Gardening with Margaret Matthews
Golden days in the garden
by Margaret Matthews
The lovely golden days of a Melbourne autumn are with us again. The long hot summer has had its last hurrah, but the soil is still warm enough to encourage growth. There are a great many jobs to be done before winter, and the nip in the morning air reminds us that it is time to get on with them.
It is a good idea to make a list of jobs that need our attention and to alternate the more strenuous with lighter tasks. Gardening is a great way to exercise, but don’t try to do three days work in one.
Bulbs
If you haven’t finished planting bulbs, don’t delay. It is now time to plant tulips and hyacinths. Tulips should have been kept in the fridge crisper for some weeks before planting, and even then they are not easy to flower unless we have really cold winters. More successful are the little rock tulips, but they all need to be lifted each year.
If your cyclamen have survived the summer, it is now time to repot them.
Lawns
New lawns can be sown now. Prepare the ground well and consult with your local nurseryman about the right lawn for your area. If you have a dog or some small grandchildren, sow something tough and don’t expect the ‘manicured’ effect.
Vegetables
Dig over the vegie patch and apply a dressing of lime. Watch your local nursery for seedlings which can be planted now. If you would like to try something different, Diggers Seeds in Dromana have interesting heritage varieties of many vegetables. Raising vegies from seed can be a fascinating hobby. Harvest the last red tomatoes for sauce and the green ones for pickle.
Herbs
Harvest herbs such as thyme, oregano and sage and hang in bunches to dry. Freeze mint, parsley, basil and chives in iceblock trays after cutting up finely. Clean up the herb patch. Pull out spent annual herbs and give perennial herbs a crew cut. Cut lavender bushes back hard.
Hydrangeas
If you didn’t prune hydrangeas after flowering, do so now. You may still find some lovely autumn tinted mop-heads to use indoors.
Fruit trees
Fertilise stone fruit and citrus trees, including cumquats in containers. Check that container plants do not need repotting.
Native plants
Visit a specialist plant nursery and choose some winter-flowering species to add colour to the garden and to attract birds.
Seedlings
Pot up annuals for winter colour. Pansies, Johnny-Jump-Ups, Primulas, Polyanthus will be in the nurseries now. The earlier you plant them, the longer the flowering season. Grow them in tubs and baskets and put them where they receive plenty of sunshine. Feed fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser.
Dahlias
Lift and store tubers. If you haven’t grown dahlias before, remember them for next year. There are some new varieties that may appeal to you.
All these jobs should not distract us from the most important happening in the garden in autumn – the beauty of the changing foliage of the deciduous trees. We should take time to witness the glorious colours before leaf-fall. We should not say, "I’ll take a break tomorrow, after I’ve sown the lawn". Let the lawn wait another day, or the scarlet maple leaves may have blown away, the beech tree’s gold may have spent itself, that chill wind might may have stripped the crabapple bare of his fiery russet coat. Autumn in the garden is a time of sudden change, a perfect example of ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’. Yet there are people who say, "Oh, I wouldn’t plant a deciduous tree, they make such a mess when the leaves fall". It seems to me that they have a strange sense of values. I could only excuse them if they were colour blind. When the leaves fall, you can still enjoy their beauty as you rake them into piles ready for the compost heap. A perfect example of recycling.
While autumn is at its height, try to visit our wonderful Botanic Gardens to inspect the new gate, the old Observatory buildings which have been put to new use, and the new visitors’ centre and restaurant. Also, while there take time to admire the wonderful trees in all their glory. A special place at this time of year is the Oak Lawn where these magnificent old trees are cloaked in their crimson and russet mantles. Dead-heading the hydrangeas can wait another day.
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