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Its Time To: April

Autumn is colouring gardens beautiful.

Make some time to visit some open gardens to enjoy the show.

 


Love and wishes salvia. Photo – Robin Powell

 

Admire

Salvias are at their best. Long-flowering beauties include S. ‘Waverley’, ‘Santa Barbara’, ‘Embers Wish’ and ‘Love and Wishes’ pictured above.

 

Plant

Push garlic cloves (organically grown is best) knuckle-deep into compost-enriched soil in sunny, well-drained gardens or pots. Harvest in 6-7 months.

Choose autumn foliage plants while they are showing off their best colors, Look for shrubs, perennials and climbers if you haven’t room for trees.

Sow seeds of sweet peas in a sunny position into soil sprinkled with a handful of lime. Provide a teepee of stakes for support. Water in.

Consider planting a grevillea to provide valuable nectar-laden flowers for local birdlife through autumn and winter. We love G. ‘Peaches and Cream’ and ‘Superb’.

 

Propagate

Take cuttings of fuchsia, daisy, lavender and coleus. Remove lower leaves, dip into hormone gel and insert cuttings into pots filled with moistened propagating mix. Cover with a mini green house to protect cuttings.

Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of perennials and strappy leaf plants, like agapanthus, day lilies, dianella and lomandra.

 

Check

Snails and slugs love cool, moist conditions, and can decimate strappy leaf plants like hostas, acanthus and leafy vegies so bait, trap or squash these slimy invaders.

Rusty pustules on the undersides of geranium leaves and frangipani can be controlled with Eco-fungicide or Yates Rose Gun Advanced. Collect and bin any fallen leaves to contain the spread.

About this article

Author: Elizabeth Swane