Spring success: 5 easy ways to make your garden sing

Most gardeners would readily agree that spring is the best time in the garden. The air is warm, and the soil is ripe for planting new season’s herbs and veggies. The lawn is springing back to life too, but so are the weeds. So, get those gardening gloves on; there’s work to do!

Cultivate goodness

Growing your own herbs and veggies is a fabulous way to access fresh ingredients while reducing food miles and cutting the grocery bill. The key to good growth is soil preparation. Add compost (bagged or homemade) and aged manure to the soil and mix in well. Fill pots and containers with premium potting mix if you don’t have a plot.

Sow seeds direct where they are to grow or sow into trays or punnets and transplant them when ready. Alternatively, skip this step and buy advanced seedlings from your local nursery. The latter option is more costly but can save you time. Whichever method you choose, continue to sow and grow throughout the season to maximise the harvest window, and water and feed regularly.

Veggies to plant now (once the chance of the last frost has passed): beans, capsicum, chilli, sweet corn, cucumber, pumpkin, silverbeet, squash, tomato, and zucchini.

Herbs are basil, chives, lemongrass, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, tarragon.

Weed and reap

Weeds are plants growing where they shouldn’t be, like on the lawn, in-between paving or in garden beds. They ruin the look of your home and garden and steal valuable water and nutrients from your plants. Common culprits include thistle, cudweed, paspalum, and nutgrass. Hand-pull small infestations, ensuring you remove roots and all. If it’s not possible, use a weedkiller, taking care when spraying near other plants. For lawns, choose a selective herbicide suitable for your grass type.

Keep it green

The lawn is an essential part of most Aussie backyards. It’s the area for children and pets to play and adults to kick back and relax. Surprisingly, the lawn also helps reduce temperatures around the home as it doesn’t absorb and hold heat like hard surfaces. Keep it looking lush and green by feeding now with a lawn fertiliser. Never remove more than one-third of the leaf blade when mowing, and always finish by edging the lawn. Use a whipper snipper or half-moon edge to give the lawn a beautifully manicured look.

While lawns are fairly drought tolerant, they will benefit from regular deep watering, especially during hot, dry periods.

Fast five

• + Sweep leaves and debris from paths. Hose down dirty and moss-covered surfaces.
• + Add a thick layer of mulch around plants to help conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
• + Check irrigation fittings, including hoses, clearing blockages and replacing expired parts.
• + Buy potted colour from nurseries and use it to fill in bare spots around garden beds.
• + Prune dead or leggy growth from shrubs and trees. Follow with a feed of organic fertiliser.

Tammy Huynh is a horticulturist, presenter on Gardening Australia and the owner of Leaf an Impression.