Gardening with Margaret Matthews
In the backyard at Mum's
by Margaret Matthews
As the season of Christmas approaches and family reunions occur in many homes, some of us look back to the way we spent Christmas day in past years.
Here is one scenario: it is set in what was then the ‘outer east’ of Melbourne’s suburban sprawl, which has now expanded far beyond this point.
Many families went to church and then came home to the traditional meal of roast chicken (then considered a luxury) and plum pudding. After dinner (why is it now called ‘Christmas lunch’?), the younger generations played cricket or footy on the buffalo-grass lawn, while the grans, mums and aunts disposed of the mountain of greasy plates and tried to fit the left-overs into the ice-chest. Their male counterparts snored in the deckchairs under the Waltheim Cross grape trellis.
This ‘time capsule’ is just post Second World War when the population explosion, lower interest rates for returned ex-servicemen and women, meant that the jewel-in-the-crown was the quarter-acre block, with the basic weatherboard dwelling where the nuclear family lived happily ever after.
In some backyards of this period, the ‘dunny’ at the bottom of the garden was still a feature, for septic tanks were not available to everyone, and sewerage only served those in the established inner suburbs. The clothesline stretched above the lawn, secured by a post at each end, with a wooden prop in the centre to take the weight of the wet washing. The Hills Hoist, recently invented, became a status symbol, and later an icon, adopted universally by Australians, and achieved world fame when it featured in the Olympic Games closing ceremony.
What plants did we grow in our backyards? Gardens of this period were constant reminders to their owners of friends and neighbours, for the very good reason that they swapped cuttings (we called them ‘slips’). A conversation might go like this:
"What a beautiful fuchsia you have in that hanging basket, Mary!"
"Yes, it is lovely. Would you like a slip?"
"Thank you, and you must have a slip of my pink begonia."
There were fewer plant nurseries such as we have now, and certainly no ‘Garden Centres’ (usually spelt ‘centers’ in line with their American origin). I cannot recall exactly when plastic pots came on the scene. Nurseries used empty jam and fruit tins, just as home gardeners did. Kerosene tins, freely available then, were cut in half and used for larger plants. There were terracotta pots, but they were too expensive for many budgets.
There were no special potting mixes. Gardeners used the soil with which they were blessed or cursed – mainly heavy clay in the area we are describing. If there was a poultry farm or stables nearby, animal manure was often free or at low cost for the taking. Gardens were watered by hose or watering can. Everyone grew roses, lilac, lavender perennial asters, chrysanthemums, daisies of every kind, japonica, forsythia and flowering currant. Annuals such as Iceland and orange Californian poppies, pansies, cornflowers, snapdragons, bright pink petunias, phlox, marigolds, ‘Bonfire’ salvia (the latter two often garishly planted together), forget-me-nots, love-in-a-mist, nasturtiums and many others, some of which self-seeded and became a bonus for the neighbours.
Not many Australian plants were grown in our backyards at this time, but their unique qualities came to be valued by a new generation of gardeners. Native plants are now widely grown in the majority of gardens.
There was always mint near the tap, and parsley outside the kitchen door. There would always be a rhubarb and a strawberry bed, and spinach, carrots, lettuce and scarlet runner beans were grown and harvested in season. What of the competition for who would have the first ripe tomato or the biggest pumpkin?
Let us not forget the mandatory lemon and fig trees and, if space permitted, a peppercorn in which to climb and build a cubbyhouse.
This is only one of many ways in which we celebrated Christmas in the latter part of the 1940s. There have always been social and financial differences in our society, but in recent years crass commercialism has taken over from the time when simple home-made gifts such as a jar of jam, a linen handkerchief, a plant potted up especially, were highly valued.
The years have brought many changes. Gardeners who have come from other countries have taught us, among many things, that there are more interesting vegetables than peas, carrots and beans. We have learned about broccoli, eggplant (or aubergine), tiny Lebanese cucumbers, and many varieties of lettuce other than the Iceberg! Asian herbs and spices and many different ways of cooking them have changed our palates. Those from other countries and cultures may celebrate anniversaries at different times of the year from us, but this increases the richness and diversity of our country.
If we are fortunate enough to have family and friends with us at Christmas we should remember those who do not. There will be sadness in many families, some mourning the loss or absence of relatives, some of country. Some who wait for news of a child who has left home. Whatever our country or creed we still grieve for the absent faces at the table.
Remember to care for your garden over the hot weather. Good wishes to you all…I’ll be back in February 2002.
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