Welcome to July - in NZ gardens this is a great month to continue winter planting with seasonal plants. Roses, fruit trees & camellias are all looking fresh & healthy in garden centres. Remember to use a good quality garden mix & fertiliser when planting.
Now is also a good time to mulch to suppress those weeds, keep plant roots warm & improve soil structure.
If you are wondering about roses - we are August rose pruners here & will be sharing rose pruning tips & techniques next month.
Here are few more gardening jobs to help you keep on top of your garden this month. And as always, if you need a hand with mulching, winter planting or rejuvenating a tired garden bed, please let us know.
Warmly
Claire & the team from Sculpt Gardens
Cut Back Cannas
If your Canna lilies are looking ugly & tatty with old brown leaves and dead flowers, get your scissors or secateurs and cut them off at ground level.
Agapanthus
If you have the large invasive Agapanthus variety, I would be digging them out in these wet conditions, or at least confining them in one spot. If you have the non invasive varieties, now is the time to cut off the old flower stalks & leaves, leaving them tidy for spring.
Loving Lavender
Without regular trimming lavender, like rosemary can get very leggy & woody. To cut back:
Prune 1/3 of the entire plant, reshaping into a nice mound shape.
For those "leggy" varieties, you might need to pay more attention to keep them in a nice shape.
Go heavier on an old plant but never cut down to the wood base.
Geraniums
Cut back to just above new growth at nodes towards the base of the plant. You may want to remove some stems completely depending on how crazy the plant has gone!
Spring Strawberries
Now is the time to plant strawberries - get them in early for more and earlier fruit. Use pea straw around the base of plants to keep slugs away and keep your fruit clean.
How many do you need?
1 person = 5 plants
Feeling inspired? Why not take a peek at one of our most popular blogs where we share 'Our Top 5 Tips for Garden Design on the North Shore' and take your garden design to the next level!
