No, we are not yet in autumn, but it is around the corner, and we need to start getting our heads around and planning for that phase. Autumn is a great time for so many things in the garden, such as:
Planning for your winter colour and planting your seeds lready, for example, pansies, primulas, violas, calendulas, and more.
Start with your winter vegetable seeds, such as kale, cabbage, spinach, etc.
It’s also a good time to consider winter bulbs such as ranunculus, daffodils, and hyacinth.
For those of you interested in planting your own garlic, for our area, March is the month to plant.
Strangely, some trees are all starting to shed some of their leaves already. Please don’t throw away or burn those wonderful leaves. Use them all as mulch. Believe me, you can never have too much. While you are at that task, please train your garden service or worker(s) to not rake the beds clean by removing all the weeds. That is sacrilege.
March is celebrated as water month in SA, and it is at this time that we are all reminded that it really is a scarce resource and that we will be going through some rough times with regards to rainfall and available water. Believe me, the statements are real. Yes, municipalities can fix the leaks quicker, and yes, people in other areas waste water. Pause a little and consider your own water use actions (no matter whether your source is Midvaal water or a borehole). Ask yourself, do I water your garden more than once a week, do I flush toilets for every single minor use, do I wash clothes or dishes using half a load, do I only fill my bath no more than half way, do I take short showers, do I shower or bath more than once a day (some people shower in excess of 3 times a day to keep cool), do I water my garden in the heat of the day or only very early morning and late at night, do I know and monitor how much water we as a family use every month, and so the list can go on. The fact is that we can and should be more circumspect about our water use habits and actions. They may not impact us directly, but I bet your bottom dollar (Rand) will impact the next generation. It will also save you money if you save water.
It’s also a good time to plan and plant new plants. The temperatures are not yet too cool, so the new roots of the tree or shrub can easily establish themselves before winter, and when spring comes, they are more established and very quickly shoot out and blossom. The shock of the transplant does sometimes set plants back a little, adding value to why you should consider planting now.
For any shrubs that are looking a little worse for wear, that may have become overgrown, or that have “lost” their shape, now is also a good time to do a little pruning. This will allow them to shoot out new growth sufficiently before winter, and thus your garden patch won’t look like a “dog breakfast” all winter. I have recently done some medium pruning on some conifers that needed a little TLC, and they are already shooting out, and I am in no doubt that they will look great before winter sets in. Just remember, please, that for plants that flower on older wood, such as Forsythia, Rhododendron, Rosemary, Magnolia, Jasmine, Camellia, flowering quince, and even most of your fruit trees, my advice is to don’t prune them too heavily, if at all, as you may not have sufficient flowers and fruit next season. Flowering on old wood means that a plant forms the flower buds for next season’s blooms during the current year already, so pruning now will limit blooms later.
The forecast for the next few months is reduced rainfall for our area with increased temperatures, so take care of yourself in the garden with hats and suncream, and don’t forget to care for the plants by applying grass clipping mulch to the beds to reduce excessive heat on the soil and reduce water loss. Happy gardening.
