AUTUMN TO-DO’s IN YOUR GARDEN

Inspect your garden and surrounds for alien weed invaders: if you have not been looking too closely alien invaders are alive and well in your garden! The ideal hot summer conditions we have been having are ideal for alien weed invaders to thrive and start overtaking. By removing them urgently asisit to break the invasive cycle.

Observe how the growth of the plants in your garden have begun to slow down now and many start to withdraw chlorophyll from their leaves, displaying an exquisite array of warm autumn colours .Plants that are chosen for their winter character  and winter flowering here on the coast amongst others are: flowering Red hot Pokers( Knifophia), Aloes, Plectranthus, Crane flowers, Bulbine, Ribbon bush and succulent leaves like Cotyledons that become intense in colour.

Enjoy walking around your garden and appreciate a new season .

Check your irrigation system . Take some time to run your irrigation system and inspect for any repairs that may be needed.Check each spray head and ensure that it is dispersing water correctly and is facing in the right direction...watering the wall or driveway is not a good idea. Be water wise and check for any leaks or breaks in your pipe. These are easy to repair.

Reset your irrigation controller to your autumn program. A deep watering three times a week is far better than a short watering daily.

Think of your own or your garden helpers watering habits, would it be wiser to invest in a system that delivers the correct amount of water and on schedule?It is a know fact that a garden irrigated by a well-designed irrigation system uses less water per month than a garden watered at the same intervals by hand.

Install a water storage tank as traditionally our rainfall reduces now. This is the time when one leans heavily on stored water for the irrigation system to keep our lawn and gardens well watered and looking good throughout autumn and winter.