Gardening in North Otago June 1st 2022

This year is marching on with May just passed being the official beginning of winter for NZ, but for me June is the start of winter because in my mind May is all about mellow days now and leaves and more leaves. Leaves are nature's soil food they fall to the ground creating humus but leaves falling around a garden and on lawns are usually raked up, this is why it is so important to add leaf mulch / compost to gardens and lawns to add the humus needed. The first frosts arrived last week along with a drop in temperature ( apart from yesterday,Tuesday such a pleasure to be out and about) however frost cloth is out again for me. I do a lot of growing from seed and cuttings and find frost cloth wonderful for extra protection. Frost draws precious moisture from the soil so keep an eye on shallow rooted shrubs like rhododendron, camellias and hydrangeas, a deep watering then a thick covering of compost / mulch will benefit them in early winter. Same for maples, they seem to die off in stages if soil is dry going into winter. Compost bins and heaps will be filled with leaves, grass clippings and soft garden and hedge clippings. While you are layering add some manure and a sprinkle of lime along with some well cooked leftover compost and water. Cold weather has a marked slowing down effect on compost organisms and any insulation wrapped around a bin or covering a heap will help keep them working, I do this on my heaps with a thick layer of straw. Come Spring you will be so pleased to have taken the trouble as your garden will be crying out to be fed as it wakes from winter. Tulips can be planted until the end of this month, plant them beep (10cm) as tulips need a real chilling before they can perform well. I pop them in the fridge for a month before planting. If planting in a warm north facing garden they will need to go down at least 15cm deep. If planted against a south facing wall, plant and forget about them as they will perform well and multiply for many years. Also keep planting and dividing Lilies, keeping them damp at all times, there should be a good range of lilies in garden centres now. Deciduous trees and shrubs will come into Garden centers during June / July so look about gardens now and take note of the trees and shrubs that colour up beautifully, take a photo of what you admire and ask someone who knows about trees to identify. Now would be a good time to plan what you would like and where it would enhance the garden being an already established garden, or the bones for a new garden. While the ground is still workable it would be a good idea to dig the area in readiness. Dig out the soil, add peat or compost plus blood and bone then fill back in again until you are ready to plant. Hydrangeas are deepening into rich shades as gardens head towards winter, l like to leave this colour for as long as it takes for them to look faded and untidy, this also gives stems time to harden and once hardened they can be shifted if needed. Really large bushes can be dug up and root cut and pulled into several individual bushes. I use a hand saw for this. In cold districts don't prune back until spring, leave the tops on to protect the new growth. Leave on until you notice new leaf buds opening. Then cut each stem with a spent flower head back to the second bud from the bottom, leaving all stems that did not flower to produce the flowers for next summer. A start can be made on pruning very strong rambler roses by cutting out any dead stems and cutting back all side stems on canes to within 2-3 buds from the main steam. Shorten back vigorous leaders by about 1/3 to promote branching. If the bush is out of control like some of mine got, reduce the size with a hedge trimmer then cut some canes right out from ground level. Veg: If worms are rare in your garden, this usually indicates that the organic content of the soil is very low, worms seem to always find manure if applied and will take it down to where it is needed. If the manure is very dry it will need to be spread as a layer down under a soil bed for them to come up to it. This would be a daunting task to undertake in established gardens, although worth digging into trenched rows as veg is used, definitely the way to go when establishing a new veg area where soil is dry and has clay content, the introduction of worms will make all the difference. Cheers Linda.