Spring has finally sprung! There is something so special about the outdoors returning to life and we can’t wait for our winter efforts to be rewarded with some magical blooms.
But with all the extra activity, it’s time to get to work protecting our gardens from any unwelcome visitors.
Let’s jump in!
Seasonal tips for the garden
Start preparing the vegetable garden for your spring crops. Be careful about planting frost-averse veggies too early as late frosts are becoming the norm in the Highlands.
If you haven’t finished mulching, keep at it! This job is ideally done and dusted before the warmer weather settles in and starts to dry out your soil.
It’s time to bring your lawns back to life. Aerate, de-thatch, seed bare areas and fertilise to put you in good stead for the coming season. Don’t forget to keep control of any lawn scarab beetle!
If you’re afraid of spraying nasty chemicals all over your lawn, we can recommend a product which is safe for you, your pets and the environment, just give us a call.
Garden to Table
Springtime is the season for spinach, carrots, parsnips, silver beet, leeks and lettuce!
Flowerbed Fun
🌸 Annuals can be changed out for the coming season – marigold, delphinium, petunia, phlox are all good varieties.
🌸 Make sure your hydrangeas are pruned for the new season’s growth, but be careful not to prune any stems that haven’t yet produced flower buds. These will provide you with flowers for next season.
🌸 Deadhead bulbs to encourage good strong blooms. Remember to leave foliage as this allows the bulb to harvest valuable nutrients for next season’s growth.
🌸 When fertilizing Australian natives, don’t use fertilizer with a high content of phosphorus as this will damage your plant.
🌸 Dahlias will start to poke their pretty heads up in October, so make sure to protect any new growth from snails and slugs.
🌸 Spring flowering shrubs such as forsythias and spiraea can be pruned once flowering has finished in October.
🌸 If you want to expand your hellebore numbers into other parts of the garden, cut the spent flower heads off and disperse them (November-December). You might just find some new additions to your garden come next season!
Spring Pest Control
🌱 Keep an eye out for aphids as their life cycle will start soon.
🌱 If humidity is high, black spot will also need to be controlled!
🌱 Stone fruit trees should be treated again for leaf curl at bud swell, and apples and pears require treatment for codling moth.
🌱 Protect new growth on slug and snail tender plants.
🌱 For snail control, the use of copper and physical traps to control snails is far more effective than the usual pellet method, especially in the veggie garden.
🌱 Treat your hellebores after flowering to control potential aphid infestations.
🌱 We use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which is a holistic approach to how we control pests, diseases and disorders. It combines all types of control, whether it be manual/physical control, biological control, cultural control and chemical control.
You can contact our team for any pest management queries or questions about IPM.
The Fold Southern Highlands have put together an Essential Spring Guide with our top tips for gardening this season.
