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It's time to: December

Mulch 

Refresh to help retain moisture in the soil: organic mulch, such as leaf litter and sugar cane mulch, rot down to form humus so the mulch blanket needs continual topping up.


Spray

Spray Yates Drought Shield over the Christmas tree to make it look fresher for a longer period. Also use on tender plants when weather is very hot and dry.


Feed 

Feed the lawn in early summer with Scotts Lawn Builder or Dynamic Lifter Advanced for Lawns.

Continue to apply seaweed solution to the whole garden once a fortnight to strengthen plants and make them better able to cope with summer’s heat stress and fungal attack.

Spray Yates Drought Shield over the Christmas tree to make it look fresher for a longer period. Also use on tender plants when weather is very hot and dry.

 

Find

Hunt up a clawfoot bathtub or vintage laundry tub as an eye-catching container for aquatic plants. Sun-lovers include waterlilieand lotus which are content to grow in confined spaces year after year. Feed annually to enjoy plenty of flowers. As a bonus, the tub is bound to attract frogs into your garden or courtyard.

 

Pick

Pick a basket of frangipanis. Display them in a float bowl or for the ultimate in domestic indulgence, throw them into a deep bath and soak. 


When you have an hour

Prepare the garden for your holiday: 

Move pot plants to the sheltered side of the house, and group together to help create a humid microclimate and reduce water loss.

Make a small hole in the lid of a large soft drink bottle, fill with water and upend in pot plants to slowly leak moisture into the potting mix.

To water several pots at once, fill a large vessel such as a bucket with water, sit it on a low stool and place a wick from it into each pot - use strips of cotton fabric or cord. As long as the water is higher than the end of the wick, it will siphon out gradually. It helps to sit a lid on the bucket so the water doesn’t evaporate too quickly.

Place a few old towels in the bath and saturate them with water. Place potted indoor plants on top – this is especially good for ferns.

Make sure pots are mulched well. Try Yates Gro Plus Moisture Retaining Mulch or simply a layer of pebbles.

 

Text: Libby Cameron

 

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Author: Libby Cameron