Perennial delights       

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Keith Mundy

As we draw closer to summer, thought should be given to plants that will brighten up your summer garden with amazing flower colours, shape of flowers and size of plant for that special area. Two of the most popular groups of plants with these attributes are the salvia and lavender groups.

Salvia with their extraordinary diversity of colour and habit: with over 1800 species alone, without the new varieties added every year, Salvias are truly a gardener’s delight … Read more »

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Berry delicious

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Keith Mundy

Often overlooked when selecting food plants for the garden is the extensive range of berries that are available in the marketplace for the home gardener. Always available during the winter period as bare-root plants but more varieties are now being made available as plants in pots with well-established roots and can be planted, near enough, all year around.

Although some can take up a fair bit of room in the garden it is best to select a site … Read more »

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Spring – the time is right

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Keith Mundy

With spring now with us, I thought it opportune to discuss some issues that are relevant to this period in the gardening calendar.

Plants expend an enormous amount of energy in spring doing what they do, like flowering and fruiting or extending their size through new growth and now is the time to help them along with some additional nutrients.

There are some fertilisers that can be applied to nearly all plants, like blood and bone, but these don’t have all the nutrients available that are specifically required … Read more »

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Preparing for spring

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Keith Mundy

Well, here we are in the last month of winter and spring just around the corner and, with it, the start of the gardening year. New growth appears on deciduous plants, perennials wake after their enforced winter hibernation and bulbs pop up everywhere as new life begins.Well, here we are in the last month of winter and spring just around the corner and, with it, the start of the gardening year. New growth appears on deciduous … Read more »

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Food for our garden visitors

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Keith Mundy

With winter well and truly with us, it is opportune to mention once again the care needed for our birds and bees through these colder months. Apart from supplying a reliable water source for them in a shallow birdbath or dish, another important thing is to provide them with food during winter. Food can be provided by either artificially feeding them with purchased seed and the like or, more naturally, with seed and flowers on plants. Birds have a diverse range of diets – from … Read more »

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Winter pruning

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by Keith Mundy

As the days are now cooling and with winter having commenced, I thought it was time to remind gardeners that the time is now right to look at the pruning of winter-dormant roses, trees, shrubs and fruit trees. Pruning of these plants needs to be done to form new wood for future flowering and fruiting.

If your garden is a bit closer to the coast pruning can be put off until July when the plants will be even more dormant. It is important to remember that pruning … Read more »

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