FINALLY! SPRING IS HERE

Have you checked your garden’s condition these past few weeks over winter?

When was the last time you strolled in your garden and let the plants speak to you while you pondered What would you do in your garden this Spring for the upcoming year?

Will you be an artist with colour? Will you be more practical with kitchen herbs, vegetables, fruit, and salad plants? Or, will you be into studying and growing natural medicinal plants?  You could combine all three ideas throughout your garden.

We can start with the basics…….

Here are some things to take into consideration to make your efforts successful.

How is your reticulation working and where is it positioned for maximum effect?

What kinds of flowers do you want this year – the same as before or something new? What colours?

What height of plants do you want? How big do the plants grow and how many do you want of a certain kind?

Would you like a perfumed garden this year with honeysuckle, jasmine, gardenias, and other such plants like Brunfelsia bonodora—commonly known as “yesterday, today, and tomorrow”? Some of these plants are shrubs and are long-term items for your garden.

Do you want to look into companionable planting—what is this? Well, it is planting plants together that take care of the pests and bugs. Lady birds for instance are wonderful for getting rid of thrips so encouraging them into your garden is a good idea. Frogs too provide a very valuable service for eating bugs and flies—they love moist shady areas to hide with a water feature to lay their eggs in. My friend has 5 different species of frogs in her backyard garden amongst the trees and shrubs.

MEDICINAL PLANTS

It is not a secret that these types of plants are essential and have been practiced in gardening for centuries. More and more people are getting into this because of its qualities and convenience, may it be for first aid, detox, vitamins, and a lot more that you can put into your garden. Plants such as chamomile—which can help aid sleep, and mint for a stomach ache are great examples of medicinal plants.  Others are sage, rosemary, lavender, comfrey, bergamont……

GROUND COVER PLANTS

Flower carpet roses, aubretia, creeping herbs like creeping thyme or rosemary, and just some ideas.

In barren spots in your garden when it is difficult to grow a plant, ground-covering plants help fill up the area by covering the soil and covering the bare ground. They may also help in the soil’s preservation of nutrients and moisture, thereby decreasing the number of weeds that appear.

TRAILING PLANTS

Plants in this category are often underrated which I think is something they do not deserve. Who doesn’t want a little drama in their garden, right? Imagine a plant that creates a cascading or water-like effect—endless possibilities. Plus, they can be used as a ground cover, or maybe just hang them over a basket, or even cover up those hard-to-grow places in your garden. These plants can also be used indoors especially during winter since they’re perennials. Just don’t forget to put them back out when spring comes.  Creeping jenny, calibrachoa, and vinca vine are the most recommended trailing plants.

ROSE

We all know that this romantic and lovely type of plant is perfect for any garden setting. May it be on special occasions like weddings, birthdays, engagement parties, or even just on a date night with your loved one. This plant is also used in gifts and for home décor. Many new types of roses are said to be long-blooming and because of that fact, it is easier to maintain however, it is the older types of roses that have the perfume, not the hybrids so you could mix them up as some of the hybrids are quite colourful— there is a red rose that is nearly black in colour and that is a beauty. They do require a bit of care with pruning pre-winter and thinning in the spring when they are shooting to make sure the centers do not become too dense.

FERTILIZERS

Providing your garden with the nutrients your plants need is a must. Bags of sheep manure, cow & chicken manure (use sparingly) are some suggestions as well as straw and fertilizer mix which provides a mulch that breaks down into your soil adding further water retention properties for the dry summers of Perth.   Also, remember the microbes……… these are imperative to have a healthy garden and work wonders, speak to your gardening shop to get the rundown on what these can do to your garden.

These are just some basic suggestions to get you back into the garden after the winter to enjoy the sunshine, move the body, and get into your creative side.