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GARDENING

BLUE VALLEY STAFF CONTACT DETAILS

WINTER GARDENING AND

MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST

• Fix uneven and worn out garden paths.
• Paint your garden gates a new colour.
• Lavish a new coat of paint on your trusty old wheelbarrow to prevent rust
- it is an expensive piece of garden equipment to replace.
• Have your lawnmower and weed-eater serviced.
• Sharpen (or have sharpened) all pruners, loppers, and hedge cutters.
• Repair retaining walls, and ll the cavities of those built with custom-
made retaining blocks with fresh soil mixed with compost and bone meal
to be ready for holding new cascading and ground covering plants.

PLANT AND SOW
• Ferns are not only trendy but have great air-purifying bene ts too. Plant
some easy-to-grow species in your garden or in pots, such as the dainty
maidenhair, striking yellow sword fern, tough holly fern and evergreen
leather leaf fern varieties.
• Plant colourful owers in your garden, such as pansies, violas,
snapdragons, calendula, primulas and gazanias.
• There’s still time to sow late plantings of green peas, lettuce, spinach,
cabbage and carrots.

PRUNE AND TRIM
• July is a great time to remove any dead wood, leaves and diseased branches
from your trees. Cut back trees that are getting too big.
• Pinch o faded owers from winter- owering annuals such as pansies, violas
and poppies.
• When pruning hydrangeas, remove all damaged, diseased or dead growth. Cut
back the stems above thick, round, green buds.
• Pruning roses encourages bigger, better blooms. Mid-July to mid-August is a
good time to prune hybrid roses, tea roses and miniature roses. Water once a
week now to allow them to rest. Seal cuts thicker than a pencil with Steriseal
and spray with Lime Sulphur. BV

EXPERT TIPS
• To encourage continued owering all through winter and
into spring, plant stocks and Iceland poppies.
• To keep your vegetable garden healthy and strong, continue
to water deeply once a week.
Source: Turfnet

BLUE VALLEY NEWS • Issue 3 2020 • 15