Recent mild conditions and reasonable frequent rainfall events have many gardens looking green and lush.
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If you have recently been away you may have returned to humungous growth with perennials double in size or creepers and vines taking over their supports, it might be time to get the secateurs out and get things back in control, or maybe even the chainsaw.
Remove any wild, overgrown shoots from Cotoneasters, Pyracantha, Abelia, Photinia, Buddleja, Beberis, Prunus, Escallonia, Eleagnus and the like. Just cut back to a healthy bud to reduce the shrub to the size you wish to keep it at.
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Lavender will benefit from pruning to keep the bushes bushy and compact. Go over the plants with pair of hedge clippers or hand shears and cut off the old flower spikes and about 2.5cm of new growth.
Lavender doesn't grow from old wood, so you need to prevent them getting straggly by trimming. Use the prunings to propagate lots of new plants to use in other areas of your garden or give to friends.
When summer-pruning repeat flowering tea roses, avoid the temptation to cut off spent flower heads from old-fashioned roses. Many have beautifully coloured rosehips that can be a highlight of the autumn and winter garden. Feed roses and citrus with an organic based fertiliser boosted with potash. Be sure to water them well before and after feeding.
Feed lilium bulbs with a complete fertiliser as they finish flowering to increase their store of energy for next season's flowers.
Seeds of weeds such as dandelions and milk thistle float on the breeze and can spread far and wide, so collect the seed heads if you discover they are already close to spreading, to prevent them taking over the garden.
Choose bulbs for planting in autumn. Consider Tulips, Crocus, Leucojum (snowflake), Galanthus (snowdrop) and Hyacinth which do best in a cold climate. Anemone, Ranunculus, Freesias, Jonquils and Daffodils are less expensive so great for mass planting.
You can order or purchase off the shelf at a local nursery, or order from the nurseries that sell bulbs online.
The Armidale Garden Club has its first meeting for 2021 on Thursday, February 25 at the Uniting Church Youth Club Hall, off Rusden St, behind the Uniting Church. A welcome back BBQ will start at 6.30pm and the meeting proper at 7.30pm.
