Matt Leacy, Creative Director and co-founder of the award winning Landart Landscapes shares his top tips for keeping your garden alive while you’re away on holidays this summer.
Watering is key – it may sound like cheating, but if you’re going to be away for a few weeks – the best thing you can do to keep your garden alive while you’re away it to hire a maintenance service or get your neighbours to water for you. Or maybe a combination of both.
Also look at getting someone to mow the lawns – which also helps give your home a lived in look while you’re away for security purposes.
You should mow your lawns right before you leave for your holiday, but avoid the urge to go too short. A ‘scalped’ lawn won’t do well in the heat of summer, especially if it’s getting less water than it’s used to.
If there’s teenagers in your street consider speaking with their parents about whether they might like the ‘job’ of keeping water up to your garden, lawns and pots while you’re away. You should also get them to check on your pool water levels incase they also need a top up.
If you have a vege patch you can also offer neighbours access to whatever is growing in that space while you’re away in return for helping keep things alive.
If you would rather be self-sufficient a good drip water system, and/or a sprinkler system on a timer or Wi-Fi controlled is another way you to keep your garden thriving. The Wi-Fi controlled option is best as it allows you to control when your garden gets watered and allows you to adjust for any rainfall that may occur.
And of course before you go away ensure that your garden and pots are well hydrated.
If you’re really organised, and can plan far enough in advance, you could start watering your plants less often but more deeply. Over time this will cause roots to go deeper and for the plants to be more drought tolerant and need watering less frequently.
If you also need to keep indoor plants alive I would suggest sitting them in a bathtub or sinks with a few inches of water in the bottom. Or consider moving them outside to a well sheltered and shaded space that will then allow anyone who may be watering your garden to also hose down your indoor plants.
Any plants that you have in pots outside should also be moved to shaded spots while you’re away to reduce the amount of water they will need to survive. If you can, group them all together which will help create localised humidity as the leaves of each plant will emit and trap the water vapour off each other.
And place pot saucers or trays under potted plants if they don’t already have them. This will help trap water that they can then draw up over time.
Mulching is key – Mulch is a must to help retain soil moisture while you’re away, and to keep weeds – that not only look awful but also suck water from your soil – at bay.
I like to use an organic compost and a slow release fertiliser. Lay it over the soil by hand where possible, but be wary of applying too close to plant trunks and stems. Excess moisture can cause stems to rot, so it’s generally best to mulch at least 50-70mm thick and to keep the mulch well away from stems and trunks.
Check your mulch levels and top them up before you head off on holidays if you need to.
Plant water wise plants – if you’re looking at updating your outdoors space for summer, and you know you’re going to be away a lot, you should choose water wise options now.
Some great water-wise plants
to consider include agaves, dragon trees, tree aloes, Nolina and cactuses. They’re not only low-maintenance, but also bring a lot of form and structure into the garden – as well as being very diverse in terms of texture and colour, which means they can be suited to many different styles of outdoor spaces.
Succulents are also a great choice – some of my favourite succulents include Crassula, Carpobrotus, Aloes, Senecio, Sempervivums and Sedums.
Native Australian species such as Lomandra, Westringias and Casuarinas are awesome if you’re looking to plant on mass for large spaces. Mixing these with some exotic succulents and native ornamental grasses can create some really interesting planting palettes with varying textures and colours. And you won’t have to worry too much about them while you’re away.
Prepare your soil– use things like compost, organic matter and worm castings to build the health of your soil. A healthy soil will retain water better. Try not to use too much artificial fertilisers as this can affect the PH and available nutrients of the soil overtime. You could also use a wetting agent in pots and garden beds.
Check for disease and pests– before you go away you should also ensure that you’ve checked the health of all your plants. If you notice any pests taking hold you should deal with this before going away. In humid, warm conditions a matter of weeks can easily be the difference between coming home to plants that have been eaten and stripped right back, or plants that have continued to thrive in the summer sun.
Matt Leacy is co-founder and Creative Director of the award-winning Landart Landscapes.
Matt has more than 20 years’ experience in design, construction and maintenance services across landscaping and pool installation for both residential and commercial properties.
Matt is a qualified structural landscaper, designer, horticulturalist and current board member – and former president – of the LNA Master Landscapers Association, which is the equivalent of the Master Builders Association for the landscaping industry.
He was also Channel 10 The Living Room’s resident landscape designer.
Matt has worked with City of Sydney in previous years, spearheading their Living Colour installations to bring life and colour to inner-city streets.
Outside of work, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife Marie and their three young children. He has a passion for the outdoors, active living and holistic health. He is also an avid advocate for disability support and awareness – interests that stem, in part, from his own personal family experiences with disability, including dementia and neurological disorders.
A selection of Matt’s work can be found at www.landart.com.au
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