Weekend gardener: have a seasonal spruce up
Countdown to Christmas
Get your garden looking its seasonable best by performing these chores this weekend, leaving next for a more relaxed lastminute titivation.
Weed beds and paths, ensuring you get the whole weed – roots and all – not just the top. Most weeds will come away again if their roots are not removed. Spend a little time now to save time in the future.
Trim hedges lightly to sharpen them up.
Likewise, after mowing lawns, tidy up the edges with a spade or specialised lawn edge trimmers. Sweep, rake or blow paths and terraces.
Dead-head flowers. You may be amazed how much dead-heading freshens the garden. And remember, the likes of sweet peas flourish with picking – the more you pick, the more they flower.
Remove cobwebs from garden furniture and walls of the house, garage, garden shed, letter box and so on. A quick wash down with the hose will remove accumulated dust and dirt.
Give the garden a good water – a wet winter might have encouraged terrific spring growth, but in most districts the soil is once again very dry. A fair dousing now will give plants a seasonal pick-me-up.
Mulch all of the garden as heavily as you are able with grass clippings, peastraw, leaf mould, compost etc. This will help preserve moisture, which is especially important if you are going away over the holidays.
If you are heading away, organise someone to keep an eye on the garden to ensure it doesn’t dry out. To help, move plants in containers to a shadier spot where evaporation will be less (even better, near a tap or within hose reach). Grouping them together will also reduce moisture loss.
Drying out can kill some plants, while the likes of fuchsia will sulk in drought and cease flowering.
Top up ponds. Do so gradually to avoid cold-water shock to goldfish and other pond life.
Clean up leaves and twigs from surface of ponds. Top tip: rinse them out in a bucket and return this water to the pond – it should contain all sorts of microorganisms and other creatures that are helpful in maintaining healthy pond life.
Hoeing will break up a hard crust on the soil, or, even better, stop it forming. Breaking it up helps air circulation and encourages any rain or watering to soak in rather than run off. Hoeing also kills weeds.
Sow carrots, lettuces, peas, radish and spinach.