Our Horticultural Services team is back!

A few lovely warm days over the last week have brought a surge in garden activity and we're well into spring growth. Now is the time to get that annual feed done to give your plants a nice boost as their growth rate builds.

While we remain closed to customers, we're as busy as ever serving you remotely and getting all our deliveries out to you and your "phone and collect" orders ready for you to pick up.

The good news is our maintenance team is now getting back to work, working individually instead of in the usual 2-3 person teams. We will be working hard to get your gardens looking great for the warmer months. Please contact us if you would like to book in a visit.

Please note that we are legally unable to serve customers at the nursery door. While we would dearly love to help everyone who pops by (we really do miss you all!), to do so could see us risking large fines. If there's something we can help with, we are very happy to do it over the phone on 9822 3305.

You may have noticed the insect population in your garden has increased a lot in recent weeks.

While it may feel like a nuisance to have to deal with insect pests, we would like to urge you to stop and think before you spray. Not all insects are pests in the garden and don’t deserve to die!

Many insects are actually working hard for you in your garden. If you stop and listen you might be able to hear the buzz of activity as they go about their work. Some of the handy jobs they do for you include:

- pollinating your fruit trees and vegetables
- devouring aphids (a single ladybird can eat thousands)
- eating caterpillars

While sometimes you may need to treat an imbalance in the insect population, making lo-tox choices will benefit everyone in the long run.

If you have insect activity, and don't know what to do about it, we've written a guide to help you. Or give us a call for advice.

Managing insects in the garden

Would you like to make your edible garden more productive? Here's an idea you can try. Plant corn and beans together! A great project for kids, corn and beans are fun to grow and growing them together teaches kids how to increase yield while using resources efficiently, as the corn also becomes the support structure for the beans.

Growing corn (and beans) is easy. Plant them in a sunny spot where they can be sheltered from the wind. Planting close together (around 40cm apart) in a block is ideal because you will get better pollination. Underplant the corn with beans and the stalks will support the beans as they grow. Feed and water well, and eat freshly picked corn about two weeks after flowering, and beans all through summer.

Eating perfectly ripe and juicy berries picked straight from the garden has to be one of the most rewarding edibles to grow. The good thing about growing berries is that they are perennials, so one plant will go on to fruit for you year after year.

Dedicate a patch to your strawberries in full sun for best flowering and fruiting. Feed well during fruiting for delicious juicy fruit. Mulching the soil layer will create a buffer between the fruit and the soil and can help stop strawberries from going mouldy.

Blueberries are a deciduous shrub that can grow around 1m tall. They grow best in an acidic soil in full sun. Feeding with a fertiliser for acid loving plants will help keep it producing lovely fat blueberries. You may need to net your berries before ripening to avoid birds from stealing your harvest. In autumn, blueberries give a colourful display of autumn foliage.

Raspberries grow on tall canes that grow to around 2 metres tall. Find a sunny patch where you can give them some support. Cut canes back at the end of the season. Not only are the raspberries delicious picked straight off the plant, raspberry leaves can also be used to make a tea.

Planning a veggie garden

One of our best sellers, gardenias deserve the love that they get. Planted as a hedge or on its own, gardenias enjoy a bit of shade from the hot afternoon sun, not too much water (ie - well draining soil), and a good feed through the warmer months.

If your gardenia leaves are a bit yellow, it's either due to cool temperatures, or it is in need of some fertiliser. We recommend feeding with Harry's Gardenia Food, for long lasting flowering and glossy green leaves. If yellowing leaves don't green up upon feeding (give it a few weeks to work), check the soil pH, as gardenias prefer acidic soil. You may need to correct the soil with some liquid sulfur.

If your buds are falling off, check the watering routine. Try and keep it consistent (neither too dry or too wet). Applying mulch can help to regulate soil moisture.

Roses

Roses are springing back out of dormancy and by mid spring will be hitting their strides. We've made a great range available at the moment, which you can find here.

>> Current rose list

Climbing Fig

We have been able to stock up on Ficus pumila (Climbing Fig) this week despite there being a limited supply available from growers.

Available in 14 cm pots

Maidenhair Ferns

This week we've received an order of these beautiful large maidenhairs. Stock is limited. If you would like one, call us quickly as they sell out in no time.

Easy colour

Mass plantings of your favourite annuals will fill your garden beds with colour, and planting now means you will have an established display come Christmas time.

We have petunias in stock now in a range of colours, and we are taking orders for vincas which are coming soon.

Heirloom tomatoes - don't miss out

Tomatoes continue to sell really quickly, particularly the more unusual heirloom varieties. Now is the perfect time to get them planted.

Growing tip - plant tomatoes deep in the soil to encourage a really strong root system and give them a feed in a few weeks time.

>> more tips of growing tomatoes here

Lavender varieties in stock and flowering

The ever popular lavender, perfect for a cottage or Mediterranean garden, also does well under fruit trees and in vegetable gardens to improve pollination through increased bee activity.

Varieties in stock include Avonview, French (not flowering), Sensation Rose and Sensation White.

Please call us on 9822 3305 to place your order