1. Welcome bees - Keep bees fed through winter by ensuring your garden always has flowers available. Cover gaps opened up by pruning or the disappearance of herbaceous plants by sowing seed or planting seedlings of quick-growing alyssum. Keep the plants growing strongly with fortnightly feeds of compost tea or your favourite foliar fertiliser.
2. Pop in potatoes - In warm areas, early potatoes can start going into the ground now. In cooler zones, hold off a couple more weeks until the frosts have passed.
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Add organic matter and compost to soil.
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Dig a trench and plant potatoes 30cm apart and 10cm deep.
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Hill up the soil around the plants as they grow to keep the tubers covered and exclude light
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Keep watering and feeding throughout the growing season.
3. Watch for pests - Aphids are feasting on the soft new growth of roses. A strong squirt with the hose will help reduce their numbers. It’s best to garden organically, avoiding chemicals, to encourage ladybirds into the garden – nature’s own aphid control. Deep watering once a month with an organic liquid fertiliser promotes strong, resilient growth, which helps deter aphids and leads to better flowering. Apply an organic pelletised fertiliser monthly from August to May to keep your roses well fed.
4. Start a rhubarb patch - Plant rhubard crowns in winter while the roots are dormant. Choose a permanent spot in semi-shade, especially in warm-climate gardens. Enrich the soil with compost and space plants 1m apart, ensuring the crown sits at ground level – don’t bury it! Water new crowns with a seaweed solution, then mulch with well-rotted cow manure. Rhubarb crowns are available now at garden centres, and once established, they’ll reward you with harvests for years to come.
5. Prune perennials - Prune spent perennials like salvia, sedum, Easter daisies, echinacea, agastache, helenium, rudbeckia, persicaria, ligularia and ornamental grasses down to the ground once new growth appears at the base. This will trigger a flush of fresh growth in spring, followed by summer flowers. Rejuvenate tired clumps every few years by digging and dividing large clumps, improving the soil with compost or soil conditioner and replanting for better growth and flowering.
6. Plant lillies for summer - Lilies are low maintenance bulbs that fill the air with a sweet jasmine-like scent and add vibrant colour to your garden. Hardy and easy to grow, they don't need to be lifted over winter. Plant lilium bulbs in winter for a stunning summer display. These versatile bulbs thrive in garden beds or pots and bloom throughout the warmer months.
Tips for success:
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Lilies alway prefer morning sun or light shade.
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They thrive in rich, slightly acidic, moist soil. Add compost to give them a good start.
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Ensure good drainage to prevent bulbs from rotting. Improve drainage if the soilpools or puddles after rain.
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Plant bulbs twice as deep as their height (10-20cm) in sandy soil, with the tip pointing up. Space 3-4 bulbs in a 30cm hole.
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Keep soil moist, but not wet, once they start growing.
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Lilies also grow well in containers with high-quality potting mix. Water regularly and feed with liquid fertiliser, such as Yates Thrive for Flowers and Fruit every fortnight for strong blooms.
7. Mulch your beds - Now's the time to top up mulch on garden beds, vegie patches and pots. Choose an organic mulch like lucerne or pea straw as these will enrich the soil as they break down. A fresh layer also helps retain moisture, suppress weeds and protect plant roots as the weather warms.
8. Spread compost - This is the season to empty your compost bins and spread a layer of this life-giving organic matter across the garden. After pruning your shrubs and perennials, it’s the perfect time – access is easy and your soil is ready to receive nutrients. The micro-organisms in compost will activate the soil, promoting strong, healthy growth in roots shoots, and leaves.
9. Control fruit fly - as the weather warms, these pests become active – laying eggs under the skin of fruit. Remove and destroy infested fruit (burn, boil or seal in a bag and leave in the sun). Don’t bury it. Use a combination of traps, lures and sprays for best results. For heavy infestations, act early and consistently. The most effective prevention is insect-proof netting, available from garden centres. For advice on traps and lures, visit www.bugsforbugs.com.au.