Gardens of WA: Phil ‘Pippy’ Harvey shows off Mandurah backyard after becoming too sick to tend to it

This week’s garden took me down the road to Mandurah to meet gardener Phil “Pippy” Harvey.

Phil, now too ill to tend his garden, wanted to share it with the people of Western Australia.

We chatted quietly about his succulents and garden projects while adults and grandchildren buzzed around with the excitement of our visit and the chance to share their “Pippy” with the world.

After decades in the Pilbara, where his career culminated as director of education, Phil returned to the place where his story began.

In 1940 Phil’s grandfather bought the mill manager’s house across the road from where the family now lives. He also built the wooden jetty at the end of the street.

The mill was known as Boltons’ Mill, and young Phil spent hours roaming the bountiful garden, recalls his wife Roberta