Weekend gardener: consider the cosmos
ORNAMENTALS
Get sowing annual flowers. Top picks include the always-willing cosmos, cornflowers, Shirley poppies and snapdragons; the sopretty blue lace flower, and larkspur, linum; the cheerful calendulas, nasturtiums, sunflowers and zinnias; and the sweetest fragranced night-scented stock. Or try a wildflower mix.
Keep new lawns damp – dryness is fatal to young grass.
Continue planting gladioli for a long summer flowering period.
Get inspired by going on a garden tour or to a festival – November is the month for them.
EDIBLES
Sow beans if the soil has warmed up enough. In warm conditions they should only take four days to germinate. Vigorous growers, beans need rich soil, so dig in some compost or well-rotted manure before planting.
Dwarf beans should be sown about 5cm deep and 10cm apart. Runner beans need something to climb up, such as a fence or wigwam of bamboo or straight branches – the optimum number of plants per stick is two. An old but effective trick is to dig a shallow trench along the side of the bean row which enables watering without wetting the leaves and risking foliar diseases.
While most vegetables prefer the sun, some that don’t mind a bit of shade – namely, salad and leafy greens (Asian greens, lettuce, rocket, silverbeet and spinach); brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussels sprouts); root vegetables such as beetroot, carrot, radish, swede and turnips); onions (chives, garlic and shallots); and beans and peas. Herbs that tolerate shade include coriander, dill, mint and parsley.
DAHLIAS
Coming in a vast range of colours, shapes and sizes, there is pretty much a dahlia for every taste. Plant them about 7cm deep, 30cm apart in full sun. They do best in rich, well-drained soil but are quite tolerant of a variety of soil types. Give them a head start by incorporating plenty of compost or well-rotted manure into the soil before planting, keep well-watered and feed with a potash-rich fertiliser once flowers appear.
Some dahlias may need staking; others do best if encouraged to bushiness by pinching out some shoots. They will not flower as well if overfed with a nitrogen-rich fertilisers, or if they do not get enough sun or water.