Gardening in North Otago 27th April 2011

We sure have had a taste of winter temperatures this week, not the weather to encourage us into in the garden. The autumn colours are amazing, becoming more intense as this month moves on making up for the lack of warmth.
Time to start bedding the garden down for winter, I have been cutting back summer flowering perennials and annuals which have become long and lanky to clear the ground in readiness for the compost each plant will receive before the pea straw is placed around. The piles of soft plant matter go onto the compost but the stringy hard wood piles are dumped or put through the shredder. The more we can put back on the garden the more the garden benefits. I am leaving the hydrangeas to finish the wonderful autumn show they are offering right now, but have been taking some hard wood cuttings as I cannot get enough of these wonderful plants and it takes a few seasons for cuttings to grow into a good sized bush. Still time for sowing seed out side here on the coast and getting it to prick out size before the days become and growing stops. Once they are pricked out into punnets or pots they will need to be nursed through until spring. Sowing seed now gives you a head start and the seedlings carried through are much stronger and will do better than the new punnets of seedlings on offer come spring. Seeds to sow outside now: Alyssum, aquilegia, calendula, cornflower, perennial lupins, statice, stock, sweet peas. Seeds to sow under cover: Antirrhinum (snap dragon) dianthus, pansy, viola, poppy, scabious, sweet William, pollyanthas, primrose and primulas Lift gladioli and clean corms, after drying dust with flowers of sulpher before storing in old panty hose or paper bags, never plastic.Do not disturb peony roses, just cut back dead tops and lay on top of clumps, if they need divided leave until spring.

Winter roses: will benefit from feeding now, take most shabby old leaves off because they harbour green fly over the cold months, but leave enough to protect the new growth. They can be removed when the flowers come up.

Any one growing tall asters should have had them flowering for a while. If they are falling all over the place and need support you need to remember to trim back the new growth by half at the end of next September. this will make them grow bushier rather than tall.
Make a not on your calendar to do this. I must remember to remind you then. Asters exhaust the soil as the clumps get bigger so divide often when finished flowering.

The lawns are slowing down now, I have given mine a dressing of lime to keep them sweet over winter, lime takes a season to work it's way down and do its job so if put on now the benefits will be had in spring.
Keep off wet lawns as much as possible too much traffic will compact the soil which encourages grass to die off leaving bare patches where grass will not rejuvenate.
If you notice patches of lawn Browning off and the birds showing interest and scratching grass out, you will probably have grass grub eating the roots of the grass. This month is the very last chance you will have to deal to them with grass grub granules, they start their winter hibernation in May. The granules need to be rained or watered in.

Vegetables
Watch pumpkins don't get frosted from now on, if they are big and sound hollow when you knock them they can be picked and sat in a sunny place to ripen more away from the frosts.
Anzac day is traditionally the time to plant broad beans,if you missed that day any time now is good.

Cheers, Linda.