Gardener For Life

Gardening guru Annette Mcfarlane and husband grant have carved out a productive patch from a dry tract of queensland bush

- Claire Bickle

In Annette and Grant McFarlane’s 4ha garden paradise, north of Brisbane, the natural vegetation is dry sclerophyll bush that was partially cleared 30 years ago, well before their arrival.

Annette says there are large stands of spotted gums and some regenerated bushland areas. The actual garden is about 1ha of the property around the house.

Annette’s gardening journey began as a child; her grandparents were her greatest gardening influence. Her grandmother had a beautiful fern house with begonias, ferns, hoyas and more. And her grandfather was passionate about growing fruit and vegetables and keeping chooks.

Grant, whose mother is an outstanding gardener, also has gardening in his genes. His grandfather used to sell Yates seeds in Dunedin back in the 1920s and they still have a wonderful Yates seed poster with the McFarlane name on it.

A MATCH MADE IN THE PATCH

Annette says she’s a gardener before anything else. Long before the university studies, master’s degree and teaching qualifications — not to mention the bestselling books — there was her horticultural training.

These days, Annette, though a retired horticulture teacher, still holds free gardening workshops for local and regional libraries and gardening communities. She writes for various websites and the Sunday Mail and can be heard talking all things gardening on ABC radio in Brisbane as well as at a huge array of gardening and sustainability events.