Looking after helping hands

first survey in 2007 and to take part this year.

Lure birds to your garden with sugar water for nectar feeders, plus fruit, suet and seeds that provide better nutrition than bread.

Lizards are cold-blooded so need a cosy winter home and a place to bask in the sun. You can build a special lizard lounge or just leave a stack of firewood in a sunny corner. Bumblebee queens look for a cosy spot under leaf litter, in old mouse holes, or a compost bin to spend the winter sheltered from frosts.

With the first hint of spring, the queen goes on the lookout for a more permanent position for her nest, so get a bumblebee hotel ready. And don’t forget weta. They are gobbled up by rats and hedgehogs and need safe retreats. For weta motels, lizard lounges and bumblebee hotels, visit www.stuff.co.nz.

Bees and pollinators are still about in winter. Include flowering trees and shrubs in your garden to supply nectar. Tree fuchsia, fivefinger, wattle and sasanqua camellias cover the winter hunger gap. mass of weed seedlings. But it’s worth it in the long run as two new stems will grow from the node you cut back to and you will end up with a sturdier, compact plant with more flowers.

Tidy up around winter annuals too. Little annual weed seedlings and self-sown cleome and cosmos seedlings like those pictured don’t need to be completely removed.

Just pretend that they’re a green crop. Uproot with a hoe or wire weeder and leave them where they fall. They will soon disappear. If the garden club is visiting or appearances matter, just cover with a sprinkling of mulch. Hoeing around the flower bed and the vegetable patch not only keeps the weeds down, it also provides aeration and helps saturated soil dry out. Just be careful not to damage any delicate feeder roots near the surface. Treat your winter bloomers to regular doses of slightly-warmed, diluted seaweed fertiliser or worm tea. It’s not too late to plant more annuals for winter and spring flowers. Choose seedlings rather than seeds for a faster result. Have a look at the potted colour and seedling displays at your garden centre as they should be selling plants suitable for the season in your area. Try Iceland poppies, cineraria, snapdragons, stocks, sweet peas, sweet william, pansies, violas, Primula malacoides, primroses, polyanthus, alyssum and nemesia. Protect from snails and slugs and provide frost protection if needed.