Gardening Australia’s Christmas special reflects on the uptake of gardening in 2020

While the great toilet paper crisis of 2020 will go down in the history books, for environmental scientist, researcher and TV presenter Josh Byrne there was another COVID-19 pandemic-induced moment he won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

“Gardening was just so popular during that time; nurseries were being plundered for anything green and growing, particularly vegies and herbs,” he says. “It was insane. They were the toilet paper of the garden centres; vegies were barely making it to the bench.”

And while some tried sneaky tactics to get their hands on rolls, Byrne says the plant world got savvy to ensure green thumbs could get their gardening fix.

As Google recorded an all-time record for the search “how to grow vegetables” in April, places like Benara Nurseries were as busy as Santa’s elves, producing enough seedlings for the masses in WA.

In a special Christmas edition of Gardening Australia, Byrne will be exploring how this nursery kept up with unprecedented demand during lockdown, which grew from producing about 50,000 punnets of seedlings a week to 200,000.

“We’ll be looking at how they coped with that ... and the automation and systems they put in place to see them producing seedlings at that scale,” he says.

About 70 per cent of these seedlings purchased were herbs and vegies, with the remaining 30 per cent made up of flowers and ornamentals.

“People buy plants for all reasons. They’re not always just to eat, but also to grow something beautiful,” he says.

It won’t just be Byrne showcasing the tireless work of the gardening industry during 2020. The whole Gardening Australia gang will be sharing personal stories of overcoming COVID-19 challenges across the one-hour festive episode.

Conservationist and horticulturalist Jerry Coleby-Williams will be exploring the World War II Dig for Victory campaign, which saw home gardens repurposed for local food production, similar to what many achieved during COVID-19 lockdown.

Bearded icon Costa Georgiadis puts his skills to the test with a centenarian gardener who’s been cultivating her backyard since 1950, and Sophie Thomson will be creating Christmas decorations inspired by the garden.

So now that plants are staying on the bench at nurseries a little longer, is gardening still experiencing the popularity it did during lockdown? You bet, says Byrne.

“It is still going very, very strong ... and when the weather is good, people usually get out and plant things.” he says.

“What we’re hoping for is the new gardeners who discovered how special it is, to stick to it.”

If you’re one of these new gardeners and wondering what projects you can attempt over the Christmas break, Byrne says there are plenty that can fill your free time.

“Here in Perth, in particular as we’re coming into dry time, it is important to make sure your garden is ready for hot weather ahead ...your irrigation system should be tested and working and plants mulched,” he says.

Byrne says the holidays are the perfect time to get into productive gardening, particularly as an activity to get the little ones involved in too.

Gardening Australia airs today at 7.30pm on ABC and ABC iview.