Spring brings magical time in the garden
Although not my favourite season, that goes to autumn, spring does bring a magical time to the garden. It never ceases to amaze me how plants just seem to explode into leaf and flower, seemingly doubling in size overnight, which brings me to some of my most favourite springtime plants.
I always get excited when the Blue Bells start to flower. They are great left to naturalise in the garden, either in sun or shade and they’re perfect under trees. Another favourite is Lorraine Lee, a beautiful Australian rose introduced back in 1924. It starts to flower in late winter through to late spring. If you’re looking for a small feature tree two favourites of mine are Prumus Mt Fuji and the Prumus Yukon.
Mount Fuji is a small spreading tree which is often grafted as a weeper, this growth method really helps to show off its magnificent display of double white blooms.
Prumus Yukon is really two trees in one, it has lovely yellow green flowers which turn to a pretty pink as they age. Both trees will grow to around three to four metres.
Other favourites include Cotinus for its flash of purple leaves and also the Loropetalums “China pink” also for its dark foliage and bright pink flowers.
Plant veggies now
October is also considered the best time to plant tomatoes as well as other vegetables and herbs such as basil zucchini and eggplant. Remember to freshen up the veggie patch with manure or compost and water them in with the liquid fertiliser to give them a good head start. Unfortunately rainfall has been very scarce so the need to water is ever present. Try to water in a cool parts of the day with good deep watering and if you haven’t done so already a feed of good organic fertiliser and a fresh layer of mulch will be very beneficial heading into summer.
October and November are always busy months for open gardens and plant fairs and markets so get out there and enjoy what’s on offer and happy gardening.
RY
