Still a winter chill in the air this week which if nothing else keeps the weeds back a little longer although I have been weed spraying to eradicate those that have dared to pop through early.
I also find that by adding a couple of inches of compost
to the top of the soil once the winter clean up is completed really helps to supress early spring weed growth and adds benifical humus to the soils structure.
I encourage birds into our garden to deal to pests like catapillars,aphids and grass grub so always expect weeds from the seeds in their droppings as nature intended, it's all part of gardening and weeding little and often will keep you one step ahead of nature.

I am still breaking up and shifting perennials like agapanthas, large and dwarf types, day lillie's, grass's, and succulents. Some of my plants never made it through the winter so there are a few gaps needing filled.There is still time to divide hostas, these dramatic shade loving perennials can make a shaded spot with their fresh greens and variegated light shades. Simply lift established clumps at least 4 to 5 years old and use a sharp spade to slice them into a few good sizes pieces, then replant, even in pots they look great.
I have been finding a lot of self sown plants like wall flower, primula, for-get-me-not, bellis daisy and heaps of other useful seedlings to fill gaps which should not mind being transplanted while the ground is so wet.
I have noticed that the north-end of Oamaru is away ahead of our Weston garden with mass's of spring bulbs on display and early blossom, we have nice hellebore's in flower and heaps of bulbs through but nothing in flower as yet.I guess we are just that bit closer to the snow on the Kakanui's.

Also this week some of our taller shrubs like phebaliums, pittosporums, psudopanax and the like have been reduced in height.This can be done if height is a problem without spoiling the shape of shrubs.
What I do is cut out the center top branch down to where the other branches bush out. This removes the natural point at the top of the shrub and will sometimes reduce the height by 2 or more meters.The shrubs will soon send up a new leader but will also put more growth into the side branching which can be trimmed into shape if a problem. The reason that this sort of control works now is because it is just the start of the growing season and plants will recover fast because they are intent on just growing. Leave doing this for another month further inland.

If you have leggy lavender bushes trim them back now past their woody growth,lavenders are just starting to make new growth so this is the right time to get them bushy again.Lavenders also enjoy old stable manure and a little lime at this time of the year.
As I keep saying If you have no time to do anything else in the garden right now feeding plants is a must for health and vigour through the summer, it is well worth the effort and will minimize the spaying needed if plants are unhealthy.
Slow release fertilisers are a safe bet to keep on feeding over a long period. They are very clean and easy to apply and you will not be at risk of over feeding with them. Each time the plants are watered they are fed as the granules break down gradually.
There are slow release fertilisers for specific plants and a general one for most plants.
Now would be a good time to talk about plants that resent fertiliser: Many South African plants and Australian natives such as proteas, leucodendrons, banksias, and all grevillia's do not need feeding. I have lost grevillia's because they had absorbed fertiliser from neighbouring plants. There are wonderful displays of leucodendron bushes around town at the moment, they are great for picking right now so fill vases and enjoy inside, cutting the blooms off will do the bushes good and stop them from becoming woody and leggy.

The Vegetable Garden
It's the perfect time to sow seeds under cover as I mentioned last week,I planted parsnip, carrots, broad beans and peas at the beginning of this month and they are up and doing well.Any seeds that say spring sowing on the back of the packet will pop up now. I use a tray of compost & potting mix with a layer of seed raising mix on the top.This way your seed raising mix goes further. Once planted cover the trays with plastic or glass but use spacers to let air circulate around the trays.This week I put in some rocket (early potatoes) that had good sprouts, but Because the nights are still so cold I have mounded soil up over them and covered the row with straw to help keep the soil a little warmer.
Give rhubarb clumps a good dressing of compost and manure now,they are heavy feeders and start looking for food early in the season.

Fruit trees
Peach and nectarine trees should be sprayed now for that dreaded leaf curl, the most effective fungicides are chorathalonil (Bravo)or copper compound sprays.It is best to spray down on the trees from a ladder to make sure it's they that get a good drenching and not you.


Cheers, Linda.