Different seasons in your garden
The different seasons in your garden it’s a simple pleasure walking over a manicured lawn, admiring the work of your landscape gardener for the different seasons in the garden of your hedged plants across to your vegetable garden ready for harvesting, one which many Canberrans are missing out on.
Spring –
Lawns
Be a little gentle with the lawn in the start of spring. Let it dry up properly, start to grow and turn green before fertilising and top dressing the summer grasses (buffalo), spring cleaning and backyard sports can begin. When the grass starts to get long, over 5 cm, it’s time to start cutting, but remember not to cut too short. Generally, the grass should be cut 1-2 times a week during the spring. Do not rake the lawn until it is really green. When green, rake away dead material so that the lawn base gets fresh air and sunlight. Your fertiliser should consist of a lot of potassium. Give your lawns a deep water in spring, its been a while between drinks.
Planting
Early spring is the time to fertilise your roses and mulch the garden. Remove all the dead growth from around your plants. Fertilise your bulbs before they die off in preparation for next years bloom.
Maintenance
Summer –
Lawns
When the summer heat hits, water well to avoid dying. If the temperature gets over 35 degrees, as a rule of thumb, water 3 times a day to avoid and a dry and brown lawn. Water in the evening so that the water does not evaporate directly. One should not cut shorter than 4 cm, because short lawns are more sensitive to wear and dehydration, especially in summer. A good root system will go a long way to ensuring a healthy lawn that can withstand the heat.
Planting
Watering increases over summer, add a wetting agent and water potted plants frequently. Prune your roses and mulch gardens.
Maintenance
Autumn –
Lawns
Autumn is time to core, dethatch and top dress your lawns. Be careful not to cut the lawn too short, the cutting height should be about 4-5 cm. Also, be careful not to leave thick layers of leaves on the lawn over autumn as these can smother the grass. It is more important to rake and get everything up in Autumn than it is to do it in Spring. Another way to make the leaves useful is to mulch them and leave them on the lawn as a soil improvement. The worms will fix the rest. Throughout the year it is good to sand and air the lawn so that it is healthy and can handle it.
Planting
Its time to plant flowering bulbs in Autumn, and to fertilise your citrus in time for the fruit season. Lettuce and cabbages can be planted, peas, broccoli and onions can go in now.
Maintenance
Winter –
Lawns
Summer grass will go brown and dormant in winter, leaving only green weeds. This is a good time for weeding the lawns as they are visible. Winter grass will grow well and stay green in the colder months and should have normal maintenance although not as often. Be careful not to over water during the winter months, the easiest way to determine this is if you get moss growing in the lawn.
Planting
Not much happens in the winter, however you can still plant Asparagus and Rhubarb. Its a good time to turn your soil and add some worms or manure to the mix in preparation for spring.
Maintenance
Check your irrigation systems for leaks and holes.