Winter in the Garden:

Now its winter, what can you do in the garden?  

Frosts:

Your frost tender plants will need protection. Vegetables can be covered in a cloche, while tender ornamentals can have frost cloth put over them. Ideally build a greenhouse! I have just built mine.

General:

You can use old leaves make an excellent material for your compost bin or as a mulch. 

Prune hydrangeas now- cut back stems that have flowered last season to the next node with two buds.

Hydrangea Lacecap

Fruiting plants.

Apples can be pruned in June. Remember, they need little pruning, especially dwarf apples, other than shaping the tree.

Berryfruit can also be pruned – remove old canes and shoots of raspberries and boysenberries, and tie new shoots to your wires.  Cut out old shoots of gooseberries and blackcurrants.

Apple – dwarf eg Topaz

Vegetables:

You can plant garlic and shallot now – they can be planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest day.

Brassicas eg broccoli, strawberries and silver beet can also be planted now.

Watch out for slugs and snails – use a product like Quash, which is safe around pets.   

Lawns:

At this time of year, lawns can get mossy. You can use iron sulphate to control moss, or simply rake the lawn vigorously and remove the debris. If your lawn is poorly drained, you should think about putting in drains, or if it’s too shady create more light. If you can get untreated sawdust and spread it over muddy spots, it can help to absorb water and reduce the likelihood of mud.

Paths, decks & paved areas:

Hard surfaces such as timber decks and paving can also go mossy in winter. To control this, you can apply bleach eg Chlorodux, or a product such as Wet & Forget.  Apply it with a watering can or sprayer.

If you use a water blaster on these surfaces it can roughen the surfaces, and make it easier for moss and moulds to grow.

Happy winter gardening!

Now summer is almost here we are having cold snaps followed by warm spells. All the rain means our lawns are greener than ever. Plants like roses are thriving with the moister conditions too.

So what is a good plan leading to holidays?

Lawns: if you haven’t fertilised your lawns yet, then  apply a slow release lawn fertiliser now , but apply in the rain or water in well to avoid possible leaf burn. If you still have moss, apply iron sulphate in a watering can. Keep cutting the lawn regularly, but only cut lightly as you want a thick sward not a scalped lawn prone to weed growth. If you have weeds you can manually remove or use chemicals carefully but remember a healthy, vigorous lawn will swamp out weeds.

Roses: keep deadheading spent flowers. Apply a rose fertiliser and water in. Keep an eye out for aphids and apply soapy water or Yates Bug Oil if needed. The moist conditions make black spot more likely so apply a copper spray on an overcast day.

Edibles: keep up the watering unless you have an automatic irrigation system ( recommended). Add compost regularly like a mulch to smother the weeds and add nutrients. Hand sprinkle blood and bone around your plants – the dogs will love it as much as the plants! Stake your tomatoes and train your climbing plants eg beans. You can rotate your crops eg leaf, root and legume ( eg beans) or grow the “three sisters” together ie beans, pumpkins and corn, as they compliment each other.

Trees, shrubs & perennials : trim your hedges with hedge clippers to thicken them up, taking off no more than ¼ at a time. Stake any new trees or check their ties with all the wind we are having. You can add a general fertiliser to each plant but water in afterwards. Keep on top of the weeds, and mulch to keep weeds down before they get away and seed. The old saying “ One years  seeding seven years weeding” applies.  Once plants finish flowering cut them back with hedge clippers past the spent flowers to bush them up and put the energy into leaf growth.       

Irrigation systems: if you have a battery- operated timer check the batteries are ok before you head off for holiday.

Here are a few favourites flowering now:

Arthropdium cirrhatum, renga lily

Hebe Wiri Mist

Lobelia

Xeronema callistemon, Poor Knights lily

Have a great Xmas and New Year