 Growing Gardens
with Julia Hancock
A Winter's Tale
What's looking good in your garden at the moment? The winter equinox brings with it many small satisfactions as you review your achievements over the last six months, and plan ahead for the coming spring and summer. It's also a reminder that the year is half over and we'd better get cracking on those big jobs outside before the weather gets hot again.
There's a lovely rhythm to winter work, pruning, raking, making good all those things that we're too busy to do during the rampant growth of summer. There's still plenty happening in the winter garden, but at this time of the year there's the opportunity to really enjoy it, without getting fried or frazzled.
Gardens smell different now, the pungency of aromatic foliage becomes more prominent with less competition from perfumed flowers. They sound different, the bare branches of deciduous trees don't muffle noises like they do when they're in leaf. Birds too have different calls, and there are other species visiting at this time of the year.
What does a mid-winter garden taste like? Well, there are all those lovely herbs like chives, marjoram, oregano and thyme still available for warming soups and stews; silverbeet and carrots for the steamer; and radishes, lettuce and sorrel for the salad bowl. Our kitchens are filled with the fragrance of citrus, squeezed fresh for juices or bubbling away in a pan for marmalade.
The days are short now, but before it's too dark in the evening, pick an armful of lovely coloured foliage - cordyline, acacia, lillypilly, lemon-scented myrtle, eucalyptus - to bring inside and plonk in a vase for fresh and fragrant decoration. Then settle into your favourite armchair with a good gardening book or magazine and lose yourself among the ideas and inspiration you'll find on each page.
Lismore Garden Club News
There is a spirit of community in the Lismore Garden Club. The club is continually encouraging the home owner to be proud of their home and plant a garden. This in turn contributes to the beautification of our fair city. If you want to start a garden, but need a few pointers, phone Mary on 6621 5293.
What to Plant this Week
Flowers: Daisy, Chrysanthemum, Cineraria, Coleus, Cornflower, Dianthus, Everlasting Daisy, Gazania, Gerbera, Alyssum, Amaranthus, Aster, Californian Poppy, Candytuft, Canterbury Bells, Carnation, Celosia, Gloxinia, Impatiens, Lupin, Nasturtium, Petunia, Phlox, Portulaca, Salvia, Snapdragon, Statice, Zinnia.
Vegies: Asparagus Crowns, Beans, Broadbeans, Broccoli, Cabbage, Capsicum, Carrots, Asian Greens, Cucumber, Herbs, Lettuce, Spring Onions, Parsnips, Peas, Potato, Radish, Rhubarb Crowns, Silverbeet, Sweet Potato, Tomato (frost free areas), Zucchini.
Jobs to do in the garden this week: Prune grape vines. Take a few cuttings. Trim to 30cm. Dip in rooting powder. Plant in a spade full of river sand in the garden in a shady spot.
Gardening tip for this week: For best results with mint, plant in a large plastic pot. Cut the bottom out of the pot, then submerge it by 2/3rd of its height in the garden. Water often. Fertilise with Thrive or Aquasol fortnightly.
Happy Gardening,
Ron Burns.
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