Thanks to all club members for a great year with lots of shared learning and terrific camaraderie. The club will now be in recess until the fourth Monday of February.

As we head in to summer, many conversations are around the weather; we need more rain and fewer horrible windy days. Stay positive and keep on mulching!

Ensure you have water available for birds and insects such as bees, hoverflies, lacewings, lady birds and predatory wasps that visit your garden. 

Pull out or dig weeds before they have a chance to flower and go to seed again. Otherwise, you will have weed seeds germinating for the next several years. 

Continue successive plantings of carrots, lettuce, French beans, silver beet and zucchini.

A few Christmas ideas: Moisture meter, gardener’s hand soap, bee or insect house, bonsai in a pot or a bonsai starter kit, worm farm, quality gardening gloves, solar garden lights, bird bath or fountain, seeds or be optimistic and give a rain gauge.

Consider a living Christmas tree that can be planted out after Christmas. Cut pine trees are another option and both give a lovely fresh pine smell that artificial trees cannot match.

There can sometimes be a period around Christmas time when the last of the spring flowers have finished and the summer flowering has yet to begin. Have a look around and see what is in flower and if your garden could do with a bit more colour or interest over Christmas and plan for that next year.

Aim to have the garden tidy, weeded and well-watered by Christmas Eve. These shouldn’t be Christmas Day tasks; in fact, the greatest outdoor exertion on Christmas Day should be an after-lunch swim or gentle bike ride with the family, or perhaps a wander to the vegie garden for salad greens. Definitely no whipper-snippering.

Most importantly, finish the Christmas shopping, stock up on refreshments and relax in your garden, rewarding yourself for all your hard work throughout the year.

Have a happy Christmas and New Year and stay safe.