Pittwater Life June 2023 Issue

Garden Life
June
Jobs this Month
Garden Life
The weather is cold and
wet, but there are still
plenty of jobs to do in
the garden. Time to rug up
and put on the rubber boots!
June is the month to harvest
all the dormant winter
crops: potatoes, artichokes,
shallots, sweet potatoes,
garlic and onions. This will
give you time to replenish
the soil, ready to re-plant
next month. Also, check out
the bulb stands for liliums to
plant in time for Christmas
colour. Check the instructions
carefully as there are so many
different colours, shapes
and sizes, some for pots and
some for gardens.
Cleaning up
Once frangipani, Spring
blossom and fruit trees are
bare, spray the trees and
surrounding soil with Lime
sulphur or a copper spray to
destroy any lingering fungal
spores after the wet and chilly
weather. This will give the new
growth a head start spring.
Be sure to clean up any fallen
leaves from the ground and
put them in the bin.
Red beds
Plant a strawberry patch this
month. Dormant strawberry
crowns are available in garden
centres now. Strawberries are
a great ground cover in the
veggie patch. Their pretty,
bright green leaves will keep
down weeds. Plant them 30cm
apart and tuck them in with a
mulch of straw or sugar cane.
Also, June is a good month to
plant blueberries. Blueberry
Burst is an attractive small
shrub that grows better in
a pot than in the ground.
A great plant for terraces
or balconies. In Spring you
will be picking your own
breakfast!
Colour tips
There is no excuse for a dull
Winter garden; they can be
as bright and cheerful as in
Summer. Flowering now are
camelias; pale pink and white
tree dahlias; pink, yellow,
and orange kangaroo paws;
tall yellow or scarlet aloes;
begonias; orchids; violet
salvias; pink and scarlet
poinsettias… the list goes
on. Fill any gaps with multicoloured
polyanthus or Winter
pansies.
Lawn
care
If your lawn
has suffered
badly in the
wet weather
and the
grass has been
too wet to mow, becoming
long and lanky, don’t be
tempted to cut it too short; if
we get a few hot sunny days
the roots will burn. Reduce the
length over time with several
cuts. Let the grass harden up
slowly.
Moss fix
Wet weather can make paving
very slippery. There are many
products on the market
to help stop this, but for a
simple solution, mix a cup of
baking soda into a bucket of
water and add some soapy
detergent. Spray or brush it
onto the pavers and leave for
half an hour before brushing
off with a hard-bristled brush.
Then wash off with water.
White vinegar can also be
effective – but never use a
brown vinegar as it can stain.
Perfect Pyrus
Most trees that have Autumn
colour
perform better in cooler
climates, but the brilliant
red ornamental pear Pyrus
Chanticleer is spectacular
in our seaside suburb. Plant
one now. It is a slim, columnshaped
tree that is perfect
for small suburban gardens.
First you have white blossom,
then the green leaves that
are followed in Autumn with
amazing colours that change
from green to gold to red.
Crossword solution from page 57
Mystery location: BILGOLA
64 JUNE 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991