GET IN THE GARDEN

THESE WARMER DAYS ARE A FANTASTIC TIME TO WORK IN THE GARDEN, AND YOUR WORK WILL BE INSTANTLY REWARDED.

Deniliquin Yamaha STIHL dealer Paul White says fertilising and feeding your garden now will support the plant growth, making now the perfect time to mow your lawn, prune your plants and plant your vegetable patch. “It is important to use the correct tools when working in the garden,” he said. “Not only is it safer, but gardening will be easier for you and your garden will be better off. “As your local STIHL dealer, we will be able to advise you on the best tools for your garden and what is popular in our area.”

To make sure your garden reaches its full potential and looks beautiful, follow these handy tips.

Prune after plants have flowered

Pruning promotes vigorous growth and bushy plants. The rule of thumb when it comes to pruning is that you should only do it after your plants have finished flowering. A number of plants flower during winter, so spring is the time to focus on them. But leave your spring bloomers alone until they’ve finished flowering.

Rejuvenate your hedges

Now is the time to shape up and bring your hedges to life using a STIHL hedge trimmer. Regular trimming will give you a nice dense hedge, so this should be done as often as required. Trimming off the tips will allow sunlight and airflow deep down into the hedge and encourage new lush growth the whole way through. It’s also important to pick the right trimmer to suit yourself and your hedges.

Mulch to retain moisture

Mulching greatly assists with retaining moisture levels in your soil, particularly leading into summer when rainfall becomes sparse. Shredding garden waste with a STIHL Garden Shredder will help the process of creating mulch and compost and will take you half the time. Not only is this a great way to produce a dense, nutrient rich mulch or topsoil, it’s also an easy and cheap way to dispose of your garden waste.

Bring your lawn back to life

As the weather warms up, mowing should be done on a weekly basis. Weekly mowing encourages the lawn to grow sideways, producing a nice thick and uniform lawn. If the grass is not mowed regularly and allowed to get too long, there will be a lack of sunlight hitting the lower parts of the grass blades, resulting in yellow patches. If your lawn needs a bit of love after a long, frosty winter, aerating your lawn and removing the thatch will allow rainfall and sunlight deep down into the roots, promoting new, lush growth. The STIHL MultiSystem has two attachments capable of doing these tasks with very little effort from the user.

Brush weeds away

Just as garden trees and shrubs put on a flush of growth in the warmer months, the same applies to garden weeds which also grow quickly at this time of year. Staying on top of weeds can be a bit of a challenge, however giving them a regular tidy with your grass trimmer and your brushcutter will ensure they don’t grow into an even bigger problem.

Plant! Plant! Plant!

Take advantage of moist soils, increased sunlight, and warmer temperatures, all of which facilitate the establishment of new plants. Planting now will ensure that plants have healthy active roots, and become settled in their new homes well ahead of the typically drier months. If you are adding a large number of plants to your garden, a STIHL Auger will take the backbreaking effort out of creating new holes and take you half the time.

Tree management

As the weather gets warmer, tree management involves inspecting and observing changes - especially during dry, hot spells where extra watering may be required. Tree inspections are an important part of risk management and are carried out on a regular basis, particularly after strong winds and storms. These are the times we use STIHL chainsaws for any clean-up work required and removing any damaged branches.

“As your local STIHL dealer, we will be able to advise you on the best tools for your garden and what is popular in our area.”

- PAUL WHITE

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