Is your garden ready for a hot summer?

Over the last week or so, we’ve been nervously looking at our neighbours in the north and west as swathes of the country burns. Given how early and intense these fires have been, it’s only a matter of time before we start to see similar fires throughout Victoria. If you haven’t already, check out the Victorian Country Fire Authority’s Fire Ready Kit to ensure you’ve got your preparations locked down. And if you’re in an area where you don’t believe you’ll be affected, then maybe you can help out those who are by donating to the Red Cross Disaster Relief.

Closer to home, as it gets warmer, make sure your garden is prepared. Get down lots of mulch (there’s a good article on this below!), drip irrigation is great if you can, and a wicking bed can work wonders too. Consider having a shadecloth solution ready for those consecutive 38°+ days, and be sure to have lots of water sources available for your pets and the local wildlife. And don’t forget your worms!

The song of the month is unfortunately an all too obvious choice – a cracker of a song though – Midnight Oil’s classic, Beds are Burning.

Permablitz News

Permablitz #218 - Belgrave

On a crisp Sunday morning, over 40 guests descended upon Jessica’s place in the Dandenongs with permablitzing on their minds, and a transformation began.

Check out the full story here!

It's been two years since we blitzed Jim's gardens, and it's a joy to be back

The back of house

Walking past this Fairfield home you could be mistaken for thinking the house must be older than it looks, with such beautiful established gardens. However only two years ago this was all bare soil. Property owner Jim and designer Meg walked us through the permablitz design, and we learned what worked, what didn’t, and what evolved from the day of the permablitz.

Check out all the insights (and video) here!

Check out how Tina's garden looks only a year after her permablitz!

Some of you may remember Tina from the permablitzes at her amazing home in Edithvale in the middle of last year. The ridiculously talented Terry helped Tina design this space, and to say that the results look amazing simply does not do it justice.

You should see it now!

Hero of the Month

Mallow

Mallow

Turns out that this weed that you may step on in your lawn has been used in sex magic and poetry for millennia and its uses as a medicinal herb by the ancient sages of proto-science are legion. Science is now beginning to discover new pharmacological properties of this plant, and some find it to be a pretty tasty plant.

Sounds interesting, eh? Learn more here!

Beets and Pieces

Gardening tips to help your plants survive Level 5 water restrictions

Orange is known for its beautiful gardens but when you can only water them for one hour a week under tough Level 5 water restrictions they need help.

“It is really critical, particularly in Australia,” gardening expert, and Orange mayor, Reg Kidd said.

Cr Kidd said putting mulch around plants helps preserve moisture, aids in weed control and helps build up the structure of your soil.

And it has environmental benefits as many products could be recycled to create mulch.

To see what you can use for mulch, and the best time to water it, check out the original Central West Daily article here.

Nature strips are everywhere in Melbourne. Should they all be gardens instead?

Our land abounds in nature strips!

Did you know that a third of public green space in Melbourne are nature strips?

Image: Caroline Kemp

Adrian Marshall has completed a PHD into nature-strips and says we should be more creative with what we plant outside our homes.

“It’s an incredibly strange space that’s public land but private citizens have to manage.”

Hear the full interview on ABC Radio.

In the Garden

Image by Kruscha from Pixabay

The end of Spring is near – make sure you mulch around your fruit trees and plants to retain moisture in the soil and prevent water loss from evaporation. Keep the mulch away from plant stems and trunks as this can cause stem or collar rot. You can also mulch your strawberries by placing straw or pine needles underneath to keep the berries off the soil. And you can stop earwigs eating your strawberries by offering them orange halves instead!

And if you’ve not done so already, it’s definitely time to get your summer crops in! Tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes, basil, chillies, corn.. and did we mention tomatoes?

Remember: some seeds do better starting off in punnets, some in pots and some in the ground. To get the best from your seedlings be sure to check the best methods first! I