Check Out Kings' Monthly Gardening Checklist Each Month

Kings Garden Centre have a very helpful monthly gardening checklist which they feature on their website where people can check out what they should be doing in the garden each month. Going by this useful guide, we should be planting winter veggies, spring bulbs and camellias in the month of April.

The guide goes on to recommend the pruning of summer fruit trees, dead-heading flowers, weeding, feeding, watering and mulching. To ensure we have seasonal veggies right through winter, it is advised to begin getting beds ready now and by staggering the planting. Carrots and parsnips should be directly sown into weed-free, well-cultivated beds, and brassicas in seed raising trays. They also endorse growing sorrel, calendula, pansy and violas, to add flavour and to brighten up meals.

For people who are a bit short on space, Kings advocate planting a dwarf citrus in a pot or container. However they should remember that it will need more water and feed than if it were in the ground.

Camellias, with their beautiful flowers, and looking great year round with their evergreen leaves, make a great addition to any garden. Kings recommend planting Camellia Japonica in part shade/shade to ensure that the leaves don’t get sunburnt. Camellia Sasanqua can be grown in part shade to full sun and can make great hedges. When planting, dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the pot and plant the Camellia and backfill, mixing compost and a handful of sheep pellets in with the soil. Fertilise using Kings Slow release Camellia food, or Aquaticus Supernatural.

Even though it’s getting colder we can still have a garden full of colour this autumn. Flowers like Marigolds, Gazanias, and Petunias will last into winter but as it cools down we should be sure to get some pansies, calendula and some of the other winter flowering annuals in.

We can ensure next spring is full of colour by starting to get our bulbs in now. Anemone, Freesias, Gladioli Nanus, and Ranunculus and Daffodils are in-store now. Tulips and more will be in-store later this month.

Autumn is a great time to sow grass seed so if we need to redo any larger patches it’s worth spraying now with Klin-Up Weedkiller to make sure that there is a weed-free bare patch that is ready to sow in April. For more advice on sowing a lawn get a grow guide in-store or online at http://www.kings.co.nz .