Garden Matters – August

The rain has been great, but hopefully, we will get lots more and it will go into the wheatbelt which is really dry, with lots of the natural trees and shrubs dying!!  With this rain, I find the weeds are running ramport,  so this is at the top of "must do" jobs!  If you have a large garden, just do a small section every few days, else the task will seem daunting!  If you have an area where you can spray the weeds, go for it BUT MAKE SURE THERE IS NO WIND, as even a little sniff of it on foliage will kill the plant, especially natives.  Once you have got rid of all the weeds, mulch your garden with Pea-Straw, lucerne hay, sheep-poo, etc! as this will smother the weeds and keep the moisture in your garden.  Plants love rain, so if you can, put all your pot-plants out in it!  I know this can be a huge job but your plants will love you for it, plus they get a spring-clean!!!!  If the pots are too big to move, put some buckets out in the rain and water them with this.

VEGIE GARDEN - This is a MUST keep free of weeds area, if you are to get the maximum harvest from your crops!  Mulch this area as well!  Vegies which can still be planted include broccoli, cauliflower, silverbeet, beetroot, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, radish, bok-choy, etc.  Seasol is great when planting out seedlings as this will help stop the transplant shock. 

BULBS - Many are flowering now, adding some much needed colour to the garden.  Make sure you fertilise them at this stage so they will give you a great show the following year.  Also, remember not to cut back the dying foliage after flowering, as this is feeding the bulb for next year’s flowers!!! ( no matter how untidy it looks!!! OKAY!!!)

WALLFLOWERS - Wallflowers earned their name by growing in cracks in walls or stone work, thus both annual and perennial types tend to be extremely hardy plants, surviving in difficult positions and flowering at a time when little else is flowering!  All like to be in well drained positions and benefit from regular trimming to promote new growth and flowers!  All wallflowers make great cut flowers, plus they add scent and colour to the garden for most of the year!

PERENNIALS - such as asters, astilbe, achillea, cannas and shasta daisy - need lifting and dividing. To do this, pull the root-ball apart or cut it up with a sharp knife or spade.  Keep the newly divided plants well watered until they are re-established.  Here again, SEASOL will be of great benefit!   Other perennials that flower in spring and need planting now are, oyster plant, foxgloves, penstemon, salvias, wallflowers, etc.  Another striking perennial is Hellebores, other-wise called  "the winter rose" These have striking foliage and unusual flowers, which are sometimes green, white or muted pink, and now a new one with burgundy flowers.  These can be delightly spotted, throated or just pure colour.  The foliage varies, but is deeply lobed or serrated, and always dark, glossy and handsome year round!  They are great value planted under trees, where they like rich humus, moist soil, and shade cast by overhead branches.

PERSIMMON - The persimmon is a handsome tree, with its picturesque trunk, glossy green leaves which change colour to burnt orange and scarlet as the cold weather approaches.  Closely related to ebony (from which a piano's black keys are made!!)  it also has superb qualities as a timber tree and is used to make precious objects in the Far East, but we grow it for the orange-skinned fruit which has a unique texture and flavour. ( I love it sliced thinly with a good cheese, and a glass wine! )  Now is the time to plant one, if you have the room!  Usually grow to 13m but normally half this in gardens. Birds love the fruit so net or ripen indoors once the skin has coloured but the flesh is still firm.  There are astringent (eat when mushy) and non-astringent (can be eaten like a apple) varieties, so choose carefully to suit your taste.

Winter is the still time before the delights of spring, so enjoy this quiet time, and until next month, Happy Gardening!!!

Erika McManus from Erika's - look for the Red Van at the Market)