Retirement Living
Spring is here at last after a chilly winter. Take the time to walk around the village and enjoy the burst of colourful flowers blooming in our gardens.
By Noelene B.
Spring is here at last after a chilly winter. Take the time to walk around the village and enjoy the burst of colourful flowers blooming in our gardens.
Ranunculus, anemones, snowflakes, jonquils, daffodils, hippeastrums and blue bells have been lovely. As your bulbs finish flowering, deadhead them, but keep feeding the leaves to strengthen the bulbs before they die down to promote next year’s flowers.
The wonderful winter rains brought all the weeds; try to remove them before they go to seed, so there will be less work to do next year.
September is a suitable time to give your native shrubs, camellias and azaleas a trim as they finish flowering to keep them compact. Lightly fertilise roses and annuals as they start spring growth to encourage their fresh flowers.
Chrysanthemum cuttings can be struck in September and October. Use new, healthy suckers for the best results. Long-flowering gerberas can also be divided up for new plants in October and planted in a rich mix for the best blooms.
November is the ideal time to plant your dahlia tubers and gladioli corms next to stakes, ensuring they are ready to support the stems. Control aphids and thrips on the new growth of all plants with pyrethrum or white oil sprays when the temperature is under 28 °C. Deter cabbage moth caterpillars with Dipel spray and use bait for slugs and snails.
Flower seedlings to plant over the next few months include ageratum, aster, celosia, cosmos, linaria, lobelia, nemesia, petunia, portulaca, salvia and zinnia. Those plants will self-seed to give you years of mixed colour in your garden.
All the vegetables listed below can be grown in pots if you lack a garden bed. Sow a variety of mixed lettuce, radish, capsicum, beetroot, tomatoes, and Lebanese cucumbers to create a vibrant salad. Have you tried growing rock melon in a pot? They can be grown up a trellis like peas to save space. It is also a suitable time to plant herbs, although wait for the warmer weather to plant basil.
Happy gardening.
Spring is here at last after a chilly winter. Take the time to walk around the village and enjoy the burst of colourful flowers blooming in our gardens.
Ranunculus, anemones, snowflakes, jonquils, daffodils, hippeastrums and blue bells have been lovely. As your bulbs finish flowering, deadhead them, but keep feeding the leaves to strengthen the bulbs before they die down to promote next year’s flowers.
The wonderful winter rains brought all the weeds; try to remove them before they go to seed, so there will be less work to do next year.
September is a suitable time to give your native shrubs, camellias and azaleas a trim as they finish flowering to keep them compact. Lightly fertilise roses and annuals as they start spring growth to encourage their fresh flowers.
Chrysanthemum cuttings can be struck in September and October. Use new, healthy suckers for the best results. Long-flowering gerberas can also be divided up for new plants in October and planted in a rich mix for the best blooms.
November is the ideal time to plant your dahlia tubers and gladioli corms next to stakes, ensuring they are ready to support the stems. Control aphids and thrips on the new growth of all plants with pyrethrum or white oil sprays when the temperature is under 28 °C. Deter cabbage moth caterpillars with Dipel spray and use bait for slugs and snails.
Flower seedlings to plant over the next few months include ageratum, aster, celosia, cosmos, linaria, lobelia, nemesia, petunia, portulaca, salvia and zinnia. Those plants will self-seed to give you years of mixed colour in your garden.
All the vegetables listed below can be grown in pots if you lack a garden bed. Sow a variety of mixed lettuce, radish, capsicum, beetroot, tomatoes, and Lebanese cucumbers to create a vibrant salad. Have you tried growing rock melon in a pot? They can be grown up a trellis like peas to save space. It is also a suitable time to plant herbs, although wait for the warmer weather to plant basil.
Happy gardening.
