With holidays coming to an end, it’s time to get back in the garden and start exercising those green fingers. Most importantly, we need to make sure that our gardens are well-equipped to deal with our severe lack of water during these hot summer months.

One of the better, longer-term solutions is to start planning and planting indigenous. Native plants are built to cope much more efficiently with the dry conditions. They work wonders when it comes to attracting birds and wildlife to the garden, and they aren’t too shabby to look at either (in fact, many of them are gorgeous!)

Plant Vegetables

Kalettes, Raddicchio, Beans, Okra, Chilli, Eggplant, Beetroot, Chilli, Lettuce, Zucchini, Carrots, Spring Onion, Parsnip, Spinach, Radish, Basil, Carrot, Tomatoes, Rhubarb, Capsicum, Mizuna, Corn Salad, Rock Melon, Lemon Grass, Leek, Kohl Rabi, Cucumber, Chinese Cabbage, Broccoflower, Artichoke, Watermelon, Turnip, Sweet Corn, Swede, Squash, Silverbeet, Pumpkin, Pea, Mustard Salad, Tarragon, Sage, Rosemary, Rocket, Parsley, Dill, Chives, Gherkin, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts

Plant Flowers

Wildflower, Poppy, Cosmos, Swan Plant, Phacelia, Gypsophila, Dahlia, Swan Plant, Zinnia, Wildflower Mix, Sunflower, Poppy, Marigold, Lupin

Feed and grow

• Check the mulch around your roses and re-apply if necessary. Feed them with FruitMax

  the high ratio of potassium maximises the production and development of flowers, fruit and root crops while the trace elements enhance general plant health.

• Sustain indoor and outdoor container plants with a fertiliser like PlantMax
• Keep the soil moist of herbs in pots - until the first shoots appear, and pinch out new growth on the seedlings to encourage them to become compact and bushy.
• Surround the trees with a thick layer of organic mulch to help keep the soil moist and protect the roots from the heat of the sun
• Use grass and plant clippings (from pruning) as mulch in your garden beds.
• Lightly prune your roses to encourage new flowers to develop. Pull up any sucker shoots (light green, thornless shoots) growing from the base of the bushes.
• Remove some of the smaller flower-heads on dahlias plants to encourage the development of bigger blooms (we’re talking dinner-plate size!)
• Remember to pull up any weeds before they go to seed and cause more problems for the future. Weeds rob your plants of valuable water and nutrients, so right now couldn’t be a better time to get rid of them.
• Spray driveways and paving with weed killer like McGregor’s Path and Patio Weedout.

OTHER FRESH IDEAS

Grow your own: Cabbage

Cabbage is a vegetable patch staple which can be grown at different times of year, depending on the variety. It’s easy to grow, with a harvesting time of 11-15 weeks, and is a go-to addition for plenty of summer meals: salads, slaws, stir fries – you name it.