INSPIRATION

Nature’s planting time

When you’re a gardener every season has its charm. Spring delights with its sudden symphony of flowers. Summer is for enjoying our outdoor spaces with family and friends. A winter garden has a restful beauty all of its own. But for anyone who enjoys the creativity inherent in gardening, autumn is the season to relish. It’s the ideal time to indulge in planting just about everything!

After the energy-zapping heat of summer, autumn’s cooler air revitalises body and soul, so it’s a lovely time to be busy outdoors. Plants love autumn too. The soil is a storehouse for summer’s warmth perfect for root growth when the rain comes along. Above ground leaves and shoots thrive in cool moist air.

Plants respond to being moved from nursery pot to warm moist soil with a flourish of pre-winter growth that holds them in good stead for spring. The most important growth happens unseen, below ground. New plantings that have time to make substantial root growth before winter are ready to support the rapid top growth in spring. Conversely, roots that are transplanted into cold spring soil can struggle to keep up with the demands of rapidly expanding top growth.

Trees, shrubs and hedges

are top priority for autumn planting. Planting in autumn effectively saves water because well established roots are less dependent on watering during their first summer.

Edibles

to plant as the weather cools down include cabbages, cauliflowers and other brassicas, which will be all the sweeter after a touch of winter chill. It’s a good time to plan and prepare the ground for new season’s fruit trees, which arrive in garden centres in early winter. Blueberries and feijoas are ideally planted in autumn. In frostfree climates it’s a good time to plant citrus and avocados.

Flowering annuals and perennials

also thrive when planted in autumn. Choose flowering annuals that survive the winter cold. Pansies, primula, polyanthus and cyclamen flower from autumn right through winter and spring. Poppy seedlings (or seeds) planted in autumn will reward us with beautiful flowers from earliest spring. If you’ve been dreaming of a wildflower garden, now is the time to sow seeds directly onto moist, well-drained soil. Cornflowers, poppies, calendula, alyssum, and cosmos are some of the best for self sowing. To make it simple, choose a packet of mixed wildflower seed. Seed blends that attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, are a great option for planting around vegetable gardens.

Spring flowering bulbs

such as tulips, daffodils and hyacinths thrive and grow through winter to produce flowers from earliest spring.