It's Time To: January

Welcome to the new year.

With Christmas behind us, we can take moments to breathe in the beauty of our summer gardens.

 

Waterlily. Photo - Robin Powell

 

Enjoy

Now’s the time revel in the consequences of all the work you put into the garden in spring. Share the glory friends and family over drinks and easy barbecue dinners in the garden.

 

Admire

Marvel at the big, showy bright flowers of hibiscus at their peak, and the fluffy white flowers of Angophora blooming overhead.

 

Watch out

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts. When extreme heat is forecast water fragile plants deeply the night before.

Hanging baskets and small pots dry out fast. Saturate them by dunking in tubs of water until the bubbles stop rising. Be aware that annuals such as petunias may need daily watering.

 

Protect

Delicates planted in in late-spring won’t have hardened off enough to cope with really hot days. Use beach umbrellas or shade cloth stapled to garden stakes to protect them against scorch. Remove the sun guards towards the end of summer.

 

Prune

Remove the spent flowers on young flowering gums so they don’t put all their energy into developing big gumnuts and instead grow a bushier plant.

Deadhead roses to encourage more blooms.

Get rid of any seedheads on agapanthus to stop them invading the bush.

 

Grow

You don’t need a pond to grow waterlilies, any container with 100L capacity will do. Once filled it will be too heavy to move so make sure it’s in the right spot first before filling and planting.