By Erle Levey
One of the great things about gardening, particularly home gardening, is the gift of giving. This can be either in what has been grown or in time and effort.
For gardening identity Phil Dudman there are so many ways you can give from a garden.
“It can be just from having a visitor come on over and hang out in the garden – and to be able to share your passion,’’ he said.
We were talking over lunch at this year’s Queensland Garden Expo, which is being renamed as Queensland Garden Show for 2025.
“Whenever someone comes around to a gardener’s place, they are blown away by how you find beauty.
“Just spending time showing people around – they’re special places.’’
I know what it was like with my mother and grandmother whenever friends or family dropped around – there was always a cutting to share, a bloom to take.
For Phil, who is known for his appearances on ABC-TV’s Gardening Australia, on ABC Radio or writing for gardening magazines, it’s a matter of almost everyone loves a garden.
He has a brand called Phil Dudman Gardening and Grow Your Food workshops.
“There’ll be some people who don’t like to garden because they find it too hard,’’ he admits. “It’s too much effort.
“Yet everyone loves to get into nature.
“If you have a good garden and it’s full of interesting things – flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs – then every plant has a story.
“There’s common stuff and there are special things that you’ve got.
“It might be something that’s been given to you, then you give back to someone else. They take a little bit of that story.
“There’s a lot of giving that goes on with it – whether to a friend or a neighbour – and gardeners get a lot of pleasure out of that giving.
“It’s like sharing a little bit of yourself. You are planting an idea.
“It’s not just for yourself, it’s a lifestyle that you know – a nourishing lifestyle in which you feel good.’’
Phil is one of the regular guest speakers at the garden show – to be held over four days next year at Nambour Showgrounds from 10-13 July.
It is Queensland’s premier gardening event and will showcase the biggest range of plants you are likely to see anywhere in the Sunshine State in one location.
Some of Australia’s leading gardening experts will take part in free talks, demonstrations, and workshops.
As we have found over a number of years, Phil, like fellow gardener Costa Georgiadis, is very giving of his time and knowledge at such events.
“You feel good looking at the garden – feel good stepping out in it. Then if you can give your neighbour some produce … a cutting, a seed or a seedling, then they grow it and get back to you about how it’s going so well.
“They feel there’s a story at their place that’s connected to you. That’s it. It Just goes around and around.’’
As well as the feel-good value of gardening there is the physical and mental side of it.
Living at Lismore in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Phil said mornings were a magical time for him.
“I wake up and see the fog in the valleys, knowing it’s going to be a great day.
“I wake up early – before the sun comes up. I don’t know, perhaps it’s just an age thing.
“And I think it’s okay to get up now because the birds are up – you go out there and they’re in the birdbath, in your trees.
“You can go out with a cuppa and greet the day. You get to know the different birds.
“I know I cannot live without it.’’
Another benefit of gardening is the way it can connect you with the seasons and the community.
“Giving is a pleasure, and a great way to build close relationships in the community,’’ Phil said.
“People who are fellow gardeners are always sharing seeds and produce, obviously … and these people will come back with some cake or something they’ve baked.
“It could be something to go into the cake, such as bananas, potatoes or zucchinis. That’s really nice.
“But there’s also things such as seedlings … you might have too many of them.
“I took some brussel sprouts down to a friend and she’s never grown them … and some potatoes that I’ve been planting.
“It was a new experience for her, and she finds it a pleasure.’’
As far as being a great connection with community, Phil said elderly people in his street were always happy to receive some help or some produce.
“They are happy for me to set up gardens for them.
“I run workshops in my garden at Lismore and sometimes I take the team over to one of their places and do a blitz … it’s just a matter of setting up a garden.
“One neighbour has three or four big patches set up from my workshops and years of gardening. She couldn’t set it up physically, but she can do the ongoing gardening … that’s a really nice thing to do with people.
“I love setting up gardens for them. Those who have never done it before or who are unable to do that.
“It’s a great way to share an expertise or skill in gardening.
“The whole gardening lifestyle is a recipe for happiness and a blueprint for living.’’
It is a blueprint for community living and connections that you may not have in any other aspects of your life.
“It’s connecting you with people in really beautiful ways,’’ Phil explained.
“It’s a really affordable way to do that. You don’t need a lot of time and energy to help someone.
“You don’t need a lot of money. You might – if you want to create some designer garden that you’ve seen on television but just to plant things and grow things – you can really start from nothing.’’
One of the first steps in creating a garden can be making compost and creating fertility in the back yard.
That is the big thing that a garden really thrives on and you can make that with virtually no money.
Another part of gardening that Phil is interested in is blue zones.
There are five original blue zones – the places in the world with the healthiest, longest-living populations. Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California.
A common thing across the blue zones is diet, but lifestyle too. Gardening plays a big part in our physical and mental health, and these areas are big not just in gardening but connection among the community.
“It gives hope and an investment in the future.
“You are always wanting to plant things and see how they go.
“The one thing that is common is that they are all gardening communities.
“It’s part of their lifestyles. It’s the fresh food. It’s the physical work that you’ve got to do to keep a garden going.
“It’s also that when you plant something it’s an investment in the future.
“There’s no way that I’m gonna die if I know the tomatoes are coming on.’’
Like the seasons, gardeners are always looking ahead and are deciding what to plant.
“You’re always giving yourself a reason to get out of bed and to live and to thrive … because you are so thrilled about the harvest.
“It’s such a simple idea, but I reckon it works because I can see those effects in my life. It just keeps me wanting to do stuff.
“It’s a hobby, it’s a passion … it’s a way of life, a pleasure. It’s always there … a kind of low-level activity.
“You’re not jumping around and working out and pumping iron.
“You are moving around the space and finding things to do … sometimes you’re bending, sometimes you’re lifting, there’s a range of motions involved in gardening.
“But there’s also picking up the soil – some of it might go in your mouth but there’s nothing wrong with microbes. We started as kids with mud pies, so there is nothing as good as a good microbiome from the earth.’’
These microorganisms can help the immune system and the digestive system.
“A nice part of the whole thing is most gardeners are willing to give a bit of their time to help someone who has never gardened,’’ Phil said.
“It can be someone who is new or needs some help because gardeners know the benefit to your personal wellbeing by having a garden.
“They know it’s that good – so they want to make sure that other people are experiencing that.
“We all believe gardeners … if everyone in the world was gardening, there wouldn’t be any issues.
“All that we talk about is microbes and mycelium … we are just proud of what we do.
“If everyone was gardening, there would be this level of satisfaction in your life every day. Happiness and joy and satisfaction every day.
“Gardeners get a lot of pleasure out of that giving – it’s like sharing a bit of yourself.’’
Since the Queensland Garden Expo, Phil has been getting out and seeing more of Australia – Central Australia to be precise.
Flying from Brisbane to Alice Springs, then driving a campervan, he and his wife went to Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park and Kings Canyon.
Together with the springtime colours and wildflowers, the landscapes exceeded their expectations.
“The colours – the greens, the yellows, the golds. It was awesome.
“We were so lucky to see these billy buttons flowers looking absolutely perfect, where we stayed in Trefena National Park in East MacDonnell Ranges.
“Nature created the most beautiful wildflower meadow for us to enjoy.
“I fell in love with Uluru. The colours are incredible … the rock, the sky, the various shades of green in the foliage.
“The flowers and the bark of the trees combine to create nature’s perfect garden.
“And then there are those special moments of complete stillness and silence.’’
Being in a campervan, Phil stopped wherever they wanted and that helped create a wonderful trip.
“There were not many people out there – mainly Aussies. Grey nomads who just go out and park there.
“It felt like a ’bucket list’ place for Aussies and I can see why. It’s a must-do.
“There are some iconic images and so much more vegetation than was expected.
“It was incredibly easy to get out and do it. We are budget travellers and it was not costly.
“There is so much to see.’’
Phil led a garden tour of Tasmania in October, and has a tour of Victoria in March then France in May.
His workshops at Lismore, NSW, will be in July and August.
For Phil, his outlook is simple: “Food is your life.
“When you eat from your garden you know what you are getting – it’s fresh and it’s nutritious.’’
Phil’s approach to life is a brilliant reminder of the importance of gardening to our lives. Getting our hands dirty – or simply admiring our own or someone else’s garden – promises many health benefits.
And Phil’s exuberance, and appreciation of this gift, encourages us all to spend a little more time in the garden.
