Scott and Robin McLay’s garden, Brookfield, Qld

It’s how a nursery owner gardens

Scott and Robin McLay’s garden, Brookfield, Qld. Picture: Kim Woods Rabbidge

Gardening is a really good, healthy addiction to have,” says Robin McLay. She should know. The down-to-earth Queenslander has been immersed in gardens all her life, both personally and professionally. And as the prospect of partial retirement beckons, she looks forward to “having more time in the garden”.

Since Scott and Robin McLay bought at Brookfield in Brisbane’s western suburbs in 2008, they have transformed the sloping 1ha block into a plant-rich, country-style garden. It’s a reflection of their roots. Robin grew up on a grazing property in Roma, where her parents and grandparents had beautiful gardens. “I have vivid memories of colourful spring annuals in my mother’s garden,” she says. At 19 she married Scott, a farmer, and they moved further west where she made her first garden using cuttings struck from a bunch of chrysanthemums she was given when their first child was born. “That was the only way to develop a garden out there,” she recalls.

Scott and Robin McLay’s garden, Brookfield, Qld. Picture: Kim Woods Rabbidge

The couple will celebrate 40 years of marriage this year; they have four daughters and soon-to-be 10 grandchildren. “We’ve moved around a bit, but wherever we’ve been I’ve managed to have a garden. It’s good for the soul,” Robin says.

The move to Brookfield saw them open to new business ideas and they soon bought the local garden centre. “I went there to buy plants and happened to ask if they knew of any nurseries for sale,” says Robin. “They said I was in luck as they were.” It was run down but Robin and Scott slowly built Brookfield Gardens into an award-winning business.

At the same time, Robin was developing her own garden. “Having a nursery when you’re making a garden is like owning the lolly shop,” she laughs. She enlisted landscape architect Sidonie Carpenter to do a plan and still seeks her advice. It’s designed so there is something to see from every window. “I love having lots of soft, flowering plants close to the house,” says Robin.

Robin and Scott McLay in their garden, Brookfield, Qld. Picture: Kim Woods Rabbidge

The house looks over generous garden beds to the pool, where palm trunks are festooned with pretty Phalaenopsis orchids. In the rose garden, Robin trials new varieties and keeps the best performers; ‘Paul Bocuse’ is one of her favourites. The nearby orchard, where the chooks roam, is full of citrus, while in a far corner the Red Bed contains strong, hot colours that work well at a distance. It features ‘Home Run’, a red rose that flowers non-stop, and a growing collection of aloes.

There’s also a rainforest created from scratch, starting with the trees and underplanting with bromeliads as the canopy developed. “It’s unbelievable how quickly it’s grown in this climate,” says Robin.

Scott and Robin McLay’s garden, Brookfield, Qld. Picture: Kim Woods Rabbidge

The Secret Garden has a formal structure using Murraya ‘Min-a-Min’ and Japanese box, while the succulent garden has a Mediterranean vibe and features an unusual arbour she is fashioning from jade plants (Crassula).

Their daughters have inherited the garden gene. Three of them are working in the business, which now includes a wholesale nursery bought 18 months ago. “With all the hard work we’ve put in, it’s nice to see a future with the family involved,” says Robin.

While weeding, I noticed a lot of worms on top of the soil. Is this something to be concerned about? Sacha Pech, Adelaide

Worms are most prolific in well-mulched soil with high levels of moisture and organic matter. They don’t like being disturbed by digging. Maintaining the mulch layer means fewer weeds, and more even temperatures and moisture levels. Soft mulches provide a food supply for worms as they break down; they include straw, pea straw, lucerne and sugar cane mulch. Worms will also go to the soil surface for air when the soil has been saturated after heavy rain.

I’m collecting paddock cow manure to use when we move to our new house. How do I compost it? Some of it is quite dry. Barry Powells, Coffs Harbour, NSW

If it’s dry, it’s already composted. The smell of fresh manure indicates its potential to burn plant roots. Cow manure quickly loses the ammonium form of nitrogen when exposed to air – up to 50 per cent in 12 hours. The nitrate form is also leached out through rainfall. Crumbled, dried pats will be excellent as a soil conditioner, but low in nutrients. You can also make manure tea with them.

Recently, northwest of Cairns, we found an electric blue, hairy caterpillar. Would it be poisonous as blue animals often are? Helen Jones, Gowrie Junction, Qld

The larvae of Hercules moths come from that area. Young caterpillars are white and covered in small spines but turn blue in later stages. They feed voraciously on a range of rainforest trees, especially bleeding heart tree. The brown moths are the largest in Australia, with a wingspan up to 270mm. References do not cite them as poisonous.

Cranlana, worth $80

Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. Website: helenyoung.com.au. The best question for September wins a copy of the new book Cranlana: The First 100 Years, the story of the Myer family seat and its garden, worth $80. 