Green thumb … Brimbank resident Victor, left, meets Vasili the gardening guru. 66060
By Vanessa CHIRCOP
LAST week green thumbs in Hobsons Bay were granted an audience with celebrity gardener and funny-man Vasili from the Channel 31 show Vasili’s Garden.
He ran an informal Q and A style workshop at Altona Library where members of the audience were given first hand tips and advice.
The workshop was about growing your own edible garden where Vasili used examples of gardens featured on his television show to explain how it can be done.
The show, which has been operating for more than eight years, features the backyards of everyday gardeners around Australia.
The father of four stressed the importance and economic benefits of home grown, seasonal fruit and vegetables and encouraged his audience to spend more time in the backyard and to teach their children to do the same.
“There’s been a revolt,” he said, “Everybody wants to go back to basics now.”
And of course it wouldn’t have been a Vasili workshop if it didn’t end with a piano accordion and a zorba dance.
After the workshop Vasili told Star he loves going out and meeting fans of his show.
“This is the fourth workshop today,” he said, “I love it.”
The engineer turned gardener said he stopped his work as an engineer because he hated being indoors.
“I grew up in my dad’s garden and this is what I love – being outdoors and eating good food.”
Despite his huge following and offers from commercial networks Vasili said he chooses to stay at Channel 31 because it allows him to keep the show at a grass roots level.
“I would consider moving if I could do it on my own terms … it’s about making a living but not by twisting the show into something else – it’s about the people not the presenter.”
