When Costa Georgiadis starred as ‘Costa the Garden Gnome’ in Get Grubby TV on ABC Kids he was an enormous hit.
After all he’s bigger than life to adults too. When he makes public appearances at Flower Festivals or to gardening communities, Costa is a magnet to plant lovers of all ages.
So it comes as no shock that ABC has launched Gardening Australia Junior, a 20 x 11 min sequence to encourage the following era of junior inexperienced thumbs. In truth filming for the brand new sequence was halted quite a few instances as a result of followers needed to fulfill the hirsute host.
Joining him within the newest ABC Kids venture are Gardening Australia co-hosts Clarence Slockee, Tammy Huynh and Hannah Moloney. The query maybe isn’t why we have now a children’ gardening sequence, however why it’s taken so lengthy?
“It’s form of one thing that we’ve had on the grill for a very long time,” Costa tells TV Tonight.
“It’s at all times been one thing that I needed from day one. But it’s only a case of getting the geese to line up with budgets, concepts and issues colliding. And lastly it’s received wings. We’re all actually enthusiastic about it.
“I believe the timing is correct. Families and communities have turn into nearer to their native environments throughout COVID. I believe that’s helped push that consciousness round being in nature and understanding that nature’s not this place out someplace. We are nature and all our selections day by day, are based mostly round nature. When we begin to assume like that, then our likelihood to attach with it form of appears extra logical. I believe that’s why that is going to go properly, as a result of households are extra receptive to it.”
Fittingly, there’s a big swag of junior presenters following an open ABC call-out: Molly Moriarty, Reagan Swao, Matilda Eshman, Marcus Donovan, Luca Lambert, Kiki Wales, Jett Laveta-Iliev, Zsofia Borzak-Bell, Nell Brooks, Enzo Carroll (son of actor Luke Carroll) and Frida Vikstrom (daughter of Hannah Moloney).
“By having the youngsters presenters leads it provides us that likelihood to form of illustrate to kids that, they are often what they see. They can’t be what they will’t see. So by having all the totally different college students, or youth presenting, it simply is logical,” he explains
“The children can then see tales popping out of a child’s mouth.”
Filming happened round Australia, together with Tasmania and Western Australia with episode themes together with
Smelly Grass Tea, Leafy Art, Magic Seed Pots, Dino Garden, Super Worms, and Flower Tea Party.
“Each episode has a theme after which inside that theme, there’s duties and actions, as a name to motion,” he continues.
“There’s Top Tips, there’s Just a Minute the place they get a random interview who speaks for a minute about their backyard.
“We have little bumper segments in each episode, or each couple of episodes, the place individuals have despatched in a video or photograph saying ‘These are the carrots that I grew!’
“Seeing children try this stuff, you already know, that’s the place the facility centre is for me.”
Some have already got tv expertise on commercials, films, Play School, Faraway Downs, We Interrupt This Broadcast whereas many are making their tv debut. Yet Georgiadis admits for a few of the new expertise it takes time to seek out their broadcast ft.
“The sequence actually began to seek out its place, the additional and deeper we received into filming. It’s like something, they needed to have a place to begin and I believe, sure, you may see that a bit bit. But because it goes on, you see the youngsters develop in confidence,” he observes.
“It’s like something. You’ve received lots of people with a whole lot of vested pursuits, and everybody’s form of going ‘Try this, try this.’ That’s sort of the best way of the world. But it’s received to construct its persona and I reckon it didn’t take lengthy.
“The thought isn’t about me main it, it’s about them main it, and them asking and me simply dropping in some markers right here and there.”
Hopefully the sequence encourages kids, as much as main faculty age, to turn into energetic in their very own household gardens.
“Do it with Nanna and Pop, get your dad and mom collectively, do it together with your brothers and sisters. I believe that that’s the engine room of it. We’ve received you for 10 minutes, right here’s your actions, get on the market and get captured by nature’s intelligence and all of the actions.Whether it’s constructing a bug lodge or a butterfly cafe, or whether or not it’s doing the compost or making a rainbow veggie backyard or a pizza herb backyard,” he suggests.
“It’s turning familiarity into motion via curiosity, and enjoyable.”
Gardening Australia Junior screens 7:05pm Fridays on ABC Kids.
