Gardening in Waitaki August 10th 2022

Each day I am noticing hints of the coming spring everywhere, buds of magnolias, rhododendrons, and camellias are bursting open while blue bells,iris, crocus and tulips are up to join the already flowering snowdrops, daffodils and jonquils and of cause the early plum blossom, what a treat to witness the new growing seasons early beginnings.   Keep an eye out for flowering camellias and rhododendrons now in the garden centers, most are showing buds and flowers, this is the time to choose the right shades for your garden, they thrive in semi shade or afternoon shaded areas of the garden.Now is the perfect time to sow seeds undercover, the seeds I planted three weeks ago and have had under plastic are up. Any seeds that say spring sowing on the back of the packet will pop up as days get longer. I use a tray of compost / soil 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 between the plastic / glass  and tray.Lavenders can have a cut back now, I see them starting to put out new growth, really old woody bushes can have wood cut back by half to encourage new lower growth. If a lavender bush has not done well for a couple of  years it is probably time to replace it. Newly planted lavenders just need a light clip during spring, sprinkle now with a little lime because lavenders like sweet soil. Shrubs encroaching on drive and walkways can be trimmed back , they will soon recover with new spring growth. Also reduce the height on some of taller shrubs if needed like phebalium, pittosporums and pseudopanax. You can do this without spoiling the shape by cutting out the center leader 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.  New leaders will be sent up over time  but more growth will be put into the side branching which can be trimmed into shape if becoming a problem. Further inland leave this until spring. A lot of climbers are in bud now ready to do their thing in Spring so if trimming watch you are not cutting off new buds. Hardenbergia ( happy wanderer) flowers in early winter so that is one that can be cut back. Jasmines may have been knocked by the cold, leave them a bit longer until you are sure the frosts are over before trimming them.  If you have still not fed your roses do it as soon as possible, rose roots are moving fast now to push out buds. If you have no time to do anything else in the garden now feeding plants is a must for health and vigour to take them right through to the next autumn, It is well worth the effort and will minimize the spaying needed for unhealthy plants. Slow release fertilisers are a safe bet for continual feeding over a long period, they are very clean and easy to apply and nowadays formulated to feed specific plants.Now would be a good time to mention plants that resent being fed. Many South African plants and Australian natives such as proteas, leucadendrons, banksias, and all grevillia's do not need feeding. I have lost some of these because they had absorbed fertilizer from neighbouring plants. There is still time to divide hostas, these dramatic shade loving perennials can really highlight a shaded spot with their fresh greens and variegated light shades. Simply lift established clumps at least 4 to 5 years old, use a sharp spade to slice them into a few good sized pieces, then replant. They also look great in pots but, slugs love them so pop some prickly shrub clippings around them as soon as they start showing leaf.  Fruit and Vegatables This is the time to give fruiting shrubs and trees a dressing of potash to help with fruiting.  If you plan to grow vegetables this year, get the garden ready now, fork in some weed free compost and let the soil settle again. In area's you will not be planting out for a while, why not sow a green crop to add humus to tired soils, mustard, lupine, barley, oats or wheat.These will sprout in no time here on the coast when the ground is warm enough. Further inland when you notice weeds growing you should get a strike. If you do fill vacant areas with green crops, dig in when lush, soft and green. Don't let a crop get to the flowering stalky stage, it takes too long to break down. Deciduous fruit trees should be planted in August at the latest and everything in the way of small fruit, all require a sunny situation to fruit well and ripen. Now is a good time to shift citrus trees. Cheers, Linda.