Autumn Gardening

Hi All,

Just thought I'd start a new subject thread to hear how everyone is going with your 2007 Autumn gardening. We've just started our front garden after letting the lawn die over summer (easy enough with no rain!). We plotted out pathways and beds and have started planting mostly drought tolerent plants. (Picture shows the creation in the first week.) OK, I confess I've added a few higher need plants for sentimental reasons but that's definitely the minority. Our style would probably be considered cottage. I've dedicated one bed to all natives. A bit worried because our pH is so high- 8.5!! Yikes! but nothing has blinked yet. Anyway, would love to hear about all your Autumn projects and how you're enjoying the rain and IF you are lucky enough to see some rain now. One question; I live in Adelaide and I'm not too sure what my Zone is (USDA). I thought maybe 10a but not 100% convinced. Any thoughts???

Hi kh. how exciting to be starting off a new area, I hope you keep posting to show how it will grow. Nice that you have a big tree there as a focal point.
My only project this autumn is to buy two packs of bedding plants, marigolds and Bellis daisy so I get a bit of colour befor Spring, well, that is what I hope will happen.
I had planted two maple tress in hopes of autumn clouri, but alas, the weather has not been cold enough to give any colour and they have just turned brown and fallen off!
Cheers.

Yes,something for us to all watch and enjoy and encourage .How is the water situation generally in Adelaide?
I should mention that Autumn sees me looking glumly at all the tidying up I should be doing .!!!
Emelle

Hi ferrymead and Emelle and thanks for the encouragement!! I promise to post pix when I get plants in the beds. I've started a few but have many more to plant. Hope to do it this weekend because we are due for rain on Monday (cross fingers). Sorry to hear about your maple ferrymead. I love Japanese maples but really don't have a spot shady enough for one. Maybe someday a shady spot will be created!

Emelle, our rain here has only just begin a couple of weeks ago. I only hope it continues through winter. Adelaide is meditteranean with wet winters and dry summers. Last winter the rain stopped by June and we had a very cold, dry winter as did most of the country but all the weather people are promising a normal, wet winter this year and so far so good. Of course the weeds are loving the wet too!! Sour sobs everywhere!!! They're loving all my new beds with the compost I added! Oh well......

I've planted a new pansy called Pretty Posy by Oasis. It promises 30cm flower stems!! I'll post a photo to show if it is indeed true!

I thought NZ was colder/wetter??? No?

Happy Gardening and keep me posted on continuing Autumn activities everyone!! kh

You are right, we are colder and wetter than Oz.

The average rainfall here ranges between 600 to 1500 mms..
However, a small area of central Otago only gets 300mms while in the Souheren Alps it can be as high as 8000mms.

Our weather gets progressively colder as one travels southward, with the top of the North Island being sub tropical while the coldest temperature recorded was in central Otago at a place called Ophir where it zoomed down to -22 c. Brrrr!!!! I think the highest recorde was about 42 C. But the rest of us live somewhere between those highs and lows.

I have just received 2 boysenberry plants, 2 gooseberry plants and a dozen daffodil bulbs to plant. We will have to dig up a piece of the back lawn to get the fruiting plants in, which will mean less lawn to be mown, which is always a plus.

I absolutely love all the variety of colours available in Pansies and Violas now.A year or so ago I bought some violas called Denim and lace,and the blue bi-colour was lovely.
Last years ones were called 'Boysenberry 'and they were bi-coloured too.They flower for months.
I can't imagine 30cm stems! A photo will be interesting.
A lovely sunny Autumn day here today -(Hi,Ferrymead!)
Emelle.

NZ sounds so lovely. Hope to have a holiday there someday. Would love to see what I think is called the last remaining, untouched rainforest in the world.

I envy your berry plants. We can do strawberries fairly successfully but my favourite- blueberries, need a colder climate. I think our supermarkets are supplied by Tasmania.

Less lawn is ALWAYS a good thing. Looking forward to getting rid of our back lawn (which is more broadleaf weeds than grass) and making more beds in spring. I just discovered that we've inherited a fabulous Euphorbia called Euphorbia tricona. It was hiding behind a couple of out of control shrubs. I want to move it to a more visable position but am nervous.

As for pansies - It's always a struggle to hold back from buying all the different varieties. It's amazing what colour combos are available these days. I'm hoping for the best for the tall pansies. I only bought two punnets as an experiment and will definitely post a photo when they are in flower which will probably not be for at least a month at this point.

We got a bit o' rain last night - yay!!

Now you have bought two punnets of pansies you will never need to buy again. I bought a couple two years ago and they have seeded everywhere. So many have popped up again since I pulled the old plants out that they have completely covered the borders. I potted some up to give away but there is still a mass of them. They are such a lovely plant that I will let them grow a little bigger and replant elsewhere.

Hi Em

Interesting thought ferrymead. I don't think I've ever let a pansy go to seed. I usually deadhead them or pick for pressing and using in my greeting card art. I'll have to avoid the temptation to cut this year and see what happens!! Of course the big reason that Pretty Posy was bred was to be able to cut and bring indoors!! After the huge rains (with thunder and lightening no less!) last night, they should be very happy!

We are having the best Autumn show I have seen in 6 years here at Glen Innes.
after the rain (40ml) thought it would be all over but its still all gold,red,purple
town with some poplars still on the highways.
It was warm days for the Celtic Festival and nights are still only about 7 degrees.
I'm in the garden all day.
Planted 4 Azaleas under conifers already covered in buds.
Daffodls pushing up and popcorn budjleas in flower -
digging new beds and getting max growth from this year's planting before dormancy sets in.

Ohhhh! that photo was a mistake
I thought I had MY pawlonia pic
which is only about 6 foot tall but pretty good for this years effort

Nevermind saltbush - this is a pretty picture too!! Nice to hear from you and all your Autumn activities. You're lucky to be able to have successful azaleas! Post a photo when they're in full bloom! Our soil in Adelaide is so full of lime that the pH is 8.5! Not something azleas appreciate much!! What's your soil like over in Glen Innes?? Can you post a photo of your Popcorn Buddleas?? I'm not sure I've seen them. Such a perfect time to plant!! kh

Hi from Central Victoria, rain on the roof and the garden beds freshly dug and raked over after pulling out several large trees that died through the summer. The "lawn" has been raked ready for the fresh growth ( no watering at all outside this last summer, only what we could save from the house.) we have a large garden area which is also a wildlife corridor so interesting trying to garden with wallabies and kangaroos, a couple of hares and the odd rabbit passing through and each taking a tasting sample as they go.wainting for the bob cat man to come and level the site for a large polyhouse before the frosts come. Hope we can get our succulents in under cover in time. great to see an Aussie forum here in Dave's Garden. will see about posting some pics soon, we are getting a nice collection going but we are still pretty new at it all.
cheers till next time.

khop, I am impressed that you dead head the pansies. I actually id press a couple of them myself so I hope you can tell me how one attachs them onto a card...would a glue stick on the card be the best?

Saltbush, your paulownia pic brought back memories of one we had in our backyard years ago. It was a great climbing tree for the kids and a flying fox was set up from it.

garden6grace, oh, how sad that you lost trees because of the drought and all that wildlife to have to put up with.
I have just started a little plot of succulents and this is of some I plucked to make an arrangement.

ferrymead - lovely succulent bouquet!! Well done!

As for sticking down flowers; I just use white glue and a toothpick. It dries clear and does the job. I found that gluesticks can be a bit too sticky. I choose to place the glue on the back of the flower instead of on the card/paper. I usually also put a piece of clear cold laminate sheet over the entire face of the card to further protect the design - especially if I am posting it. Works a treat. Let me know how you go.

Now that the weather is turning cool, I'm just in the mood to have a creative day but no pansies yet!!! Oh well!

Welcome to Garden4grace! Post a pix of your poly house if/when you can - would love to see it!! I'm sort of jealous that you have wildlife. We get some native birds but we live in a suburb so no "hopping" wanderers! Apparently we have been known to get the odd brown snake (yikes). Would prefer the roos!

Thanks for the info on sticking the flowers down, I have the toothpick, the glue and the laminate, will have a go and fingers crossed it will all go well.

Hi All,
not much going on in the garden in Townsville in Autumn! The wet season is over and our block is very dry with cracks starting to appear where grass use to be when it was raining.
Autumn for me will be trying to keep some water up to the less established plants and feeding and fertilizing everything as needed. Our soil here is very low in nutrient and everything needs a lot of extra loving. On the bright side the weather is glorious, most days are between 25 to 30 degrees, but without the humidity now, and beautiful cool ocean breezes.
Kophton, I love the idea for your garden and can't wait to see it established. It is exactly how I want my front yard to be. It will take a while as I'm on an acre and am limited by manpower and finances, I will get there eventually and look forward to "borrowing" some ideas from you!

Hi tropical3 and WELCOME!! You're going into your dry as we are going into our wet! Thanks for the encouraging words. I understand about limited manpower and finances. We just drove through the Adelaide Hills, hit a few nurseries to check out their clearance "not so beautiful" plants and managed to find a few that look scraggly but will come up a treat come spring. Keep us all posted on your progress!

ferrymead, thanks for the idea about using succulents for bouquets - had never occurred to me! A bonus of the idea is that the arrangement will last longer than flowers and can go on to root for more plants. Ingenious! Yuska

Hay Khopton,

Another Adelaideian, Yay! we croweaters have to stick together! Like you, I am essentially starting my garden again at a new location, though with a bit more established a block as I am in the inner north west , near the Port Road and the house probably dates from the 1940s.

No snakes here, but my previous house had blue tongues, geckos and skinks - so far I've only seen velvet geckos at the new house, but I live in hope. If you are going to have snakes, I'd rather have a python, like ginger749s! I nearly put my hand on a big redback spider today, it really gave me a start! by and large, snakes are much less sneaky! I must away now (the internet is an evil time suck) but I will be back so please keep in touch, Jacq.

Hi there everyone. finally the site is underway for the poly house!! Yeah! didn't get a photo of the site before hand but will surely get one tomorrow!
I also was a croweater (for 20 years), Pt Lincoln on Eyre Pen. beautiful. now in Central Vic and rarely see the ocean worse luck.

Good rains here, we are over the monthly average for May which is really great, still need lots more though. Lots of work re arranging the garden after the trees were removed, and a bonus was the bobcat man pulled out most of the stumps so its a real fresh start to a large area of garden to work with! I got some really nice chrysanthanums from the council garden depot here and also bags of tulip bulbs. good place to get good plants pretty cheaply.
I'm now searching for a collector of Schlumbergera to get a nice selection of colours if anyone in Aust know of someone I'd be most appreciating.
Cheers .!

Yuska, you are right, using these in an arrangmnent means you can see them for weeks, I think mine was sitting there for at least four or five weeks and they had rooted by the tine I thought I should do something about it.

I must be so difficult for all those who have had to cope with drought. But you love your gardens and will be rewarded for your efforts.

We had a really heavy rainfall on Wednesday night, Thursday morning, our area received a months rain in an hour. We only receeved 2 and a half inches but our friends who licve about a couple of miles away had their garage and workshop flooded and their garden is covered in an inch or so of solt and mud. So sad as they have not been long in their home and have been knocking the garden back into shape and a new garden border that had just been planted out was completely washed away. It is either too much rain or too little, depending where you live.!

I have just bought a pack of red onions, label said aat least 30 plants but b gosh I have ended up with over 70! They are all in the ground in the new bed where the boysenberries and gooseberry bushes have been planted. The extra ones have been potted up and put into the glasshouse in hopes that they will grow quicker there.

In the pic , not much of the berry bushes showing as they have been cut back and I see the lawn is in need of a haircut!!

Welcome to a fellow Adelaidiean Kaelkitty!! I miss having blue tongues too!! I sort of even miss the possums a little. They always put on a great summer show in the early evening. We were told of possible brown snakes being around during the dry summer but never saw any sign - thank goodness!! Keep us up to date on your progress. Now that the sun is out, I must take a couple of photos of some fun plants I've found. Will post soon.

garden4grace - congrats on the polyhouse getting underway. Satisfying feeling, yes?? And please post photos. I'll keep my ears open on finding a Schlumbergera source for you.

ferrymead - that's an amazing amount of water in such a short time. Thanks for sharing your "berry" bed with us. Beautiful, lush lawn!!!