It’s that time of year – Springtime! Though it was a slow start to the season, fragrant Jasmine and Boronias now fill the air, friendly Spring bulbs are popping their heads up to greet us, and deciduous trees have woken up like satisfied grizzly bears from hibernation, their crisp, newly minted foliage evidence that the worst of Winter is behind us. Spring is in full swing!
A gentle amble around the nursery will reveal a good range of Osteospermums and Lavender in stock, strong and healthy and ready to soak up those fleeting, precious moments of sunshine. Pop one in a pot or tub for a colourful, low maintenance Christmas display. With flower buds about to burst like living fireworks, Proteas and their pals the Leucospermums are putting on quite the show! These easy care South African beauties are brilliant for cut flowers and will grow happily in pots or in the ground, provided you have a well drained spot. If you fancy trying one as a tub specimen, make sure you use Searle’s Native Mix and a good drink of Seasol to help it settle in.
Our new season roses are currently a sight to behold, looking something akin to a living oil painting! Having woken up from their bare rooted slumber ready to face the world, each proud flower head is roaring with fragrance and colour. Many rose varieties grow beautifully in pots if space is at a premium at your place. Keep an eye out for the repeat flowering David Austen Rose varieties, perfect for a sunny corner of the garden or patio. With gentle pastel colours and petals en masse, the flowers just keep coming, ready to brighten up the day of anyone looking for a touch of romance. Now is the time to feed them up – Neutrog’s Sudden Impact for Roses is great and to spray for Black Spot as a preventative measure, especially as we expect more rainy days! Keep snipping out dead flower heads as they appear, this will encourage new flowers and reduce disease.
There’s lots of action in the kitchen garden at this end of the year as well. Basil, Chives, are Chillies are powering on, and there’s a good range of tomatoes in stock, suitable for pots or garden beds. Those of you who planted your tomatoes early might even be harvesting now. Make sure you keep up the liquid fertiliser to your edibles over the next few months and top up mulch as necessary to maintain even soil moisture. Adding a few potted colour seedlings like Marigolds, Alyssum or Cosmos is a great way to ‘pretty up’ your edible garden with the added benefit of attracting pollinating insects and distracting thrips and aphids.
Keep your eye out for Summer garden ‘winners’ like miniature Dahlias, sunny Bougainvilleas and my favourite for the season, the tough and twinkling Euphorbia ‘StarDust’ for months of easy care colour. These beauties make an awesome hanging basket display, the fantastic drainage of hanging baskets makes them a great way to keep colour in the garden even through a soggy Summer – hang them a little lower than head height so you can water them easily and see the display to it’s full advantage.
After all that gardening you’ve earned some time to sit back and smell the roses! Why not satisfy your green thumbs and pop in for an inspirational wander ‘round and a cuppa at The Leafy Green café? We’re looking forward to seeing you.
Happy Gardening from the team at Burbank!
443 The Entrance Rd, Erina Heights NSW 2260 02 4365 5396 / Open 7 days
Monday to Saturday 9am – 5pm / Sunday 10am – 4pm Open Public Holidays
Cafe / Tuesday to Saturday 9am – 3pm / Sunday 10am – 3pm