While it might be tempting to hibernate as the temperature drops, it would be so much more rewarding to spend time in your garden – come spring you’ll be able to enjoy a gorgeous, lush garden!
June to-do list:
- Prune roses to keep the centre open to let in sunlight and help prevent diseases that could develop in cool, moist, shady places.
- Deciduous trees are bare this time of year, making it the ideal time for removing old and diseased growth and branches.
- Prepare holes to plant fruit trees, vines and roses with manure, superphosphates and bone meal.
- Feed lemon trees with 3:1:5 or 8:1:5 and correct yellowing leaves with a microelement mixture.
- Feed, water and deadhead all your bedding plants.
- The nurseries are full of colourful winter and spring-flowering annuals at the moment, so plant bedding plants such as Calendula officinalis (pot marigold), Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy), Myosotis sylvatica (forget-me-not), Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) and Bellis perennis (bachelor’s buttons).
- Catch up on maintenance, such as tidying footpaths and refreshing gravel areas. Creating hardscape features like paved or cobblestone paths will reduce the area to be watered, which is especially helpful in summer rainfall regions.
- Turn over and tidy your compost heap and sweep up the last of the autumn leaves from deciduous trees – they make a great addition to your compost reserve.
- Add extra mulch to insulate plants and protect them against the cold.
- Sow all members of the cabbage family (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, ornamental kale) and other winter veggies like radish, leek, onion and spinach in your vegetable garden.
Garden gear*
Essentials for getting your garden in tiptop shape:
Garden Master Folding Saw & Straight Head Shear R260
Garden Master Organic Compost R48
Garden Master Rain Gauge R50
Garden Master All Steel Rake R89,99
Garden Master Leek Seeds R15
Garden Master Radish Seeds R15
*All prices valid for Builders Warehouse. Garden Master products can be found at all Game, Builders Warehouse and Makro stores.
This article is sponsored by Garden Master.
