Antique Perennials is a wonderful nursery with many rare and unusual plants and so it is no surprise this event sold out very quickly. Owners Matt and Michael took us on an informative tour of the growing area, display garden and behind the scenes. They grow over 1000 different plants including shade loving woodlanders, prairie plants, bulbs, grasses and hardy perennials. Their plants are grown in the ground before they are transferred into their distinctive purple pots and sent out to wholesale and retail nurseries.
Our tour started with a deep dive into soil management. Matt explained the importance of regularly adding compost into the soil in the growing area as it has a high turnover of growing plants. Yet the soil in the display garden is more or less left undisturbed to be more representative of home gardens.
The garden is stunning and as we wondered around, Michael pointed out some special plants such as the Knipholia thomsonii var. snowdenii ’Stern’s Trip’ which flowers for months and is loved by native Spinebills (I bought 2). The display area is a lovely mix of perennials and grasses together and even though it looks like high maintenance, it is actually quite the opposite – very low maintenance. The dense planting keeps the weeds down, there is no dead heading or pruning during summer and it is cut back once a year in winter. The large variety of plants used in the garden has created a rich biodiversity of birds, insects, and reptiles.
Lastly Michael explained the mechanics of running their nursery as well the challenges involved in sourcing plants around the world and getting them safely into Australia and through quarantine.
Thanks to Matt and Michael for having us and being so generous with their time and knowledge. There were plenty of plant purchases before we moved onto Songbird cafe for lunch and an opportunity to chat and catch up.
Words by: Lubana Squire
Photos by: Rosemary Ulph and Lubana Squire