Search Results

Written and edited by Tammy 30th August 23 Now more than ever with the costs of living making things a struggle for families, we're all looking for ways to be conscious of saving money any way we can in and around our homes. Our gardens aren't the exception. There are some simple measures we can put in place to save water in our gardens potentially save us hundreds of dollars a year. Tap timers. Replace the batteries in your tap timers at the beginning of each season and run them to ensure they're functioning correctly. Check for leaking taps and if need be, replace the washers and seals. Run a diagnostics check of your irrigation system strategically section by section assessing for leaks and blockages. Repair any leaking sections and plug any holes. Replace blocked drippers or jets. Make sure you're using the most efficient and appropriate jets or drippers for each section of the garden. Some parts may need 4 litre/hr drippers where other sections might be fine with 2 litre/hr ones. Mulch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, not only does mulching your gardens insulate plants from the radiant heat, but it aids water retention and prevents dehydration. Mulch also serves to nourish and feed your soil as it breaks down. Make adding a generous layer of quality mulch part of your regular seasonal garden maintenance and you'll potentially cut your watering expenses in half. Avoid watering in the hottest part of the day. You're far better off to water early in the morning, giving water the opportunity to soak in and avoid evaporating too quickly. Watering earlier also eliminates the opportunity for fungal issues and disease to arise as a result of excessive moisture overnight. Implementing as many of these measures as possible should see you saving a lot of money over time. Monitor your quarterly water bills too for exceptionally large spikes in usage and cost. An excessive bill in itself might be enough of a warning that there's a leak or an issue somewhere that needs to be addressed. Perhaps you can reward your hard work with some more new plants for the garden. Hope you're enjoying the last couple of days of Winter.... bring on Spring! Happy gardening😘🌸🌼💦

Written and edited by Tammy 25rd September 2023 One of the most important jobs at the top of everyone's 'to do list' right now is to feed your gardens. Whether it's your roses, lawns, garden beds, fruit trees or indoor plants, they're all going to need to be fed. It can be confusing trying to decide which fertiliser should I use with so many available on the market. There are five main types of fertilisers that each have their own purpose and circumstances for use. #1 - Soluble Soluble- Soluble fertilisers come in a powder form that are dissolvable in water. Once dissolved they can be taken in by the plant immediately, so they are perfect for weekly feeding of hungry vegetable seedlings that use so much energy to grow and go on to produce crops. Look for the likes of Thrive. #2 - Liquids Liquids- Liquids are just that, normally concentrated, and need to be diluted in water. As with solubles, they're ideal for regular weekly feeding. My fav is Seasol Powerfeed it's a good all-rounder suitable for everything including natives. #3 - Organics Organics- Organic fertilisers are normally derived of decomposed animal manures, meat meal, plant matter and green waste that goes through a process to compress and dry it and produce a pelletised or powdered form. Look for the likes of Nuetrog Rapid Raiser. or Blood and Bone. These types of fertilisers are good to use either on their own or alongside liquids and solubles. They don't need to be applied as frequently as they take a little longer to break down and be taken in by the plant. They're also a source of nutrition for your soil. #4 - Slow release Slow release-These fertilisers rely on the climatic conditions such as temperature and rain which determines just how quick they break down. They're generally found in granular form and are a balanced NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorus and Potassium). They are tailored to the types of plants they're for, so one for lawns such as Brunnings 'green up' will be higher in nitrogen, whereas one for fruit and vegetables will be higher in phosphorus and potassium. The nitrogen component works by aiding the plants' ability to photosynthesise, so it 'greens up' quickly, whilst other two elements are longer lasting aiding the plants vascular system, cell structure and root system. These types of fertilisers are good for routinely apply at the beginning of each season. #5 - Controlled Release Controlled release- Are the pretty little coloured balls you find within your bag of potting mix or on top of the soil of a newly purchased plant. A brand you might be familiar with is Osmocote. Each granule had a chemical coating that takes anything from 4-6 months (depending on the thickness of the chemical coating) to break down, gradually releasing the nutrients within. These types of fertilisers only need to be applied a couple of times a year. The good thing about them being so slow to release, is that there is no chance of burning your plants. What it is that you need to fertilise will determine how often you need to feed and what fertiliser to use. You're not limited to using just one product or the other either. For your veggie seedlings you might opt to use a controlled realise and add some soluble into your watering can every week as well and that's perfectly fine. Hopefully now when you're ready to stock up on fertiliser, you'll have a bit more of an idea as to what ones you need. As always if you have any questions or would like to know more don't hesitate to message me. But for now, stock up, feed up and Happy Gardening!😘🌸🪴

Written and edited by Tammy 7th October 2023 One of the most often referred to questions I hear is "what's eating my seedlings!?"Determining the answer is a bit of a Sherlock Holmes "who done it". It's a matter of looking for all the clues and putting the puzzle pieces together. Slugs and snails-Look out for silvery trails all over the foliage and the ground. They need moisture to be able to move around otherwise they're at risk of their bodies drying out, so when the weather is hot and dry, they're normally hiding somewhere cool and dark. If it's recently been raining and everything is wet, there's a good possibility slugs or snails are your culprit. Earwigs, millipedes or beetles- Like slugs and snails are mostly nocturnal. During the day you'll find them hiding in the dark under rocks, logs and debris. They are renowned for chomping tender little seedlings off at the stems. If you don't see the evidence pointing to snails, you could perhaps suspect these critters. Caterpillars-as the weather fines up and the days grow longer, keep an eye out for cabbage moths. If you see them flying around, there's a good chance they'll be laying their eggs on the undersides of the foliage of your plants. The eggs hatch and hungry little caterpillars emerge. Lime green in colour, they camouflage well, you'll find them chomping away at the underside of the leaves. As with snails and earwigs they can decimate a crop of seedlings very quickly, almost overnight. Aphids- will be obvious in daylight hours, you'll see them infesting new young shoots and foliage, they absolutely love roses too, so be vigilant for them there as well. They are sap suckers and will leave the new growth looking limp and yellow, drained of life. Rodents and native wildlife- It's not always just grubs, bugs and creepy crawlies. Particularly if you live rurally or on the outskirts of town, mice, rats, rabbits and even birds don't mind a bit of greenery in their diets too. Make sure you install some rodent mesh around your veggie patch. Vigilance and prevention are always better than cure, so when you plant out new little seedlings, don't be afraid to lay out some pet friendly snail bait around them. When you are watering them daily, get down amongst them and check there's nothing crawling around on or beneath the foliage. Look for some clues and hopefully you'll be able to determine for yourself exactly who your culprit is. Have a wonderful weekend, Happy Gardening😘🌱🌸

Written and edited by Tammy 21st October 2023 Talk to any wise old gardeners in our community and they'll tell you to hold off until the October Show weekend to plant your tomatoes. I'm not entirely certain, but I'm pretty sure it has a whole lot less to do with Dippy Dogs and Fairy Floss and more to do with the soil temperatures and frost risks. Tomatoes originate from South America, a Mediterranean climate, so they need warmth, sun, a whole lot of nutrition (they're hungry little things) and they're susceptible to frosts, they don't like the cold! Waiting for the soil temperature to be at least 16 degrees is ideal to get them going, if you plant them out too soon and the ground is not warm enough, they will struggle. Here are a few tips to get you started on your way! Tip #1 - Varieties of tomatoes What type of tomatoes would you like to grow? Small mouthful sized tomatoes such as 'Sweet Bite' or Tommie Toe' pop in your mouth, they're perfect for in salads or the kiddies' lunchboxes. What about a larger hearty 'Beef Steak' type variety, one slice covers a piece of toast. If making sauce and relish is your thing, you'll want to go with the tried and tested 'Roma' or 'Saucy Tom', and for those with dietary restrictions or an intolerance to anything acidic, stick with the likes of 'Black Russian' or 'Mellow Yellow'. The varieties available now are mind boggling and continue to grow every season! Tip #2 - Location location Whether you plan to grow them in pots, raised beds or out into the garden bed, tomatoes love the sun! Give them a spot on the Northern side of your house or a spot where they're going to get 6-8 hours of sun per day. Don't plant into the exact same soil or location you had tomatoes, chillies or capsicums in the previous season. Try a seasonal rotation of legumes then your tomatoes, as the legumes 'fix' nitrogen back into the soil that the tomatoes will be grateful for. Give each plant plenty of room to grow, don't plant them too close or overcrowd them, a lack of space, light and air circulation will give rise for the opportunity for fungal issues and disease to take hold. Tip #3- Trellising and support Pinch off the first 1 to 2 pairs of lower leaves and plant the seedling to that depth. Planting that extra couple of inches deeper into the ground allows extra roots to grow along the stem that's below the soil giving the plant a larger, stronger, more supportive root system. Give them a stake, trellis or framework to support them as they grow so they don't break, bend or snap under the weight of the fruit. Tip #4- Nutrition and hydration I mentioned earlier that tomatoes are hungry plants, and that they are!! They require a lot of energy to go from a little seedling to a mature bush producing fruit within 3 months. Add lots of organic matter to the soil at the time of planting along with some slow-release fertiliser specifically for tomatoes, and regularly give a liquid soluble fertiliser such a Seasol Powerfeed too. It's crucial to keep your watering rescheme regular as well, you'll do more harm than good with inconsistent watering. Going from dehydrated to waterlogged and back and forth will cause disorders such as skin splitting and blossom end rot. Don't forget to mulch around the bottom of your plants as well to help insulate them and prevent dehydration. Tip #5 - Pests and diseases Routinely check, be on the lookout for signs of pests and fungal diseases. Be proactive, prevention is always better than cure. A rain event bringing on damp, humid conditions will often see slugs and snails crawling around. Most fungal issues such as rust and powdery mildew thrive as soon as there's lack of air circulation, dampness and humidity. Giving your plants a regular dose of Seasol Health treatment will boost their immune system making them more resistant to disease. Have some fungicide spray in your tool kit ready to go should you need it. If you feed your plants regularly, keep the water up to them, and keep them free of any pests or fungal disease, there's no reason for you not to be harvesting bountiful crops of tomatoes over the summer months. There's nothing more rewarding than harvesting your own fresh produce and the flavours just don't compare to the ones you buy off the shelf in the supermarkets. If you haven't already, grab yourself some tomatoes and get planting! Happy gardening🍅😘🌸

Written and edited by Tammy 5th November 2023 Did you ever stop and wonder what the world would be like without bees? Well it's actually a pretty grim picture, infact safe to say, there'd be very little food on our kitchen tables, least of all honey! The humble little honey bee plays a very important role. He's not only responsible for us having honey for our toast , but more importantly, without him, pollination of most of our fruits and vegetables would never occur, plants that are reliant on bees for pollination to guarantee their continuation would cease to exist, and then further up the food chain, our fattened spring lambs for the barbie and prime beef ribs would also disappear as there'd be nothing for them to eat out in the paddock. So you see, the world as we know it would almost certainly no longer be. Now that's sad...infact that's scary! What can you and I as individuals do about it? If you've got a spare bit of dirt or a pot that could do with a splash of colour, fill it with some lovely natives, lavender or marigolds. Do this to provide them with a food source, shade and shelter. In the hot weather leave a few extra dishes or birdbaths of water out (quite literally) for the birds and bees. Most importantly, be very mindful and conscious of what chemicals and pesticides you use out in your garden. Make chemical intervention your last resort, and if you do need to use them, read the label carefully. Use a product that states it's non-harmful to bees. Go ahead and spread the word! Nothing spreads better than good gossip. Help teach and educate our young ones about the importance of the preservation of our little friends. As one you might think you can't do much, but like anything if we all pull together, we can make a difference. Here's hoping you've enjoyed a lovely sunny Sunday! Happy gardening😘🌸🐝

Written and edited by Tammy 23nd November 2023 With less than 5 weeks to go now to Christmas the race is on to have our menus planned, presents wrapped and stacked and have our gardens looking amazing ready for the arrival of family and friends! With so much vibrant colour to choose from at this time of the year it can be a little overwhelming deciding what to plant thats going to be easy care, hardy, low maintanance AND look amazing! So what can we put in?? #1 - Annual Colour If instant colour is what you want, you can't go wrong with some summer time annuals. You'll find a few different price and size options available from small punnets of seedlings, through to larger potted colour. One of the most popular summer time annuals is the Petunia. Petunias are available in mulitude of varieties, colours, shapes and sizes. From stripes and speckled, to antiques, pastles, brights and bolds. Along with petunias, you'll find Vincas, Impatiens, Dianthus, Calabrachoe, Cosmos, Chrysanthums, Alyssum, Snapdragons, Begonias, Portulacas, Salvias and more. Most of them will be happy in a full sun to part shade location in a rich, organic, moist but free draining soil. If you're planting them in pots, be sure to use a premium quality potting mix. Keep them well fed with a slow release all purpose fertiliser, and regularly pop some Seasol health treatment and Powerfeed, or charlie carp in the watering can to encourage continual blooming, and keep them robust and healthy. You're only limited by your own imagination how you'd like to group and grow them too. You could go for mass plantings of colour throughout your garden, or pops of colour arranged and cascading out of pots and containers. #2 - Poinsettias If you're wanting something else a little more 'traditionally Christmas' originating from Mexico is the Poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima. Poinsettias always put in an appearance at the beginning of the festive season, it just woundn't be christmas without seeing them somewhere. Vibrant reds, dusky pinks, greens and whites. Smaller dwarf varieties grow between 25-50cm tall while others planted out in the ground can potentially reach in excess of 3 meters tall. When pruning and dead heading, be mindful not to get the milky white sap on you, it's toxicity can cause rashes and allergic reactions in some people. Growing requirements Poinsettias need a bright light but protection from the hot afternoon sun. Rich, organic, free draining soil, or quality premium potting mix for pots or containers. Water regularly to maintain moisture. Too wet will cause root rot, while drying out too much will result in wilt and foliage drop. Give regular applications of soluble fertiliser alongside a controlled slow release. #3 - Hydrangeas Hydrangeas are another stunner coming into their own right now. Deciduous, they begin flowering in November and continue right through to February. Their masssive blooms in cool shades of snowy whites, dreamy pinks, blues and violets scream out femininity and contrast beautifully against their large, lush leafy green foliage. Perfect as show pieces in pots, or in those dappled shaded spots at the back of the garden bed to entice you in further. Growing requirements Hydrangeas thrive in cooler climates. They prefer a rich fertile moist but free draining soil. An ideal plant for a shaded, sheltered spot such as under a tree where they'll receive dappled shade and protection from the hotter afternoon sun. They require regular applications of soluable fertiliser alongside a controlled slow release tailored to acid loving plants. Mulch generously beneath them with composted animal manure and straw to add nutrition, insulation from the heat and aid water retention. #4 - Bromeliads Unique, and a tad exotic, Bromeliads bring a touch of flair to Christmas time with their vibrant bold colours and unusual shaped flowers. Grow them in pots, a shaded spot in the garden, or give them as a living gift. Bromeliads are epiphytic, in their natural habitat they're co-dependent on other plants for support, and they derive their nutrients and water from the air and rain. Think of staghorns, elkhorns, mosses and orchids. Growing requirements Suitable for indoors and outdoors, but keep in mind they are frost and cold sensitive so if growing outdoors, plant them in a protected spot or be prepared to move or cover them if need be. Water requirements, bromeliads have what is known as a 'vase' or 'vessel', where the foliage whorls around the flower in the centre creating like a tunnel. Keep water in the vessel, and keep the soil damp but not wet. If growing in pots use an orchid mix as it's course and free draining. If growing outdoors in the garden, give them a dappled shaded spot in a rich organic but free draining soil. #5 - Adenanthos sericeus (woolly bush) Perhaps you'd like a christmas tree that's there in your yard all year round that you can bring in and decorate when it's time to. If that's the case then a Adenanthos sericeus is the plant for you. Also known as a 'Woolly bush' obvious why, when you see and feel the foliage. Velvety soft, they're an Australian native with quite a nice uniform upright growth habit-hence they're often used as an alternative Christmas tree. In the ground they can potentially reach upto three meters in height and almost as wide, obviously they won't get that big in a pot. Happy in a full sun to part shade location, they're not fussy about soil quality providing it's free draining. You won't need to frett too much about fertiliser either, they don't require much and when they do, it's crucial to use a fertiliser that's specifically for natives which is low in phosphorus. Don't be affraid to get a little creative, if you have a Callistemon looking stunning right now, why not weave a set of fairy lights through it and make it the star of your show. Whatever it is you decide to do in you garden this season for 'Christmas cheer' just be sure you enjoy doing it, after all that's what christmas is all about, and thats what gardening is all about too! Happy gardening! 😘🎄🍒

Written and edited by Tammy 19th December 2023 There's nothing more frustrating than finding the mulch you've tediously spread around your garden beds flicked out all over the lawns and quite simply, everywhere it shouldn't be! The culprit.....Blackbirds. Trust me, they've made a mess of my yard too, the better part of a bag of Who Flung Dung is now spread all over my pavers instead of around the base of my fruit trees where I put it. Coconut fibre pot insert -If you've got plants in pots this will work for you too. you'll need........ A roll of coconut fibre. Sharp pair of scissors. Measuring tape. Roll the coconut fibre out flat on the ground, measure the dimesions of your container and mark them out on the coconut fibre. Cut a piece to fit and cover the entire top of your container. Measure the distance from the outer edge of your container to the centre where you plant is, then cut a slit to that point to create an opening to be able to place it around your plant. Obviously this wouldn't be practical for a large area. Other options you could try are.. Install a physical barrier . Jute twine laced between hardwood or bamboo cane stakes to create a weblike barrier. The idea being that the birds can't land and walk around without getting tangled. Bird netting. Pending on the size of your garden, install bird netting over a polypipe frame. Blackbird Deterrent . Strategically place rubber fake snakes throughout the garden, birds are always cautious of snakes. Fake larger predatory birds such as owls and magpies moved around regularly might just outsmart them. Cats and dogs. Their presence is often enough. My little Jack Russell terrier loves to run out and give chase when she sees them near my plants. I always praise her for scaring the birds away! Brightly coloured or shiny bird scarers. Solar or battery powered ultra sonic animal deterrents. For larger areas electric devices come in a range of sizes and prices according to their features. Motion sensors within the device detect movement activating the untra sonic deterrent. Try this company Pestrol in NSW https://www.pestrol.com.au/ they offer a range options. Prickle spikes also available through Pestrol are another simple solution. I don't think I'd like to tread on one of those either. Despite the frustration of blackbirds messing up my mulch, I'm not entirely against them. Waking in the mornings would not be the same without the familiar melody of these little songbirds. And what about the earwigs, bugs and grubs who sneak out from beneath the mulch under the cover of darkness to munch, crunch and decimate the strawberries and seedlings? Well that's exactly what the blackbirds are foraging for, their lunch. So in actual fact they are doing us a favour, chemical free pest control. There's reasons and solutions for everything, you've just got to find what's right for you. Happy Gardening!😘🐦

Written and edited by Tammy 26th December 2023 With 2023 quickly drawing to a close, I find myself reflecting back over the massive year it has been! My first grand-child, little Ivy Eloise, was born! the absolute apple of my eye🩷🩷 (she even has a plant name 😁🌿) I landed myself the dream job as Manager of the Garden Centre at our new Mitre 10 store here in Naracoorte SA, and I established my own website and gardening blog, 'TJs Gardening Works'. I shared my first very first post 'Soil from the ground up' on the 9th of December 2022. I touched on the topics soil health, the relevance of soil pH, plant nutrition, identifying plants and treating disease. https://www.tjsgardeningworks.space/post/soil-ph-the-nitty-gritty-of-it-all https://www.tjsgardeningworks.space/post/6-tips-for-identifying-plants I visited some amazing local gardens to continue broadening my knowledge of what grows best here in our region, in particular in our sandy soils. From there I talked about the best suited plants to grow, improving moisture retention, and tips for saving water. I showcased some beautiful trees growing right here in our own backyard, the largest living River Red Gum in the South East of South Australia, Golden Elms, Crepe Myrtles, Chinese Pistachios and red flowering gums. Over the winter months I come up with a list of the pros and cons for bare root trees versus potted, and a 'how to' go about planting your new trees. When Spring Sprung I listed some hints and tips for growing healthy seedlings, the benefits of using Seasol, and how to treat powdery mildew. And more recently, I come up with a list of gardening inspired Christmas gift ideas, and shared my own live Christmas tree with you, offering advice on how you too can grow your own. Coming up with ideas for something to share with you is never hard as most of my inspiration comes from the conversations I have with my customers on a daily basis at work, or my findings at home in my own garden. I've barely scratched the surface! Stay tuned, I've got so many new ideas I'm excited to share with you in the new year! Thankyou for subscribing and following along and getting my first year off to a bumper start. If you've got any ideas for future posts for me, topics you'd like me to cover or even something you'd like to see me add to my website, I would love to hear from you. There's nothing more exciting and encouraging than receiving feedback and interaction. I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by family, friends and loved ones, and I wish you all the very best for 2024! Tammy😘🍒❤️ TJs Gardening Works

Written and edited by Tammy 9th December 2023 With less than two weeks to go till Christmas there's still time to find that last minute gift for your gardening enthusiast loved ones. I've done some brain storming and come up with a few ideas for you. #1 - Nan and Pop would love a few packets of Diggers heirloom veggie seeds, a pair of gloves and an annual subscription for the Diggers Club Magazine. The Diggers Club - Australia's No.1 Gardening Club Follow the link to the Diggers Club website to see their full range of heirloom seeds and gardening inspired gift ideas. Gift vouchers can also be purchased online, and if you're planning a trip to Adelaide SA, you'll find their shop within the Botanical Gardens on North Terrace. There in itself is another gift idea, the gift of an experience, a picnic lunch and day out exploring the Botanical gardens. #2 - Give the gift of books. There are so many fantastic books on gardening to choose from but you won't get any better than 'From the ground up' by Sophie Thomson, SA presenter from the ABCs Gardening Australia. First published in 2010 the book is jam packed with everything you need to know about plants and gardening in South Australia. A wonderful resource that any gardener would be wrapped to have in their collection. Find your nearest Angus and Robertson bookstore or buy a copy online. #3 - Indoor plants, always in hot demand and have made a big come back in recent years. Most women will admit to having a modest collection and have at least a couple on a wish list that they're still dreaming of owning. Popular plants right now include Monstera Thai Constellation, Sansevieria snake plant, Anthurium, and Spathiphyllum Peace Lilly. #4 - Garden art. Bird baths, fountains, urns, water features, statues or a park bench for that tranquil corner to sit back and reflect. A lovely piece of garden art or garden furniture is sometimes that last finishing touch for a corner of the garden that your loved one has been wishing for. There's so many to choose from and a price range to fit every bodies budget. #5 - Bird feeders and insect hotels. Gardening enthusiasts are always thinking of not only their plants, but the well being of the native wild life and friendly pollinators too. Try your local pet stores and gardening supply stockists, or have a go at making something as simple as these pictured below. Some of the loveliest gifts are the ones made from the heart, it's not about the stress of running around spending the most amount of money, it's the thought and love that's gone into it that makes it so special. You can find loads of tutorials and step by step guides online for making you own too. #6 -Gardening hamper or gift basket. Put together a lovely hamper full of gardening inspired goodies. Add things like Packets of seeds. Hand trowel and fork. Gloves. Kneeling pad or gel knee pads. BHG or Gardening Australia magazine. Insect repellent. Fly veil to attach to a hat. Moisture meter reader. Twine or Jolly tie. Secateurs. Plant labels spikes. Decorative water mister/spray bottle. A voucher offering your time and help for a day in the garden with your loved one! Whether you feel inspired and creative, and decide to make a gift yourself, or you're still looking forward to that planned day out shopping around. I hope I've inspired you a little and given you a few more ideas. Have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the drop of rain if you're getting it now too. Happy Gardening!😘🌸

Written and edited by Tammy 29th November 2023 Growing plants in pots or containers is a fantastic alternative if you haven't got a lot of space or perhaps your soil conditions are less than ideal. Maybe you live in a rental property and there's no option to plant things in the ground, and additionally to that, you don't want to leave your plants behind when you go. Let's face it, gardening can be very rewarding but it's not a cheap hobby!! Either way, with so many beautiful pots and containers to choose from now days, you're only limited by your own imagination! You've heard of the concept 'Thrill, fill 'n' spill'? The idea is that within the pot or container you have a larger, tall feature plant, it's the 'icing on the cake'. The filler is exactly that, something or multiple things to fill in the rest of the pot surrounding or beside your feature plant, and finally the spiller is something cascading, spilling out over the edges and completing the look. Take a look at the wine barrel that's on my front veranda. The feature plant, (the thrill) is the standard Weeping Cherry tree. At the base of the weeping cherry, I've got some burgundy pansies and chrysanthemums for a pop of colour, these are my fillers that serve to fill in the container and make it look full. The spiller element would be the Lobelia that tends to overflow out over the edges of the wine barrel (when I'm not rimming it back). Tip #1 -Container selection Look around for a pot or container that inspires and 'calls' to you. When you find that right pot, you'll begin to envisage what will suit it. Think will it compliment the style of my existing garden? Perhaps you have a rustic inspired cottage garden, an old vintage laundry trough or cast iron bath-tub might look the part filled with herbs and a few cascading annuals. You could utilise a large upright hollow log, a bird bath, or almost anything you can get your hands on really. Tip #2 - Location location Where you plan to locate your pot will have a baring on the type of plants you can select. If it's to go in a shady spot that receives shade most of the time you'll need to choose shade loving plants. Tip #3 -Styling Consider groupings. You wouldn't place just one cushion on your bed or couch, you would have multiple in contrasting but complimentive colours shapes and sizes. A collection of three identical pots in three different sizes will have more impact than just one pot on its own. Perhaps a row of large rectangular or square planters along a fenceline in a pool area. Tip #4 -Drainage Drainage is cruicial. Without adequate drainage you could risk all your time and money going down the drain with your plants potentially drowing or suffering root rot. Particularly if you're seting up large pots or containers, make sure your pot is up on pot feet or even a plant caddy so it can drain freely. Tip #5 -Plant requirements Try to choose and plant together plants with similar water requirements. Planting succulents amongst ferns and shade loving plants will see the succulent potentially rot from too much water and similarly, a Helichrysum would quite possibly struggle with the little amount of water required for a planter of full sun succulent type plants. Tip #6 -Plant sizes & dimentions Take note of the suggested height and width on the description labels when selecting plants. Plant your tallest plant towards the back of your container, with your mid sized plants in the mid ground with your smallest ground cover type plants out towards the edges to be seen and not hidden by the taller selections. Tip #7 - Mix it up Whilst trying to keep plants with similar requirents together, still try to be a little adventurous. Play with contasting colours and textures of foliage. Mix it up a little. Have some tall slender dark green strappy foliage, something soft grey and feathey and then a splash of something bold and colourful. Tip #8 - Sometimes 'less is more' The old saying 'Sometimes less is more' has some credability. If it starts to become a little confusing or overwhelming to select the varieties of plants or how many to display in your collection just take a step back for a moment and remember the saying 'sometimes less is more'. Having too much for your eye to be drawn to can then sometimes loose it's wow factor. Simplicity is often the winner. There's still a few weeks left to go to jazz up things in the garden before the Christmas guests arrive. Why not find yourself a new pot or container, or maybe a few, and set yourself the challenge of creating a loving container garden. Happy gardening!😘🎄🌸

Written and edited by Tammy 10th November 2023 As kids growing up the excitement of Christmas always became real when we were packed up into the family station wagon and taken for a Sunday drive out around the back roads looking for that perfect Christmas tree to lay claim to. A quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, then a lower branch was chopped off and away we went loaded up with our tree engulfing every corner of the car. The smell of fresh pine needles would fill the house and even today, the fragrance of pine trees brings back memories of Christmas. When you walk into all major retail stores right now Christmas trees line the shelves in every shape and colour, from small fibre optic to tall imitation Fir trees that are almost as convincing as the real deal. But what if I told you for not a lot of effort or dollars, you could have a real Christmas tree of your own? Complete with that fragrance of pines. The tree in the image above is my tree, a Picea pungans 'Blue Star' that I bought as a tiny little thing, barely a foot tall for $12.95 about 7 years ago. Every Spring sees it put out a burst of fresh new foliage just in time to come inside for a few weeks to be adorned with tinsel and ornaments. Native to North America, and commonly known as a Colorado Spruce they're a relatively slow growing conifer reaching heights of no more that 1.5 - 2 meters in 10 years (as evident by my own tree which probably around 1.5m tall now). In the wild, and in time, they can potentially grow in excess of 25m tall but that's never going to happen in a controlled environment such as a pot. Picea's are hardy and adaptable trees, preferring a full sun to part shade location. Provide them with a good quality, rich, free draining soil or potting medium that's neutral to acidic in pH. They're don't seem to be troubled too much by pests or diseases either. It's the only plant in my yard I don't seem to need to tend to very often. If you plan on bringing them inside for a few weeks over Christmas, make sure you've given them a good drink prior. Give it a nice bright location inside your house and be mindful not to overload your branches to avoid breaking or damaging them. When transitioning your tree back outside after Christmas, do it gradually over a few days so you don't shock the plant. Move it back outdoors into a shaded spot, then move to part shade then gradually move it back to it's original location. Like any plants, there are so many different varieties to choose from. If the blue star is not your thing, go for the picea glauca which is a lovely emerald, green conifer. You can make a Christmas tree of whatever plant you like really, let your creativity run wild! Most garden centres and plant nurseries will be selling picea's for Christmas trees in the coming weeks if not already. My kids laugh at my sentimental funny ways, but I personally think a real, live tree is so much nicer than a plastic one, and who knows, maybe my little tree will still be around long after me, and my children's children can bring it in each year and be proud to say this was our great grandma's tree ❤️🎄 Have a wonderful weekend and start looking around for that perfect little Christmas tree. Happy gardening😘🌸

Written and edited by Tammy January 4th 2023 What exactly is mulching and why is it so important? Mulch itself is any organic material, hay, straw, leaf litter, compost, bark chips, and act of mulching is to spread a layer of any one of them over the ground to cover your soil for a multitude of reasons. The type of mulch that will be most suitable for you will be determined by the circumstances in which you want to use it. For new vegetable seedlings, use something like pea straw or sugarcane. These types of products are nice and light weight, quite chopped up and chaffy making them easy to pack in and around plants that are small and fragile. A denser product like bark chips would be ideal for around a large native garden, and for a more modern simplistic garden, you might like to use white marble chips or riverbed stones, that would stand out and contrast well against your plants making a real impact. Stones are also great for drainage as they catch water between gaps and help to prevent excessive run off. These are all perfectly suitable examples of mulch. If smothering out weeds is what you want to achieve, consider laying down a thick layer of newspaper or old cardboard. Not only will it suffocate and smother the weeds, but it will break down in time adding nutrition to the soil. Why should we mulch? Mulching prevents moisture loss and aids in retention. It acts as an insulation keeping the moisture in your soil longer, preventing it drying out. It's a fantastic source of nutrition for you soil critters, microbes and plants as it breaks down. It helps to supress and keep the weeds under control. Aesthetics- Not only is it purposeful but visually it can finish off the look of a garden design taking it from drab to fab! Mulching can also help prevent erosion by holding down the top layer of soil so it can't be carried away in strong winds or washed away in torrential down falls. Coincidentally my own garden has kept me busy this weekend, you guessed it...mulching! Bragging rights.... One of my favourite fruit trees I just have to share with you is my Dwarf Mulberry ( Morus Nigra). 7 years old now and over 7 foot tall, it's growing beautifully in a large terracotta pot. The fruit bearing ability of these trees is amazing, and so prolific, more often than not I have fruit on mine twice per season. As you can see above, I've added a good generous layer of Who Flung Dung around the base of my tree and I apply a fresh dressing of it every year in early Spring. Neutrogs' Who Flung Dung is a two in one mulch and fertiliser derived of Chicken manure and straw, making it high Nitrogen. It's Ideal for any high yielding cropping plants, fruit trees and roses. You'll find it available through most leading major outlets. Another great product I like to use throughout my yard each season before it warms up is Amgrow Wetta Soil (also pictured above). It helps dry sandy soils (common here in our local area) to absorb and retain moisture and has the added bonus of being enriched with seaweed extracts. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for rates on the label, a small amount goes a long way! Significance of Mulching Mulching really does play a vital role in our gardens by offering the advantages of retaining moisture, suppressing weeds, regulating soil temperature, and improving soil fertility. By adding mulching to your seasonal check list, you'll encourage healthier plants and maintain a sustainable garden. Happy gardening!😘🪴