Better gardening

Jenny Dillon GardenEditor

SEASON SPECIALS

Dim days do have some bright highlights!

Glow in the dark Darling li le polyanthus comes in a brilliant array of colours and pa erns.

In your GARDEN

Chill out in your garden – it’ s already getting sorted for spring!

KEY TO CLIMATE ZONES

ZONE

Mild warm summer Cold winter

ZONE

Warm summer Cold winter

ZONE

Hot dry summer Cold winter

ZONE

Hot dry summer Mild winter

ZONE

Warm humid summer

ZONE

Hot humid summer

Early riser Hardenbergia – or the native wisteria – starts lighting up now.

Yearn for urns The low, so winter sun brings out the best of lily of the valley flowers.

PLANT NOW

In each issue we give ideas, tips and planting advice for cooler, warmer, we er and drier areas in each zone, so ask at your local nursery which zone best matches your conditions.

FLOWERS

ALL ZONES African marigold, arctotis, aster, carnation, gazania, honesty, nasturtium, petunia, rudbeckia and tuberous begonia.

ZONES 1-3 Ageratum (top le ), celosia, coleus, cosmos, dahlia, gerbera, portulaca, salvia, sunflower (bo om le ) and zinnia. ZONES4-6Delphiniums andstatice. VEGETABLES

ALL ZONES Beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, le uce, mustard, onion (top le ), parsnip and peas.

ZONES 1-3 Beans, capsicum, carrot, cucumber, marrow (bo om le ), melon, potato, pumpkin, squash, sweetcorn and tomato. ZONE 4-6 Artichoke suckers, cress, Chinese cabbage and kohlrabi.

PYROSTEGIA VINE FIRES UP YOUR WINTER!

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change BUDDHA

COLOUR UP HARD TO BEET!

If your vegie garden lacks colour, then Chioggia beetroot may be the answer. With pink candy stripes like a circus tent when cut open, and hailing from Chioggia on the Adriatic coast in Italy, this heirloom curiosity is sweeter than most beetroot and a sensation when drizzled with olive oil and roasted. Soak seeds overnight and sow in 1cm-deep drills in well-composted soil and you are on a winner. Its young foliage can even go into salads. Delicious!

GET BIG, BOLD GREENERY FOR CLEANER AIR INDOORS!

GARDEN SECRETS

Breathe more easily with toxin-removing indoor plants 1

BEAT THE NASTIES Plants are known to help remove CO2 and allergycausing vapours from carpet, furniture, paint and glue – and alleviate coughs, dry eyes and respiratory problems.

2

KEEP IT CLEAN Air purifying house plants include peace lilies, dracaenas, kentia palms, rubber plants, philodendrons and the ever-popular Zanzibar gems or ZZ plants.

3

TLC Keep your plants nice and healthy with draught-free conditions, constant temperatures, regular watering and an occasional foliage wipe with a damp cloth.

TRYATRENDY ZZ PLANT!

GARDENING ADVICE

CHECK for citrus gall wasp (indicated by ugly swelling on stems), remove with a knife if needed and destroy to stop new infestations. PREP to plant a hedge in early spring by turning over soil for aeration and nutrients. SOW seeds for early tomatoes (in colder areas sow in a tray on a sill indoors). FERTILISE lawns towards the end of August as part of their winter recovery. FEED jonquils and daffodils as they finish flowering, but don ’t cut back foliage until fully dead.