AUTUMN BRINGS A DOUBLE DELIGHT
GOOD RAINS AND A GREAT NURSERY EXPERIENCE
THE last week has been a great reminder that we are in the transition period between summer and, what I consider the best gardening season of all, autumn.
Why is it my favourite?
Well, for starters, I prefer to be outside, working in cooler temperatures.
The last hot, dry summer has been particularly harsh on we humans and our gardens, and I can’t wait for the respite that autumn in our region never fails to deliver.
Couple this with the recent widespread, replenishing rainfall and this autumn should deliver plenty of opportunities for some great gardening, both in the ornamental and the productive patch.
Remember that this is an ideal time to plant evergreen trees, shrubs and softwooded perennials, as the temperatures moderate while the soil temperatures remain warm for vigorous root development.
It’s also a great time to take semihardwood cuttings from many of your garden plants, as the soft, new growth of spring and early summer has hardened and matured.
You can also remove spent blooms and dried stalks hanging on to any summerflowering plants such as agapanthus and hydrangeas.
Lavender can be trimmed now that the main flush of flower spikes has abated, and any tatty-looking pelargoniums can be pruned, and the bits stuck in the ground or pots to make new plants.
Gardeners should be well into planning their spring displays as well.
Spring-flowering bulbs should be on display soon (or now) in your local nursery, and if you are looking to plant a large number of annuals for that dazzling spring extravaganza, order them in bulk so that they can be available around May for planting.
Of course, you could also take your chances and wait until May to see what your local garden centre will have in stock.
It’s also time to prepare and plant your vegie patch with cool-season varieties.
Dig in a good quality soil conditioner, add a gentle, slow release organic fertiliser, and get planting.
Brassicas are all readily available in garden centres now, including sugarloaf and drumhead cabbages, baby and “sprouting” broccoli (broccolini), kale, and cauliflowers.
If you plant now, watch out for the dreaded cabbage white butterfly while the weather is still a bit warm.
Don’t forget to whack some peas in the ground (easy from seed).
I prefer the dwarf whole pod sugar snap and snow peas, but if you have limited room, go vertical with a couple of the many climbing varieties.
You’ll need a trellis or mesh support around 1.5m high at least.
Don’t forget that there are many carrot, lettuce, beetroot and spinach varieties suitable for the colder months too.
No excuses – start planting those cool season vegies now.
LAST Sunday, my wife and I took advantage of the cooler daytime temperatures and enjoyed a pleasant drive in the country, eventually ending up in the pretty (and now green) town of Warwick.
While there, we dropped into The Weeping Mulberry - a garden centre owned and operated by passionate horticulturist, Duanne Karle.
Duanne studied horticulture with TAFE Toowoomba back in the early 2000s after a total career change, and then began to expand on his horticultural interests, culminating in the establishment of The Weeping Mulberry in July 2019 on the old butter factory site which had been closed for some time.
The interior of the one-time butter factory office has been extensively renovated and decorated to now contain many rooms filled with some of the most gorgeous home decorating items you’ll see in our region.
Duanne revealed his other passion for interior decorating, and he’s delivered in droves, presenting some stunning and sometimes quirky home decor products you’ll want to snap up the first time you visit.
The centre also boasts a comfy coffee lounge, specialising in serving great coffee, locally made cakes and slices, morning and afternoon teas from the extensive collection of elegant plates and exquisite teacups, a reading room, a “retro” room, and a soon-tobe high-end whiskey, wine and gin lounge.
Being a dedicated horticulturist, Duanne has also a full-sun and shade-covered plant nursery with a wide range of hardy trees, shrubs and perennials on display.
The nursery specialises in a wide range of roses, and you’ll also find a great selection of deciduous ornamental and fruiting trees on sale.
Some of the notable plants I found were: Gaillardia ‘Goblin’, a herbaceous perennial sporting scarlet/red and yellow-tipped flowers; Russian olive (Elaeagnus macrophylla), a great drought-tolerant evergreen hedge to 3m; a beautiful range of colourful Garvinea gerberas (cold-hardy and disease resistant); Hibiscus syriacus ‘Red Heart’ and double mauve (a great deciduous hibiscus for cooler regions); the ‘Indian summer’ and ‘Diamonds in the Dark’ ranges of stunning crepe myrtles; decorative grasses such as Carex ‘Feather Falls’; and a great number of Australian native plants too.
Wander into the quirky caravan on-site and you’ll find a wide selection of quality garden tools as well.
I drove home with a compact fig tree (‘Figalicious’) for a patio pot at home, and an interesting low-growing form of crepe myrtle called ‘Cover Girl’, expected to only grow 1m high by 1.5m wide. Pretty happy!
You’ll find The Weeping Mulberry at 145 Victoria St, Warwick and on Facebook.
They are open seven days from 7am to 5.30pm.