In the vegetable garden continue to plant sweet corn, beans, capsicums, tomatoes, pumpkins, egg plants, chillies, silverbeet, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, beetroot, onions and radish.
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Salad greens need regular watering and feeding to keep them producing in the coming warmer months.
Overhead watering is the best way to water beans during hot weather as this cools the plants and the humidity helps the flowers set seed.
In the flower garden there are so many pretty flowers to plant. Among them are coleus, ageratum, alyssum, celosia, cosmos, gazanias, phlox, petunias, portulacas, verbena, zinnias, Livingston daisies, cornflower, marigold, erigeron, salvias and delphiniums.
For ideas on how to add the festive spirit to the entertaining area of the garden visit your local plant centre to check out the huge range of potted plants.
Tidy up azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons and roses after they have finished flowering by removing spent flowers as damp blooms can be a source of fungal problems.
MAINTENANCE REGIME
When tomatoes have flowered and set fruit they can be fed with a side dressing of complete tomato fertiliser every two weeks. Follow a consistent watering programme to minimise blossom-end rot.
Give indoor foliage plants a complete nutrient solution to keep them looking good, and check outdoor potted plants daily as they can dry out quickly now the weather is warming up.
ELEVATE YOUR THINKING
Raise the height of the lawnmower as longer leaves are able to make more food to sustain grass plants in summer. When composting lawn clippings mix in some coarse material so the clippings don't pack down too tightly.
EASY-GOING GERANIUMS
Geraniums with their bountiful blooms have been a long time favourite with gardeners, especially those that are time poor, for their easy-care nature and the fact that they are not generally susceptible to the array of pests that attack many other plants.
GORGEOUS GARDENIAS
Gardenias are great container plants grown for their alluring perfumed flowers.
They require a warm location where ideally the temperature is fairly stable at around 18 to 21 degrees Celsius.
Keep gardenias cool during hot weather by giving them sufficient water. Protection from frosts is essential.
KALMIA CARE
Kalmia species are flowering shrubs with very attractive foliage and showy small white, pink or red spring flowers. These hardy, low-maintenance plants like a spot in filtered sunlight with well-drained, cool, moist soil and are ideal border plants.
To propagate take firm tip cuttings in late summer through to winter or layer them.
