How do you prise children away from their smart phones and instil an interest in gardening? What are the innovations that will make them get their fingers dirty? And what will the garden of the future look like?
These are all questions that TV horticulturist and landscape designer Jamie Durie has answers for.
Currently in the US preparing to film a new garden design program, he says the story of the Aussie backyard is one of transformation and is still unfolding.
“We were born into a backyard that had a Hills Hoist at the centre of it. A long concrete pathway leading to it and grandma’s undies swinging around in all their glory. There was a shed at the back left-hand corner and a vegie patch in the right-hand corner.”
Now most backyards have an outdoor dining room and cooking area and 40 per cent have outdoor lounge areas, he says.
“I think we are making better use of smaller back yards but we need to get gen X and gen Y interested in this creative platform.”
Achieve that, he says, with vertical gardening with a "blanket" that provides a blank canvas and looks more dynamic than a fence. The blanket attaches to the fence and provides a plot for tomatoes, radishes, carrots, zucchinis and more.
“Nobody likes looking at a tired old fence and the idea of creating a vertical garden is one form of innovation that excites gen X and Y.”
The next tactic is to teach them to provide food for the family table by designing with edible plants to turn the back garden into a food bowl. Rosemary and parsley make better edges for borders than inedible plants he says.
"Tell them that they have a responsibility to their children to create a better future in terms of cleaning up and reducing carbon emissions,” he said.
“Unfortunately we are in the age of the incredible shrinking backyard where houses are getting bigger, back yards are getting smaller and developers are making more money from the land. That has forced a whole new generation of innovation.”
