Inside the Melbourne rental with five housemates, one dog and a thriving cactus garden

• Who: Founder of Kep Horticulture and P0LY Designs Andy Kepitis with partner Lara Fisher and housemates Sam, Alex, and Britt
• Where: A four-bedroom house in Northcote, Melbourne
• Rent: Household $880 a week ($345 for Kepitis and Fisher’s room)

When Andy Kepitis moved into this Melbourne sharehouse in 2016, the backyard consisted of little more than knee-high grass and a dead apricot tree. 

What was initially only good for a game of backyard cricket (“I managed to host a 16-person backyard cricket tournament here, a repeat of that is certainly off the cards!”) has evolved under Kepitis’ watch to become a thriving cactus and succulent garden.

Kepitis is now the owner of Kep Horticulture, but upon moving into this house, his fascination with plants was only beginning. 

“Before I studied horticulture, I was working at a nursery and saw a string of pearls (Curio rowleyanus) for the first time, and the weirdness of it just blew me away,” he says. “My manager told me it was possible to take a little piece of the plant, pop it in soil, and a new plant would start growing, and that just rocked my world.”

Kepitis’ Northcote sharehouse had been rented by friends for years before he moved in, but no one had ever tended to the backyard. He saw an opportunity to establish a green oasis – a place he’d be unlikely to recreate on the same budget in future as a home owner.

“I know that I’ll never have such a large, sprawling backyard so close to the city, so I’m enjoying this space as much as possible now, knowing that one day in the future, we will have to downsize the garden space,” Kepitis explains. 

His garden started with a few pots on the back deck that quickly expanded across the lawn. Kepitis soon built his own greenhouse to grow cacti and succulent crops before establishing a perennial garden in mid-2020.

Kepitis’ plant collection continues indoors, where he tends to an additional 30 plants occupying the nooks and crannies of the four-bedroom house shared with his partner and fellow co-founder of P0LY Designs Lara Fisher and housemates Sam, Alex, and Britt. 

The highlight of the space is the wall-secured devil’s ivy – its vines extending their reach across the living room over the past five years.

“I use clear ethernet cable hooks to attach it to the wall to give the effect that it’s clinging,” says Kepitis. “The ivy is also covering up some rather large cracks that have formed from our old house moving and shifting with age.”

Kepitis’ landlord has a “personal vendetta” against canna lilies but otherwise provides him with free rein to transform the garden. That being said, Kepitis admits he’s generally one to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. 

“I asked our landlord one day if I could pull out some grass at the front to plant some flowers. He said yes, and I’ve kind of taken that ‘yes’ as a ‘yes’ to anything,” Kepitis says.

“It should be noted that my views are coming from a completely biased plant lover’s standpoint, but I think as long as you’re giving the garden the attention it deserves, it would be strange for someone to tell you not to get outside and enjoy yourself.”

Kepitis’ housemates agree, offering him complete freedom to let his horticulture expertise and passion for plants run wild. 

The horticulturist spends “most of the daylight hours I can” tending to the garden, often simply admiring his ever-growing plant collection. “It’s just me, head over heels for plants at this house. I’m very lucky that everyone I’ve lived with has let me do my thing without any pushback,” he says. 

By keeping the bulk of his plants in pots, Kepitis has ensured his garden can be mostly relocated if he one day decides to move. When that time comes, Kepitis says he’ll be sad to leave such a large backyard behind, but he’s looking forward to establishing a more permanent landscape with plants able to reach their full potential in the ground.

“It’s just going to be one hell of a weekend/week/month to move all of my plants!” 

Andy Kepitis’ garden tips for renters

• Use small potted plants to keep costs down and plant fast-growing species like Poa or Carex grasses.
• Small shrubs such as Salvia or Echium will quickly fill out and prevent other weeds from establishing.
• Vegetable and flower seed packs provide real bang for your buck. Clear out garden beds of weeds and spread the seeds around; keep on top of the weeds, and within a few weeks or months, you’ll be rewarded with either food to eat from your garden or flowers to admire. 
• Don’t waste time trying to grow indoor plants in poorly lit rooms. Instead, consider putting a devil’s ivy cutting in some water or using dried flowers to bring nature into the space.