Vegetable Gardens
Borders
Lawns
Trees & Shrubs
Bulbs
Pots and Tubs

Autumn is a great time for those who love wielding the clippers – all that summer growth will need a trim back now to keep the garden tidy. But many off-cuts will strike well in the humidity right now so think about planting some of your cuttings out into pots.

Now that its cooling down a bit you can think of an overall garden fertilising to see some nice new green growth now and set the plants up well for winter. Blood and bone or a good all round balanced fertiliser will do. But if you have a good compost heap then there’s never a better time to spread the results of that around. You’ll need the space in your heap because the deciduous leaf fall will soon fill it up again.

Its also a busy time for planting in readiness for next spring - veggies and bulbs in particular. But its also a busy time for slugs and snails – a proprietary bait will wreak havoc with them, but if you want a chemical free garden then a saucer of beer will have a similar effect – the main difference being they’ll die happy.

Autumn for most, however means the awesome colour displays of the deciduous trees and shrubs. It’s a benign and beautiful season, a time to reflect and enjoy.
 

• Plant brassica seedlings like cabbage, cauliflower, brussels, spinach, silverbeet and broccoli right now – dig the soil over first and add some dolomite and compost or manure first.
• Also it’s a good time to plant Broad Beans, Leeks, Onions and potatoes (if they have multiple sprouts on them you can cut them into two before planting).  Garlic goes well now too, just break off the cloves and push them into the ground to a depth of 5cms and you’ll have a whole new clove in not time.
• Stake tomatoes as they weigh down with heavy fruits but its good to pick them while they are still pinky/green and let them ripen indoors (you don’t have to put them on the windowsill, they’ll ripen in a paper bag in the cupboard just as well).

• Trim off all dead flower heads – especially marigolds which can look very messy if left to rot on the plant.  In general you should not let your annuals go on too long – pull them out before they go all straggly.
• Plant Sweet Peas now and prepare a good trellis for them to grow up. Sandwich the seeds between a couple of sheets of newspaper and thoroughly wet it all over – leave overnight and then plant.
• Cut off any black-spot infected leaves from your roses and place them in a plastic bag in the rubbish bin so as not to spread the infection. Water the roots of roses rather than the foliage – it will help keep black-spot at bay. Give all established roses a good organic fertilising right now and watch out for aphids which are about in abundance right now. See them off with a spray of pyrethrum, a blast with the hose works well, or just squash them between your fingers (the best way to become a Green Thumb gardener !!)
• Dahlias will be coming into full bloom now – liquid feed as the buds are setting and keep up the water during bloom time. Pinch out smaller buds in order to improve those that remain.
• Gladioli can be lifted now and the dead foliage cut off – then store them somewhere dry and airy
• Cut back Agapanthus before the heads have gone to seed. Also cut back Hydrangeas, Lavender and Salvias and Fuschias to keep them tidy.
• Pelargoniums and geraniums can be cut back now if they have gone straggly but don’t throw all the off cuts away as some will make excellent cuttings and now is perfect weather to get cuttings to root.

• Those who live in dry summer climates will do well to aerate the lawn now by pushing a fork well down into it all over. This will help the oncoming rains to get deep down and get some growth going before winter sets in.
• As the weather cools new lawn seeds will germinate and grow much easier – so if you have some dead patches, now’s a good time to do repairs by raking first, pre-watering, seed sowing and a light sprinkling of soil over the top. Keep up the water until the new grass is completely set.
• For those less patient you can establish new lawns or repair damaged ones with turf right now as it becomes cooler – but as with seed sown lawns you must water at least once a day to get them going well.
• For established lawns a complete fertiliser – that is well balanced with N,P & K – should be applied now. There is still plenty of good growth time left before winter so get some goodness into the soil to keep the lawn looking good and growing strongly right up to “Slow-down Time” in winter.

• Autumn is the best time to plant evergreen trees and shrubs – especially natives like Banksias, Grevilleas, Boronias and Acacias.  Its also an extremely good time to plant most fruit trees  
• Now’s the time to fertilise trees and shrubs – even natives, though you will need to be more careful with them as they do not like too much of anything, particularly phosphorus. The best, as always, is blood and bone or a specially formulated slow release fertiliser.  
• While its still warm take care of shallow rooted plants by keeping up the watering to them – this includes rhododendrons, azaleas and some small conifers.
• Pick stone fruit now, prune off any weak looking branches and foliage, apply some lime and then give them plenty of water in order to maximise growth before winter sets in.
• Citrus will need one last feed before winter – its best to use a special citrus formulation.
• Transplant rhododendrons, Azaleas and Camellias now

• This is the right time to plant bulbs – including Dutch Irises, Freesias, Ixias, Daffodils, Jonquils, Tulips, Anemones, Ranuncula. 
• If you live in a warm climate then you’ll need to keep them in the fridge for a few weeks first. If its Hyacinths or Tulips, keep them in the Veggie crisper for about six weeks and plant out in late April.
• Dig the soil over and add some animal manure or compost and let it settle bit before planting. If you don’t have access to the manure or compost then a sprinkling of blood and bone or a specially formulated bulb food will do instead.  • If you have bulbs, corms or tubers that are well established then think about dividing them right now. These include Agapanthus, Alstroemeria and Lilies.

• March can still be quite hot so you’ll still need to take extra care of your pot plants and hanging baskets – whether indoor or out.  Water every day if you can and give them a good soak every couple of weeks at least – dunk the pot in a sink of water then let it drain slowly before replacing it in its normal position.  
• Into April you can think of re-potting anything that has had it tough over summer or outgrown its pot.
• As the autumn progresses you should cut back on feeding and watering house plants as they generally take a nap during winter.
• Plant winter/spring flowering annual seeds into trays right now like Alyssum, Cineraria, Primula, Poppies, Calendula, Lobelia, Antirrhinum, Poppies and Pansies etc.