Pittwater Life March 2017 Issue

Garden Life
Garden Life
Tools you need to keep
the garden in top shape with Gabrielle Bryant
Now that summer veggies
are finished, clear the
veggie garden and add
cow manure and compost,
turning the soil and digging
in the mulch that you have
used. Leave it to rest for
a couple of weeks before
you plant. While you wait,
it is time to take stock of
the garden tools that you
need. Whether you are an
experienced gardener or
planting your garden for the
first time, there are some
tools that everyone will need
– and some that the retailers
will try to convince you that
you should have!
Every garden should have
the following basic list to
make life easy: A strong
garden fork; a spade; a
plastic rake; a strong trowel
and hand fork; a watering
can; a hose with a watering
wand attachment (preferably
on a hose reel to avoid
tangled hoses that can trip
you up); a wheel barrow;
gloves; 2 x 5-litre sprayers
(one for fertilisers and one
for weed killers or poisons);
a compost bin; a pair of
plastic garden hands to
scoop up leaves and garden
refuse; and a strong pair of
secateurs.
Choose carefully for
the size tools that are
appropriate for you. It is
always a temptation to
buy cheap tools that don’t
last, but it is well worth the
investment to buy the best
that you can afford. Well
looked after and kept clean,
your tools will last a lifetime.
Check plant mature
sizes… or else!
The ground is warm
and ready for autumn
planting – as soon as the
days cool down. As I write,
the 39-degree weather is still
too hot for tiny seedlings
and newly planted shrubs to
flourish.
Before you plant, check
carefully the mature size of
trees, shrubs, perennials
and seedlings. So often I
see gardens that have been
“landscaped” with ridiculous
overplanting. Nothing looks
worse than a plant that has
been butchered in an attempt to keep it small.
The ‘Tuckeroo’ trees on Barrenjoey Rd at Newport are great
as street trees but I have recently seen them planted just 70cm
apart on the top of a stone retaining wall in a narrow bed. This
is a recipe for disaster in five years’ time!
Small 140mm pots of salvia can grow 1.5m tall and table
poinsettias can out-grow the dwarfing chemicals to become
small trees. Indoor pots of dracaena, when planted out, will be
taller than the roof of a single-storey house!
Be prepared for the mature size of plants because their
removal in later years is very expensive, and if they are native
trees or shrubs they may be protected and not allowed to be
cut down.
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MARCH 2017