Where the wild things are
13 Nov 2015
Every week, millions of Australians tune in to watch Costa Georgiadis on ABC TV show Gardening Australia and share his passion for making things grow. Here, he discusses the benefits of gardening with your neighbours, why you don’t need to tie yourself to a tree to help the environment and the importance of seniors in the community.
He may be the lovable host of ABC’s Gardening Australia, but every time someone refers to Costa Georgiadis as a celebrity, he shudders.
“Don’t say the C-word!” he laughs when I mention his rise to fame during the Active Retirees photo shoot at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney.
But we’ve hardly taken a few shots of him in the spiky cactus garden when a couple of fans from regional New South Wales have spotted his famous bushy beard and Costa is already on his way to shake their hands and take a selfie with them on their mobile phone.
From his down-to-earth attitude and his love of gardening to his facial hair, the Costa you see on telly from the comfort of your living room is very much like Costa in real life.
After spending a few minutes speaking to Costa and watching him chatter with his two beloved chickens that he insisted on bringing along to the shoot, you’re suddenly inspired to buy a worm farm, make your own compost and have a couple of your own chooks in your backyard. His enthusiasm for gardening and the environment is infectious.
From farm to fork
In a world where large supermarket chains have claimed the majority of market share and there is a yawning gap between city dwellers and those in the country, people now want to know where their food comes from and are looking for more transparency from food companies, according to Costa.
“I talk to people a lot about environmental awareness, activism and so on. I don’t expect them to put on an undercover outfit and tie themselves to a tree, because they can have more impact by just saying ‘no’ when they spend their dollars and actively choosing where they put every dollar,” he says.
“If we keep buying, they will keep supplying. We are just so powerful as a group.”
Costa would like to see more consumers question why things are so much cheaper in major supermarkets, too, especially as there has been controversy in recent years around underpaid farmers and fruit pickers lately.
“How do you reconcile that farmers are getting paid $150 a tonne for onions, yet they’re $3.50 a kilo? Who’s getting all that money? I want the farmer to get it. I’d be happy to pay $3.50 a kilo if I knew the farmer was getting it, but they’re not.”
Instead of buying your groceries from the supermarket, consider going to your local markets to buy straight from the farmer, so you know exactly where your money is going and where your food has come from, suggests Costa.
A return to the good ol' days
While buying organic food may be more expensive, there are affordable ways to eat fresh food, such as growing it in your garden, selecting produce from your local community garden or choosing to eat fruit and vegetables in season. Then, you can extend their shelf life by storing them for later months – it’s these old-school cottage skills that are often practiced by retirees and what Costa would like to see more of in the future among younger generations.
“If you buy berries in season when they’re $5 a kilo, put them into a Tupperware container and freeze them for your berry juices – happy days! When lemons are in season, buy a box with a friend, squeeze them and put them into ice cube containers so you can pull out one or two cubes when you need a bit of lemon,” he says.
“When you’ve got onions in abundance, let’s make onion preserves and pickles – and bang! – you can have it on your eggs in the morning! Then we can go back to having old-fashioned larders, where people had lots of
food stored away back in the day. You could have homegrown pumpkins that will last for seven to nine months because they were grown organically.”
Growing the community
As the popularity of home improvement reality TV shows continues to peak, gardening is now considered hip and on-trend, as quirky terrariums, vertical gardens and whimsical succulents are all featured in designer interiors magazines.
There has also been a rising interest in community gardens, where neighbourhoods share and enjoy communal gardens together, but according to Costa, they’re not simply a passing trend and are most certainly here to stay.
“People are going into it because they actually want to know more about their food and contribute more to the bigger picture. Some of the reasons are financial – you can save a lot of money by growing your own food,” he explains. The other reasons are social – community gardens are hubs where you know that if you go there anytime during the day, the chances are you’ll meet someone and gardeners are friendly, sharing, caring people.”
The concept of a backyard is also very different to what it was 25 years ago, especially if you’re downsizing, Costa adds. Backyards are getting smaller, houses are subdivided, land is being developed at a premium and people don’t have the space for a clothes line, a pool or veggie patch anymore. There has also been a rise in medium-density housing, so many people may only have a small balcony. As Costa explains, container, rooftop, courtyard and balcony gardening are now the way of the future.
“I travel the country, seeing all sorts of community projects. Some are little communal-based gardens and everyone grows them together. Others are individual allotments and everyone has their own patch, while some are open to other community groups that come in and do their thing,” he says. “I love that they’re so different.”
The value of 'crazy, passionate' seniors
According to Costa, retirees are a great untapped source of education and information for others in the community and he’d love to see more of them connecting with the younger generation through gardens. After all, it is through these relationships that the kids can learn and flourish.
Some of the inspiring projects that Costa has seen in his travels are school community gardens that have teamed up with their local Country Women's Association (“CWA’s funky, I want to support them and make them a priority again!”) and Men’s Sheds to work on initiatives together.
“I want [retirees] out of their houses and into community hubs where they can be the crazy, passionate people from up the street who can teach me how to make fermented sauerkraut or how to make pickled things from the produce we grow, or show me how to make compost,” he explains enthusiastically.
And if your mobility isn’t top-notch and you’re not quite as active as you once were, don’t let that stop you from getting involved, says Costa.
“I don't care if you’re 88 and can only walk 50 metres or if you’re 60 and just wondering what to do. There’s so much to do, it’s exciting. [You can] jump on board and go ‘Wow, I’m going to help kids, I’m going to help this community. I’m going to help foster this orchard project. I’m going to the council and help submit plans. I’m going to doorknock and tell people we want to start a community garden at the end of the street’.”
“Maybe you’re an awesome slice maker. Bring your slice and feed those who are turning of the compost and doing all the physical activity. Make the teas or the lemon cordial out of the produce that’s come from the garden. It’s all about engaging and community,” he explains. ••
®