By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
PURSUING a life-long passion handed down from his father, Attila Kapitany’s succulent garden is a world-renowned creation found right in the heart of Narre Warren.
Showcasing the spectacular appeal of succulents through his 15 self-published books and very own backyard Attila, 56, and his wife Michele, 59, moved into the acreage property 13 years ago.
“We started planting and growing the garden when we moved here and since then we’ve had thousands of people walk through our property in open gardens,” Attila said.
“Once we had to call the emergency services because the street was blocked – we had 11,000 people through on one day.”
The explosion of colour, texture and scent is dotted with bottle trees, Australian natives and even roses.
“People are often unaware that succulents and roses can grow really well together and actually benefit from each other,” Attila said.
With more than 10,000 succulents flowering for spring Attila said it may be “spring peak” but his garden was always in bloom.
“There’s not a day of the year when there’s not something in flower,” he said.
Having owned and operated retail and wholesale nurseries in the past, Attila with the support of Michele now writes, speaks, studies and educates others on his love of gardening and experimenting with plants.
“We are absolutely passionate, we don’t just work professionally with them we go out and do research in the field and bring back new species from around the world- I just got back from speaking in the US,” he said.
Conducting different water and feeding experiments in their own garden Attila said it’s amazing just how long some plants can go without water.
“We get to find out what the plant needs and wants and can recommend certain plants for different living arrangements, such as a pot plant on a balcony- where you can go on a holiday for three months and come back to it still looking perfect,” he said.
Considered an expert in succulents, Attila said he was entirely self-taught.
“I have been in the field I love for 40 years, almost a life time,” he said.
