It’s the end of summer and the nights are starting to be cooler, but the mornings in autumn can be wonderful, with clear blue skies, a freshness in the air and a special quality in the light.
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Early morning is always a great time to photograph your garden, but in autumn, with that special quality to the light, this is especially so.
There are lots of jobs for autumn to get the garden ready for winter; cutting back and tidying, mulching and of course the weeding.
Rake up any fallen and/or rotting fruit and add to the compost heap if not infected. Also add any vegies that have finished to the compost heap.
Make the most of abundant summer/autumn harvests by pickling and preserving fruit and vegetables.
Remove large leaves that stop sunlight reaching developing pumpkins and squashes to help them ripen.
Prepare soil for planting spring bulbs by digging in some compost or well-rotted manure and adding blood and bone into the top 20cm of soil.
Continue deadheading finished blooms to prolong flowering. Continue to prune and feed any shrubs that have finished flowering.
Autumn can be a tricky time for conifers, when they can easily dry out. It is especially important to water conifers when they are young or when the weather is extremely hot and dry.
Getting the watering right can be delicate balance so try using a moisture meter to test the moisture content of the soil about 20cm (6-8 inches) below the surface. Don’t wait for your conifers to show signs of drought, because by that time, the trees are dying.
Flowering bulbs
Amaryllis are in flower now and are one of the very easy-care autumn bulbs. All it takes to get a great show is to plant the neck of the bulb above soil level. You can leave them for years as they don’t mind being crowded and also like to bake in the heat in summer.
Nerines and Lycoris are both know as spider lilies and they, too like a sunny spot, not too much water in summer.
The next meeting of the Armidale Garden Club will include a demonstration of budding roses. Everyone is welcome; the meeting is on Thursday, March 22 and starts at 7.30pm in the Uniting Church Youth Lounge.