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Jaclyn Crupi visits Heartland, the abundant garden of Jac Semmler, author of Super Bloom: A field guide to flowers for every gardener' to talk about gardening, beauty, the book and of course maximum flowers in a special one off podcast.
Super Bloom: A field guide to flowers for every gardener is published by Thames and Hudson. Available online and in all great bookstores across Australia and NZ. Release in the Northern Hemisphere in May 2023.
(Music fades in)
(Sounds of walking in the garden)
"Welcome to this special one off podcast about gardening, beauty and of course super blooms. I’m Jaclyn Crupi, and today we are talking to the author of Super Bloom, Jac Semmler.
(Door opens)
Hi!
How are you?
Jac is a plant lover with their own plant practice. Jac wants to make gardening accessible. She wants us to throw away the rulebook and begin to shift the conversation around how we approach our gardens.
This is my heartland.
It’s beautiful!
I’m in Frankston, a coastal suburb of Melbourne in south-eastern Australia.
You just have to crouch low, kids must love this garden!
Laughs
I’m going to meet Jac in her garden ‘Heartland’,
Different kinds of geraniums, roses and a little bit of naughty fennel..
this space is a living and thriving love letter to flowers,
..and that purple canna that came from my aunty, many years ago, I just always grow that in every garden.
and we are going to find out how every/any gardener can grow beauty.
And this gorgeous, all these shiso, salvias, all of these other bits and pieces, this is a creative place, we can play, it doesn’t matter if we don’t get it right the first time.
(Music fades out)
[1:23]
So Jac, we are both gardeners that you predominantly grow flowers and I predominantly grow food that said, you grow food and I grow flowers. And I think what we both actually do is tend to plants. And we improve soil. That's what we're doing when we're gardening. You know, we save seed with germinate those seeds, we nurture those plants, we observe them. We learn what they like what they dislike when it comes to things like soil and water and light and even other plants. You know, they have preferences, who they like to grow near... And I wonder Is that how you define gardening? How would you define just this broad idea of gardening?
I think you're right, like gardening. I think it's not too restrictive. Gardening is caring for a plant.
Like if you're caring for a plant. And even maybe you just tend it with your eyes. Like maybe you just observe that little Pelargonium in the crack as you walk down the street each day. Like you're connecting to nature in a way. And for me, nature plus people is gardening.
Like, you know, it's a it's a loose description, but I think anyone can be a gardener, you caring for a planet, you're tending a plant. You're a gardener.
[2:42] Absolutely, your book is very much a celebration of gardening as community and continuity. You beautifully say I can feel in my hands, the generations of plants, women that came before me. Can you tell me about these wonderful women, some of whom you profiled in the book, and the impact that they've had on your gardening practice.
I was so lucky, I grew up in a farm in central Victoria and I had these incredible grandmas and aunties that had these really tough gardens in the Western District of Victoria, where it was very dry during summer. And they didn't have an amazing access to water. And they grew these beautiful, resilient gardens, with just thought they had you know, they got cuttings from their friends, they swapped bulbs, they collected seeds.
And they created this expression of beauty in these harsh environments.
And it fed them it, sustain them through challenging times, droughts and all different kinds of things. And I feel that they really taught me and gave me and a confidence to tend plants, that you, you can just have a go that you will learn over time.
And they had this spirit of generosity of like, you'd always leave their gardens where it's like a whole stack of cuttings, and a few pieces of plants of this and plants of that and seeds and a bunch of flowers.
And there is this real spirit of generosity, it didn't feel frugal, like it didn't feel like this, like things were scarce. And that's why we grew plants this way, it felt like there was always an abundance, like, it really I think, taught me that, that, you know, gardens can can be these Heartlands, that can be an expression of who we are as women, as people have this creative expression that people can garden in a way that's art. You don't need to have grown up on a farm like, like through trial and error through a few little tips and tricks. Just by starting, you grow plants, you can be a gardener yourself.
[5:02] How formative though, if you are lucky enough to have grown up with those women growing growing those gardens in those conditions particularly.
Yeah, I really do feel them in my hands as I garden I feel like as my hands age, I'm starting to see them.
Their hands.
Yeah, exactly. Oh, oh grazes and cuts and the old dirty fingernail like I, I really, I just and I feel like my honour them in a way in in sharing that message with other people that you can find all this beauty and wonder in such small simple ways.
[5:41] So I personally am always surprised by people who think there are lots of rules to gardening. But we do hear that there's do's and don'ts and things you know you can have a certain kind of garden. You can have a cottage garden or a low maintenance garden or a native garden, All of those things. And I'm not, of course, talking about things linked to seasons or conditions, because of course, you do need to work with those things. But more this idea that yeah, natives can be planted with productive plants, and cottage gardens can only have certain plants or colours and schemes. And I wondered, what do we gain? When we disregard rules and trends and just garden with our hearts?
I think we can find our true selves in a garden when we garden by our hearts. And we can also create gardens that are of place, or that are really climate compatible to the environments that we live in. And it surprises me still, that there are certain rules around what colours should go with what and
I remember going and seeing a friend, that's a dressmaker, she's got the most incredible garden, she's very creative. And you can see that in her garden. It's a great cacophony of colours and plants. And she once said to me that she thought she was doing it the wrong way. Because she had read a book that had told her that you should only have these kinds of colours together, and these kinds of colours together, and she thought she'd stuffed it up, and to be surrounded by this incredible garden that would have had received that message to, to think that this wasn't right, like and why does there need to be a right way to garden?
Like, it's this extension of who we are. It's this relationship with nature. Why can't that just evolve? We've got all of these amazing plants that are equally resilient. So there's some flowering things like cosmos that, you know, they are really tough during summers.
And so why can't we play with them and grow them with bigger succulents? Like we don't, don't need to just think about groups of plants in certain ways. And I think sometimes you see that when you work at walk into a nursery or, or you pick up a garden book, but,
with super bloom, I didn't want to provide a rule book, I want people to have that freedom to find beauty for themselves. But it is a little bit of like a cook's companion, or is this friendly guide with plenty of things to get you started.
So some of those fundamental things on how to grow from seed, how to do cuttings, if you're not familiar with how to get started. And I like to think about it as a little bit of a friend, like a nice garden friend that's like, hey, there are all these glorious flowers that you can grow.
And all these little glorious planting partners you can grow them with to just to get you started just to start getting those ideas running and a bit of a beauty manifesto. To give you permission like to really say, you can grow beauty. Let's go on a journey and discover what that means for you.
[8:49] Absolutely. So I'd love for you to explain this idea of maximalist gardening. So this maximum plants maximum Vichy isn't simply a lot of plants?
It is like lots of plants throughout the year, and lots of flower power, I think.
But for me, often we see gardens that are very stripped back where plants are only around the edges.
And I think that we all have this hunger for beauty in our hearts. Like we're really seeking that beauty. we want to find wonder, or we can find wonder when tending plants and maximalist plants, it just means like, and for me, like on a cheeky day, it's just about how many plants I can jam in your garden.
But also, I think it reflects that there's so much diversity and wonder in the plant world, so why not tend more of it? Why not experiment, you? You know. Plants can cover walls, they can create fences, they can create shade, like plants can do all of these jobs for us in garden, that hard structures could so why not just have more plants
I remember when I first came across the idea of using plants as mulch, that if you've got a packed garden, you actually don't need to mulch it because the plants are acting as mulch. They're covering the soil.
Yeah. And for me that maximalist it is about having plants on all those different layers like plants from the ground plants that are upright plants that are climbing plants that emerge throughout different seasons, like bulbs, and also just how we can bring those different plants together that create that beauty and that wonder and that beautiful feeling that we get in our home gardens.
[10:42] Absolutely, so Jac, you've called this book super bloom. And I wondered if you could tell us what a super bloom actually is.
Super bloom is this incredible natural phenomenon, which can happen in nature, where many plants will start flowering at the same time. And it's quite incredible.
(Alice springs hiking outback sounds fade in)
(Music fades in)
it's not something that we necessarily expect to see when we think about the natural world. But when it happens when the conditions are right, it's quite incredible to see that splash of colour, and also that way that it transforms landscape.
I remember when I first saw one, I'm been lucky to live in Central Australia, and in the high country as well where these things happen. And I remember hiking and coming around a corner to this particular valley in this dry environment., it had been an incredibly dry period, it had rained, that saturated the ground for a few weeks. And then Quebec native responded and there were so many flowers, there were so many flowers. And so many Australian paper daisies were in bloom. And I just, I don't even know how to describe it. Like just seeing that landscape like covered in flowers. Like it was so incredible.
And that feeling like that feeling of just being immersed in it to feel surrounded by that beauty and that wonder, there's this way that we're drawn to flowers as humans and to see them then in that mass like I I couldn't even find the words for it. Like, it just it just was so moving. And I think something that will always stay with me.
(added space for a music breath)
We might not ever garden at that kind of scale that we'll see in a super bloom. But as that little flower and fills on our windowsill. It's magical, like, it's so magical. And in that moment, we're immersed, we're not thinking about our meetings, or school runs, or work or what we just we're not thinking about any of that. We're simply thinking about that beauty, and that flower.
and what I really want to say to everyone is that we can have these moments of wonder, and these special, special little things that happen in day to day life :Liike, we need beauty for our hearts as well as sustenance for our bellies.
(Music fades out)
[10:42 BREAK ]
If someone has a blank canvas, so I'm thinking a garden, that's nothing but soil. What do you advise them to do to get started? Where should they start?
They should just start small, just start small and just start chipping away at that garden. I think it's wonderful to start in a place that you see often.
Like if you always come into your house a particular way, and you always see this little pocket of blank slate. Why not work on that first like why not? Shot to tend and to grow plants in that space, you're going to see it every day. Like, it's going to give you all of that wonder in that beauty every day that you come into your home. Or perhaps you spend a lot of time in your kitchen, and you look out onto a particular patch, like why not start working there, start with what you can see and just start small.
Like gardening. It's like an art and a science is a skill that we develop over time. And so if you just start small observe, learn what's working, continue to do what's working over time, you can eventually fill all that space with plants.
Yeah, there's
no need to feel overwhelmed.
No.And there's no timeline, like you can just go at your own speed, maybe do a little bit of this, maybe do a little bit of that, and then just gradually work on your garden.
[14:52] When we seek beauty on a search of beauty in the garden, because you talk about that a lot in the book, when we're seeking beauty in our gardens, what are we looking for? Are we is it about the sort of the sublime, over sort of the mundane? Or is it just finding beauty in the small things and the simplest of flowers,
I think it's personal, I think beauty is very personal. And it's okay for us to have an idea of beauty and what it works for us. But for me, it's those small moments, the flower, unfurling, seeing that beautiful dried seed head of a poppy, it might not be a yard full of flowers, it might be a beautiful petal, and how it's just killing at the edge. Like, there's all of these small moments of wonder there's all of these small moments of pleasure that we can find. And I feel like, you know, we do have a hunger for beauty in our hearts. And we are out there seeking it and tending plants and finding all of this wonder.
And you have permission to define what beauty is to you. And that's what I hope Super Bloom conveys is that you have permission to create your own garden at any scale with what you love, like you can do that you can craft and intend your own garden, your own plants.
[16:11] And beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?
Yeah!
I think that's one of the great things about gardens and visiting the gardens of others is you can visit somebody's garden and think, Oh, I would never personally grow this particular garden in this way. Because that's not, but it's beautiful to see somewhere else in my garden, I'm gonna tend what I would what's beauty to me?
Exactly, exactly. We can give ourselves permission to explore that I think, often we can make decisions around what we want to wear, what we want to eat, what we want our homes to look like. But then often people can feel a bit held back in terms of what they want their gardens to be or feel like it has to be a certain way. It doesn't have to be a certain way you can discover what it means to you.
[16:57] Yeah, you can go for a walk in your neighbourhood. And if there's some geraniums growing over a fence, you can take some cuttings, perhaps just get started, right there.
Yeah, absolutely. or collect a little seed from somewhere like, you don't need to have a massive budget. You don't need to have a block of land like you can really do it.
[17:16] Yeah, this is slightly off tangent, but Off we go. I personally believe that there's great joy to be had in gardening in your pyjamas and I was delighted that you say in your book that there have been days you've gotten all day in your pyjamas and you found yourself outside. And you just puttering away and that happens to me. As soon as I wake up. I feel like my God is calling to me. And so I often make myself a coffee and head out to see what's happened overnight. How everybody'sI just want to quickly talk a bit about the joy of gardening in pyjamas.
Oh, I love it because I think it's just that it's a bit of that freedom. Like isn't it don't you? Don't you feel like sometimes a garden can be a bit of an escape from the pressures of the modern world. And just when you like get up and the whole neighbourhood's asleep, you can kind of sneak out there. Enjoy your plan. And I do get busted like I get busted in the front.
[18:20] Well, your front yard would draw so much attention. Yeah, so beautiful. And so unlike everybody else's front yard, it's so hot. At full of plants that I'm sure it's a conversation piece constantly.
Yeah, absolutely. So people do love that it always feels like they're on flower watch, my neighbours are on flower watch I get little reports on what started to flower in my front garden which I love. I love that.
[18:44] You’re like I’m out here in My pyjamas I know, I’ve got this.
Oh my goodness, I get busted all the time. And I think it speaks to that beautiful state that we get to go when we're attending a plant or when we're caring for a plant. It's an immersive experience. You just get lost in it. And you get lost in time. And you just are in this different kind of headspace.
[19:10] You go out to do one thing and then it's four hours later. You haven't done that one thing but you've done all these other things,
All these other things and I love those freeform days where you don't like I love going out and you don't have to you don't have don't have any intention of doing certain things you just pottering around in you see something else and you make a different decision and oh you can collect those seeds are that's ready to plant in the ground. Like it's all that freedom of just being able to Potter away in your own garden your own time. And definitely in your pyjamas.
[19:45] Absolutely, I think the greatest skill any gardener actually has is just observation.
Yes, yes. And I think that that like though that is one of the most important tools like if, if people feel unsure about how to get going in their garden, like Yes, super bloom, you know, we have all of these tools and tips and tricks to get started. But observation like you can teach yourself how to garden through observation over time.
you can learn you can feel with your hands, you can see, as you get to know your plants better like friends, you'll see when they're really happy, you'll be able to observe and see what's happening at different times in your year. Like through your fingertips through your eyes, you've kind of got all the tools you need.
[20:33 ] Absolutely. That's gorgeous. I was wondering, you've got 70 Plus plants in the book. And I was wondering how on earth you chose, who got in who got cut, which broke your heart the most to leave?
Oh, I think was it was hard. I think I wanted to really share plants that I knew really well like friends. So I wanted to share my friends with other people.
I know a lot of things really old world or classic plants that that might not be super cool anymore, but are beautiful and really resilient and, and straightforward to grow. If you're just getting started, no matter where you are gardening in the world,
you know, just to give a little smattering of all different kinds of plants as well.
So some plants that are bulbs and some plants that are annuals that you can grow from seed and some things that are perennials that flower really well over summer.
Like I just wanted to share different plant forms and share some things that are easy to get started with. But especially things that are really floristic that have an amazing presence with their flowers that that really kind of capture your heart and your eyes that have that super bloom quality to them. And I think about things like like a poppy, it's really, you know, it's really well known, but how amazing are they when they've got their gorgeous seedhead and then other like Australian and non Australian plants as well. So things like Thai lotus, which you know, it's not a plant that a lot of people are familiar with, but it's super cool like it's got this amazing fluffy tail of a flower. So there are different bits of wonder that I'm just like, if you can you have to grow this at some point like give this a shot friend because this is awesome.
(laughs)
[22:20] Is there anything that you regret leaving out you just couldn't fit in? I mean, stunning but it's heavy and big and you probably couldn't fit another,
Oh, just so much more like I think that there's some incredible Australian plants like grevillea’s that are so full of flowers and wonder and and badly is that are incredible shrubs with beautiful flowers that bring bees and butterflies in and then our there's just so much like then you think about really old school begonias and then daffodils
I see book number 2 is on its way!
and I know it's like cutting out your children.
[23:11] You have talked a little bit about plant combinations, but I just want to sort of hone in on it a little bit because the book profiles each plant individually. But of course, when you're thinking of planting, you're thinking of plant combinations. And I wondered, how do you come up with which plant to pair with which and in what combination? How do you come up with that?
Well, I think it comes up like I'm feeling very lucky to kind of be thinking about plants all the time. But also from growing things like growing lots of things together, you see how they relate to each other, whether they're good neighbours, or they're not.
And I'm quite honest, like, I feel like there's all of these other ideas of plants that we can put together. And so in super bloom, sometimes I'm just like, I hadn’t tried this. But maybe I'm putting this in the plant lab, like just to get all of those ideas going.
Because I think sometimes it's easy to feel stuck, like, I really love this plant, but what else can I plant with it. And so there's just a whole lot of lists of different planting partners. And usually, like I kind of sketched them out in different ways.
So sometimes there's like spring fling, so things that flower all together in spring, or successional, spring friends, so things that will flower one after the other, so that you could have a real smattering of flowers over a year or over a season.
So there's all these different ways you can bring plants together, you might want them flowering before or after each other, you might want them flowering at the same time, you might want this really incredible foliage or texture, so that when your beautiful super bloom happens, you've got like a bit of a background to that gorgeous flower. Like there's all of this myriad of ways that you can pair plants together. And I think just thinking about what you want. So for me, it's that maximalism like how many plants can I jam in. And so what friends will go really well, and plenty of room for future ideas and future experiments.
(Music fades in)
We would live in a very complex world. We live in a modern world. We have pressures and stresses and so many things that are out of our control. But I feel like there's this hidden wholeness we can find when tending plants,
when having these moments of beauty in our garden, this connection to nature. I think it's very much in the middle of who we are as people. And I think it's important for us to connect to that
feel like gardening is something that's accessible to all like everybody can garden. Like we don't need to have qualifications. We don't need to have certain experiences like like it is a call to action because there's so much wonder and beauty to find and and it can be found by everyone.
[26:08] Jack, for your time today and for sharing all of your gardening knowledge and wisdom and ideas. And I think it's also inspiring, and we all just want to be in our garden. And what's so wonderful about this book is it feels like you're there next to us just this very reassuring guide to encourage us to try new things. I know I've planted so many new flowers that I hadn't really thought of before, thanks to this book. It's just been Yeah. Wonderful to speak to you today. So thank you so much.
Oh, thank you. It's so special that you've come to my heartland. And it's so magical that Super Bloom is out in the world. I hope that everybody can enjoy this beauty as much as we do.
Super Bloom: a field guide to flowers for every gardener by Jac Semmler is available now throughout Australia and New Zealand.
To be released in the Northern Hemisphere in May 2023.
Available online and in all great book stores