Garden Spruce Up Time!

Grab your sun hat and gardening gear and give your outdoor spaces a little tender loving care. It’s surprising what a dramatic difference a little pruning, cleaning and clearing can make. Before long, you’ll be sitting under a shady tree with a long cool drink enjoying the fruits of your labour

- Carrol Baker

By developing a regular maintenance routine in the garden, you’ll cut down on the work required to keep it looking good year-round. Preventative maintenance is key and will save you time and money in the long run.

Horticulturist Colin Purnell from Earthlife says it pays to get to know your garden and keep a close eye on any changes. “I always say 50 per cent of gardening is observation,” he shares. So grab your morning cuppa and take a stroll around your garden from time to time. This will allow you to see what jobs might need doing and to assess the health of your plants.

READY, SET, GO

Getting started on the right foot is important. When planning a garden, good design is crucial. This means what you’ve planted is getting sufficient sunlight/shade for its needs. Once you’ve planted the garden, soil condition is another key aspect of garden maintenance, as depleting minerals in the soil will impact on the health of plants over time.

Colin suggests introducing a mineral mix into the soil. “Try rock dust, which is volcanic minerals, and if you can source one with soil biology in it, that’s even better,” he adds. Every three months, throw it around the plants, which will build up the levels, then cut back to twice yearly. “Your aim is to create a natural soil ecosystem so the plants will tap into that,” explains Colin.

FEEDING YOUR PLANTS