Have you ever wondered what happens to the thousands of plants that are thrown out when properties are landscaped, or nurseries clear out unwanted stock. Often these perfectly good plants end up as landfill. Megan Kinninment, from Seeker of the Lost Arts talks to one man who has taken it upon himself to recycle unwanted plants and give them a new life.
Meet Trev Murray, 62; the plant recycler.When we arrive at Trev’s Recycled Plant Garden, I pop in to introduce myself in the “Boy’s Club” (otherwise known as the office) and Trev is watching Key Largo on the TV– the 1948 black and white movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
He tells me the white pea hen should be out at this time of day, so with my two kids in tow I set off in search of the hen along the maze of pathways in the overgrown jungle that Trev has created. We get lost in there, over and over again, and my kids delight in discovering ”secret” pathways through the green chaos and magically happening upon a family of ducklings making merry in the puddles left over from a recent downpour.
A lot of Trev’s plants come from Northern River nurseries who have to clear stock because it is root bound or out of fashion; others come from gardeners who can swap plants for credits to spend at Trev’s. “Everybody wants perfection these days. They will throw things out that aren’t perfect, but things that aren’t perfect will find a home here,” Trev says.
Despite no formal horticultural training, Trev’s green thumb is in evidence everywhere. “I just do things the way my grandmother taught me,” he says. “Here’s how to grow plants: Take a plant. Put the plant in a pot. Keep it watered.
People complicate things. Most people are waiting for a Hollywood script to arrive in their lives. You have to write your own script.”
Formerly a caterer, when Trev had a heart attack eight years ago, life changed. “Catering was a high pressure job,” he says. “I was half dead and dead broke, and I thought to myself: I’ve got to fix this. So, I started to grow things.” Starting with $40 worth of palm seeds, Trev has transformed this unused acre in Ballina’s industrial district into an oasis of greenery, growing everything from fruit trees and veggie seedlings to flowering exotics; cacti and treeferns.
Trev Murray: “You have to write your own script.” Photo: Megan Kinninment
Trev has also created somewhat of a wildlife refuge for a variety of birds ranging from his own pet cockatiels and a 40-year-old one-legged cockatoo, through to turkeys, chickens, ducks, finches, quails, rescued pigeons – even a media-shy white pea hen along with native birds who are daily visitors.
Trev’s garden is unlike any plant nursery you will ever come across: It’s madcap and jampacked – not only with plants but studded with an array of recycled statues. At every turn there is a surprise – from laughing Buddhas to gnomes riding rabbits and as we walk around the garden, Trev points out a number of hens hidden in the foliage; happily sitting in pot plants, guarding their eggs.
“A lot of grandparents bring their grandchildren here because it’s natural and wild,” Trev tells me – and I can see why. My kids loved it.
While Trev’s garden has become a bit of a Ballina institution, the days of his magical green mayhem may be numbered due to the owner having put the land on the market, but Trev is philosophical: “I’ve always known the land would be sold one day,” he says. “I’d really like someone to take my idea and start something like this in their own town. Instead of plants being turned onto methane in landfill, they are here providing oxygen.”
I leave with some new cacti for my own growing collection and the strong hope that “someone” does take Trev’s idea and run with it… a lot of “someones” in a lot of towns, recycling plants for all to enjoy. Wouldn’t that be grand?
All photos courtesy of Megan Kinninment. Catch her blog on https://seekerofthelostarts.com/ Trev Murray: https://www.trevsrecycledgarden.com/ call 0401229 156
