Adelaide plant enthusiast and self-proclaimed ‘plant nerd’ Markus Hamence has announced he will be a Garden Guru on Channel 9’s brand-new national television show The Garden Hustle Australia.
The Garden Hustle is a quirky and innovative garden lifestyle show filled with tips, tricks and inspiration. Markus says you don’t have to be an expert, you just need to be passionate with big ideas, and the show makes gardening real and accessible for everyday Australians.
“The show takes ambitious garden designs and plans and lets your average Aussies give it their best makeover attempt. Filled with laughs and encouraging camaraderie, this series takes everyday homeowners, renters, and unit dwellers, and follows their aspirational garden makeover. It’s super duper fun,” he says.
“To appear on a TV show that essentially represents my life is essentially a dream. Say the word ‘plant’ or ‘garden’ and I’m there! Plus the opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences within the Lush Life is a golden gift for me.”
The show is hosted by Lisa McCune and Dave Franklin and as a Garden Guru, Markus takes Lisa on a tour of his home jungle.
“I share a couple of personal stories and also offer some tips and tricks that I’ve learnt along the way that can hopefully helps some people keen to know more. We filmed it a good few months ago now BUT it was so much fun. Hopefully the season goes really well and it gets signed for another season and they want me back. I’d do it in a flash,” Markus says.
Markus is super keen to share his gardening tips and tricks with a national audience, and his passion for plants will shine through the screen- telling Glam Adelaide “I bang my drum for all who care to listen.”
“I’ve been running my ‘The Botanic Designer’ plant workshops around South Australia for the past 3 years and now an opportunity to take them wider is just smashing for me. I run the workshops for children to the mature folk and all in between and host them at cellar doors, shopping centres, schools, parties and town halls, so it’s really diverse,” Markus says.
“I actually work in and lecture Interior Design too, so creating the overall perfect space to reside in is important for our minds. We need more great energy in our lives, don’t you think?”
Markus explains that his love for plants, like most plant nerds, stems from his dad, who he used to follow around the garden on the weekends in his younger years.
“Slowly, 1m x 1m, I took over the entire backyard, it was my responsibility. Also, I was quite a shy kid and I used the plant world as a form of escapism, not unlike that children’s book ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’ I love the transformation of bedroom to jungle in the book. The garden was my safe space and I was exploring life and discovering who I was as an individual,” he says.
Markus wants to continue hosting his workshops around South Australia and hopes to take them interstate and to more regional locations next year. He is also working on a cabaret/festival show about relationships and how plants mimic them and writing a plant book.
“And, of course waiting by the laptop for the email from The Garden Hustle asking me back for season two!” he says.
To learn more about The Garden Hustle, click here. The show will air Saturdays at 7pm SA time on Channel 9.
More News
