Gardening in June – What to do

Winter is not all about clouds and rainy weather. We have an abundance of colour just waiting to be planted now to enjoy in spring. Pansies, Snapdragons and Primulas for outdoor colour and for indoors we have Cyclamens and Cymbidium orchids. Aloes are also glowing in the garden, attracting sunbirds. 

If your Aloes are too small to attract many birds consider helping them navigate their way through winter by hanging nectar bottles and suet balls.

With encroaching winter days becoming darker enhance your rooms with indoor plants that can cope with lower light like Chlorophytum (Hen and Chicken), Scindapsis, Aglaonema, Aspidistra and Philodendrons are just a few that will uplift your indoor winter experience. Keep them bright and perky with Starke Ayres Nutrifeed or Nitrosol organic fertilizer.
Rosemary and Sage are classic herbs for colds and sore throats and they can be grown on bright window sills in your kitchen. 
Before it becomes too cold and wet to venture outdoors tick off the chore list- Move worm farms to a warmer spot out of the rain, clear drains and gutters of leaves and debris, adjust sprinkler systems to avoid overwatering and get pruning gear ready to trim fruit trees and roses. 

Sharpen loppers and secateurs, find gloves and stock up with Kumulus, the water soluble successor to lime sulphur. Efekto Steriseal is perfect for sealing and protecting freshly cut branches. Cut back evergreen herbs like Rosemary and Thyme. 
If you haven’t yet treated your lawn for winter grass there is still time as Lawntyl is both a contact and pre-emergent herbicide, meaning it will prevent seed from germinating and also kill the already growing weed. It is tempting to sow lawn seed to fill bare patches but the weather is too cold and wet for seed to flourish. It will also affect germinating lawn seed so it’s altogether a bad idea to sow lawn right now! 

Treat your winter lawns with care! Keep on regularly mowing as if grass becomes too tall it can attract lawn fungi. Makhro Odeon is a broad spectrum contact fungicide to help treat fungal attacks. Refrain from lawn dressing at this time of year as well to avoid smothering the grass. Boost root mass with Wonder 2.3.2 or Talborne Organic 2.3.2 fertilizers.

Starke Ayres, West Coast Village Shopping Centre
Tel: 021 554 8450/1

Photo by Tommy Lucena Villar on Unsplash