Island Gardens

By Peter Schinkel

HELLO GARDENERS AND WELCOME. TODAY WE'RE TAKING STOCK OF OUR GARDENS AFTER A HOT, WET SUMMER OF LUSH GROWTH. WE'LL ALSO LOOKING AT HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE REST OF THE BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN WEEKS, AND PREPARE FOR THE USUAL MILD WINTER AHEAD.

Breaking the work down into stages certainly helps to transform any garden, and the first step is weeding. Are you thinking "Hooray! My favourite job"? Okay, but whether you do it yourself or hire someone, it's not as big a job as it might seem. In a matter of hours or less, the unwanted weeds are in the bin and it's time to spread some mulch or bark to suppress the winter weeds (like clover) just waiting to pop up soon. Local supplies of mulch and bark are plentiful. The choice is usually down to what look you'd like and what's necessary for the soil. With our sandy soils, I usually sprinkle some fertilizer and lay sugar cane mulch on top - a personal preference because I like the look, it adds lots of rich

nutrition to the soil as it breaks down, and it's easy to pop in the boot and spread at your leisure. All other preferences look good too, can be picked up in a trailer or delivered, so every choice is a winner really. Before the mulching, you might have a little landscaping planned, or want to add some new plants. This is a great time for both; growth is slow = less garden maintenance and more time on your hands; the

weather is cooler = much easier to work outdoors; and plants adjust to being transplanted more easily in the cool weather. Some great plants to buy this time of year include succulents because many provide winter flowers, and most require almost no attention to survive and multiply. The top photo is a kalanchoe with pastel pink and yellow flowers! Beautiful. Looks like someone dropped an ice cream in our garden at home, but seriously - they come in a very wide range of bright and beautiful colours too. The second photo is a bright orangey-yellow 'double' portulaca. It's one of those varieties that need almost no attention to keep looking nice, and they seem to flower almost all year round. There's always a huge variety of succulents available from the nurseries, markets and other plant suppliers around here, so happy shopping! The azalea is one of my favourite winter flowering plants. These days you can find almost any colour and size. Some grow to only 50cm high. The third photo shows a blue azalea variety. It's so stunning, I'm hunting for 2 or 3 at the moment. If you're looking for azaleas, remember most like at least partly shaded postions. Other great winter flowers include camellias, pansies, violas, dianthus, lobelias, snapdragons, and so many more. Head out, have a search and keep those colours coming out. See you in Issue 141 on 4th June and as always, happy gardening everyone.