Gardening in North Otago 1September 2015

SEPTEMBER Tra La" Spring thank goodness! The season of new beginnings and with a nice drizzle we had last week I am convinced a new growing season has begun. As I walked in the drizzle with Scruff I noticed all the pollen being washed into gutters, there is so much pollen in the air, settling on every outside surface and being breathed in I am sure there will be a lot of sneezing going on.  Everyday something new is happening in my gardens, sweet peas, ranunculus, anemones and tulips are well up and putting on good growth. I am now watching as I work around the garden as to what is pushing through. Weeds are off to a flying start as well so hoes and sprayers will be out, there are organic sprays and they work best when weeds are new and small so now is the time to remove them before they flower and make seed.  I have very wide perennial borders that insist on growing couch, biddy- bid, and chick-weed and this was the time I attack them while flowering plants were still low and the ground damp and soft, making weed pulling easy. While doing this weeding I can see what needs attention, delphiniums needing stakes before they put on too much growth, removing mulch from around iris rhizomes and peony rose crowns and removing self sown plants and natives before they settle in. I keep on about plants, shrubs and trees responding to feeding now, sap is well up and buds are swelling, liquid feed all perennials and bedding plants and use a good general fertiliser for trees and shrubs. Azaleas and tulips are the exception, azaleas like fed after flowering and tulips store enough food in the bulb for their requirements. If you load them up with more they will grow more leaves than needed and hide blooms.  Cut the old growth from cat-mint if you have not already done so, I leave old growth on over the colder months to protect the new growth. It is also time to dress your garden for late spring and summer, think colour and where you want it and what colour is needed where. At this time of the year concentrate on the sunny areas in the garden to get bedding pants and perennials moving. Why not plant wildflowers, this year I am filling egg cartons with seed raising mix and wildflower seeds, cartens can be buried into soil suppressing weeds then breaking down once seeds germinate and grow.   Roses: there are still roses on offer, they do not always need to grow together in a rose bed, use them as gap fillers in sunny borders. To give new to rose growers an idea of what to look for I will list the different types below once again.PATIO ROSES: grow about knee high for front border planting, plant 80 cm apart when grouping, these can also be grown in containers as long as the roots are kept cool ( tin foil around the inside of the pot before filling will help with this) feed right through the growing season.FLORABUNDA: Flowers grow in clusters - bushes grow to about waist high on average, space these about 1mtr apart when grouping. Cut off spent flower clusters and they will reward you with masses of colour right through the growing season. HYBRID TEA: This is the rose to give you the large exhibition one steam bloom. They grow about chest high, these are the picking rose and need feeding well right through the growing season to give the best results. MINATURE: A dwarf growing bush rose with all parts scaled down, height will be listed on the label. If you have a rose that is not performing and has been growing for a few years, dig it out, change the soil and plant another. The secret to keeping roses free from disease is to remove all last years' diseased wood and leaves from the ground around them and burn them. Keep the food up to rose bushes starting now while they are beginning to leaf and continue right through until the end of summer.  Lawns: With that lovely moisture last week I fed my lawn and can already see results, healthy lawns are fed often to leave no room for weeds. Vegetables: Plant carrot, spring onion, lettuce, brassica, pea and broad bean seeds. Still too early for tomato, basil, corn, summer beans and all from the pumpkin family.  Fruit: Buds are swelling to blossom burst as sap rises, what's needed now are sunny days and bee's. I worked on my gooseberry bushes this week,Thinning branches before the leaves arrive, cutting up the bottom branches to get bushes higher off the ground making it so much easier to pick the fruit as it hangs beneath branches..  Cheers, Linda.