Gardening Tips From Resident Green Thumbs

With the Hometown Australia Spring Competition entering its fourth week, residents have been busy tending to their gardens. Our resident green thumbs come with a wealth of knowledge, so who better to ask than our residents for their best gardening tips.

If you’re looking to give your plants a bit of a boost Bayside Community resident Alan Murphy, has the tip for you!

“Mix 1 tsp of Epsom salts to 4 cups of warm water, spray the mixture directly onto your plants and repeat 10 days later,” said Alan.

The hydrated magnesium sulphate in the Epsom salts will help plants absorb valuable nutrients. The boost of magnesium can assist in making your plants greener in colour and can greatly improve your plant’s ability to flower and produce fruit.

We will be thanking Alan in 10 days’ time!

Local green thumb and Redbank Palm resident Dawn Barrie, suggests holding off on pruning until after your plant has flowered.

“A good tip is to not prune until after your shrub or tree has bloomed because a plant always has a growth spurt before it flowers. We often think it needs to be trimmed and cut off all the flowers and spikes, but this is what will make you miss the beautiful flowers and birds that come to enjoy gardening with us,” said Dawn.

Dawn also advises for a garden that showcases 365 days of beauty it is important to have a structured garden with trees and shrubs, interplanted with colourful perennials and annuals.

“I would encourage everyone to plant more small trees in our gardens. Trees are sculptures of beauty and help to give structure to a garden. The different patterns and colours of the bark, and the way two identical trees can grow in entirely different structure, is pure beauty,” said Dawn.

What a wonderful way to add depth to your garden. Thank you, Dawn.

The Redlands Community have an impressive veggie garden but what makes the garden so special is the DIY compost tubes resident Denis Hall, has introduced to the community.

“The reason I suggested the tubes is because we were having some issues with the compost bins and garden beds. I have used this system in the past and have found it as a really good way to compost directly into the garden which encourages the worms,” said Denis.

If you’re looking to add an eco-friendly touch to your garden, this will be the tip for you! To make the tubes you will require a 90mm PVC down pipe and a cap to suit.

“It is simple to make, cut the pipe to the required length, our beds are 400m deep so I cut the tubes to be 500m long, drill a series of 12mm to 15mm holes through the tube to a height of 300mm. All that is left to do is to dig a hole and place the tube in the garden bed,” said Denis.

When you’re ready to feed the worms, simply remove the lid and put your veggie scraps down the tube.

“Feeding the worms is easy! Worms love coffee grounds but be sure to avoid feeding them large quantities of meat, citrus, onion, dairy and always make sure to wash your eggshells,” said Denis.

A great sustainable initiative – Thank you Denis.

A keen gardener and part of the Orianna Community gardening club, Linda shares many years of knowledge and great gardening tips all year round.

“Your bare rooted roses and fruit trees should be well established in the ground right now and ready to show a stunning display of Spring blooms! To help combat aphids and other pests a nifty trick is to plant garlic near your roses,” said Linda.

If you’re looking for a pop of colour, Linda suggests trying one of the new tropical azaleas or tropical dwarf hibiscus to add that extra bit of colour to your summer garden.

What are Linda’s top two gardening tips?

“Trick your Spring flowering bulbs, such as tulips and hyacinths, into thinking they are in cooler climates by putting them in the crisper section of your fridge for 6-7 weeks prior to planting. This will give them a strong flower shoot! My second top tip would be to keep ants and mealy bugs away from your plant pots, smear an unbroken ring of Vaseline [petroleum jelly] around the top of the pot,” said Linda.

Such a great tips for a variety of different gardening needs – Thanks Linda!