's the same with gardening.

Costa: That's right. Caylee, when I think about your teacher at tap, I think the garden is like your teacher because plants will tell you when something's not right, and what you have to do is look, listen and smell, and use all your senses and keep an eye on it and you'll get your clues.

Caylee: Thanks, Costa. That makes me feel a lot better. I'm really excited to plant my garden.

Costa: So am I.

[music ends]

Caylee: All right, Costa. I'm ready for our Gardening Buds quiz.

Costa: Fantastic.

Caylee: And you listening at home can play along too.And remember, if you get something wrong, it's okay. You can just try again,just like in the garden.

[quiz theme music starts]

Costa: It's Gardening Buds quiz time. Question one, can you plant anything any time?

Caylee: The answer to that is no because if there's a plant that likes the heat and you plant it in winter, it's not going to end up good.

[birds tweet and a crowd cheers]

Costa: Correct.Question two, so you want to start your own garden. Is the first thing you do just go and buy the plants?

Caylee: No. There is different steps like you have to do a site assessment. You have to measure the wall and see how big it is.You have to see the spots you want to put it in. You have to figure out what plants. Then, at the very end, you have to plant the plants.

[birds tweet and a crowd cheers]

Costa: Question three, what should you do if something goes wrong in the garden?

Caylee: Just try again.

[birds tweet and crowd cheers]

Costa: ba-ba-ba-da-ba-baaa!

[music ends]

Caylee: Thanks so much for the day, Costa.

Costa: Pleasure,Caylee. It's always a treat to have you here at Gardening Buds HQ.

Caylee: Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, corn, flowers.I can't wait to plant all of the things we've picked out for my garden.

Costa: Sweet. I've got the list. Leave it with me and I'll see you at your place soon.

Caylee: Okay. Bye. Can't wait to see you again.

Costa: Bye.

[upbeat theme music starts]

Costa: The Gardening Buds challenge of the week for you listening at home; I challenge you to have a chat with your grown-up about a time when something has gone wrong. It didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, and what you did or what they did to help you learn from it. And think a little bit about how you can use that thinking when it comes to making a garden.

[music ends]