Top gardening tips with Jerry Coleby-Williams: January
It wouldn’t be summer in Queensland without the scent and blossom of frangipani. Limited space? Try a dwarf variety, they’re great in pots. The dappled shade frangipani cast is perfect protection adored by so many plants – from begonias and parsley to aromatic four seasons herb and ginger. For a totally tropical look, try planting bromeliads around the base of a frangipani, mount orchids and ferns on their branches and you’ve got the perfect Queensland style look for your summer garden.
Regular mowing is a chore, but if you cut turf as high as your mower permits, you can turn this to your advantage. Taller blades of grass help to outcompete weeds. If it’s too wet or soft for a mower, wear gumboots and use a whipper-snipper. Sometimes just a quick trim around the edges of a lawn neatens things up and – importantly – it prevents turf from invading surrounding garden beds.
In dry, heatwave conditions, mist your lawn with water just before the sun sets. The consequent evaporative cooling can lower the surrounding temperature by 3C, making homes a little cooler while reducing air conditioning bills.
Give hibiscus a monthly feed with hibiscus fertiliser from spring to autumn. Just like roses, hibiscus flowering responds visibly to regular feeding and watering with the bonus that well-fed hibiscus suffer less from disfiguring pests, like erinose mite. Serve yourself some hibiscus flower tea, with lime juice and honey to relax after a job well done.
Top tip for food growing: provide crops with well dug, compost enriched soil and at least six hours of direct sunlight.
Sow or plant now: banana, bitter melon, capsicum, chilli, cucumber, eggplant, galangal, luffa, mouse melon, papaya, pineapple, snake bean, soya, sweet potato, taro, turmeric and winter melon*.
Limited room? Try the Three Sisters method. Plant corn seedlings in a block, sowing one seed of a climbing bean beside each of the corn, and plant a few melon (or pumpkin) seedlings towards the middle. The melon provides a living ground cover, reducing weeding and conserving moisture. Corn stalks provide a support for the bean, and you get three crops from a small space.
