The long days of summer are often a hammock of relaxation for us gardeners, between the frenetic growth and intense flowering of plants during spring; and the second wave of flowering, seed-sowing, hedge-planting, shrub-pruning chores of autumn.
Many plants have a short nap in midsummer, when their growing starts slowing in the heat. It's tempting to join them, and let the garden slide during the summer season, when there's so many other places to be and things to do!
After all, hot weather is here, which means days at the beach, days at the park, days in the bush, and keeping cool in the lounge room. But while our garden is roasting, it's a wise idea for us to work up a little sweat to make sure it looks schmick for any backyard parties, and grows healthily through into Autumn.We've kept this season's list to half the length of spring and autumn, a quick 25-ish jobs, so you can get back to relaxing that little bit sooner...
Garden Dreaming
If you’re lazing in your back yard, sipping on a frosty glass, it’s the perfect opportunity to daydream about your perfect future garden.
- Does your garden reflect your personality and taste, or are you just maintaining what the previous owners - or the developer - left you?
- Do you have space to do what you want to do, in your garden; whether that's kick a ball about, snooze in the shade, entertain friends, watch the wildlife, grow veggies...
- Check out some library books, stream Gardening Australia shows, make a Pinterest board, have a look at our Plant the Look posts - you'll discover exactly the style of garden that suits you perfectly.
- Does your garden space let you garden it easily? Can you walk about the paths without tripping; reach to the back of the beds in comfort; maintain larger trees and shrubs?
- If your mobility is beginning to decline, maybe this year is a good time to look at making your garden more accessible, with wider flat paths, slopes instead of steps, raised beds to save kneeling and bending, more seating, and switching to low-maintenance planting.
Garden Scheming
- Make a note of empty spots and drab areas that could use a plant or two to fill the gap and add some colour
- Earmark plants that aren't thriving where they were planted, or are getting too big for their space, for an autumn dig-up-and-move to a more amenable part of the garden
- Take a stroll around your neighbourhood to see what grows well in other people's gardens and in local green spaces in your area. Our page Flowering Now can help you identify some of them.
- Look at what grows well in your own garden too - what do these plants have in common? Can you plant more of that kind?
- Are you growing plants that do well in your soil and climate, or are you fighting a battle with Mother Nature? Sometimes it's easier to create a garden with the right kind of plants that will grow well for you, than struggle daily to grow plants that just don't thrive where you are.
Start here to get the basics of planning right; then use our checklist to narrow down the kinds of plants that you will need to make your dream come true.
Bonus Job : If you have a family of plants that you really love and nurture - orchids, ferns, succulents, azaleas - maybe is the this year when you create the perfect environment for them - a shade area, a boggy pond, a bed of the type of soil they prefer, smart display racks and shelves to show them off properly.
Quick Tidy Ups
Having people round to your garden this summer? Get your backyard shipshape, quick-smart, with these three tricks
- Trim the lawn edges – faster than mowing the lot, and it still looks neat!
- Clear a path – trim or tie back any overhanging shrubs, so it’s easy to walk along. The rest of the garden can go wild!
- Clean up pavers – pull out weeds in the mortar, and give the surface a sweep. No-one will notice the weeds in the borders!
Summer Strifes
- Bugs and pests love the warm weather so be extra vigilant - squish or pick them off by hand, fight them with good bugs, use organic methods like Eco-Neem and Eco-Oil to get rid of them, wipe leaves with soapy water. We have a range of treatments to help you; and our How to Encourage the Good Bugs post walks you through identifying and supporting these little warriors in your garden
- Keep an eye out for diseases too - they love warm humid weather, and can attack plants weakened by drought. A spray or two of Eco-Fungicide will control most of the common issues
- Add some seaweed solution to your watering can to boost plant resilience and overall health; and spray it as a foliar treatment on leaves too
- Be ruthless about any plants that are sickly or Mostly Dead. If they're not responding to treatment, or always look below par, it's time to bite the bullet and get rid. Make room for one that will thrive!
- Stay vigilant! If, like us, you've had some rain in spring and early summer, the weeds will be growing gangbusters. Five minutes daily weeding can go a long way to keeping them in check; set a timer and see how many you can pull up. Or take the scenic route and have a gentle Weed Patrol Stroll at the end of the day
- If you haven't had much rain, be smart about your water use. Target the plants that need it most, and that will be the hardest to replace.
- Our post Waterwise Gardening has 50 tips for gardening in hot dry weather, so why not try out one or two?
Summer Smarts
- Put a shallow dish of fresh water out for wildlife; birds will use it to bathe in, small mammals and bees will appreciate a cool drink on a hot day, and you'll double your wildlife-watching opportunities overnight
- It's bushfire season, so clear out dry grass, dead leaves, and brushwood close to your home, and introduce more firewise plants.
- With maximum daylight hours at this time of year, it's the perfect opportunity to note which parts of your garden get the most sun, or are always in shade, and plant accordingly
- If all of your garden is in full sun all day, a tree, or vine-covered pergola, will increase the range of plants you can grow and give yourself somewhere cool and shadier to relax in. We have tree ideas for the smallest gardens - even ones to grow in pots!
- Remember - gardening is a process. So be patient, take it slow and steady, do a little at a time, and enjoy every minute :)
