Here are some tips to help you maintain your beloved garden:
Tend to tools.
Clean and sharpen hand tools. Lawnmowers may need to be serviced and blades sharpened, but this is a job best left for winter. Wash gardening gloves or replace them if they’re old. Put some sunscreen in the same place as your tools, plus an old pair of sunglasses for eye protection.
Scrap your chemicals.
Sort through your pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and spraying equipment. Many older products contain poisons that have been replaced by safer, low-toxicity or organic solutions. Check use-by dates and remove anything with leaky packaging. If you can't read the label anymore, then out it goes. But don’t throw chemical in the bin. Contact your local council for you to learn safe disposal options — many have a special chemical collection scheme.
Pamper pot plants.
Look at your potted plants critically. Move the aged, terminally ill or maimed out of sight, or to the compost heap, and treat yourself to new plants. Replace any cracked or perished pots. Repot any plants which roots are growing out of drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. If roots have grown down into the paving, cut them off and raise the pot up on pot feet or pavers.
Edit existing trees.
Like children, trees have a habit of growing when you’re not looking — suddenly, they’re much bigger than you thought. Assess each tree to decide whether it shades other plants too much, blocks light to the lawn or spreads where it shouldn’t. Options include removing lower branches to raise the canopy, carefully pruning some branches to thin out the canopy and even removing the tree altogether. Call a qualified arborist to do any tree work, first checking if they have current insurance.
Make a tree plan.
Shade is generally on top of mind in autumn, but a shady spot to park on and picnic under is a must in summer. Consider planting a shade tree on the nature strip, by the driveway or on the west side of your home. Deciduous trees provide passive solar benefits for homes and gardens, cooling them considerably in summer yet allowing in the winter sun. Aside from their environmental benefits, trees are great for screening out neighbouring buildings, too.
Create compost.
If you don’t have a compost heap, now is the time to start one. Autumn leaves, a fantastic source of nutrients and organic matter, will soon be a plentiful supply. Compost is a great product for your garden and you can make it for free while reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.
Rearrange your space.
Autumn is a great time to do some rearranging in your garden. The days might be cooler but the soil stays warm. Most evergreen shrubs and perennials, along with strappy clumping plants, will transplant readily, but you should leave deciduous plants until they're bare in winter. Keep the top of the root ball level with the soil when replanting and don’t let the relocated plants dry out. Seaweed products are a great tonic for transplants.
Ponder the problem areas.
Look at your garden critically and make a resolution to improve problem areas. Consider consulting a garden professional — the one who can suggest custom solutions, provide design ideas and help you choose the best plants.
Protect your pond.
Check and clean the pump and filter. Remove dead foliage from plants in and around the pond. If floating plants cover the pond surface too thickly after their summer growth, scrape some and add these to the compost heap. Stretch a net over the pond to catch falling leaves.
Learn more garden maintenance tips from the gardening experts in Australia today.