Autumn Gardening Jobs by Linda Ross

The air is cooling and the weekend is here and it’s time to get into my list of autumn jobs. The first job I’m doing this weekend is deadheading agapanthus. They have been stunning during summer, I grow a whole lot of hybrid agapanthus which are sterile which means they don’t produce from seed. I grow varieties like Guilfoyle, Margaret Ollie, Purple Cloud and Amethyst in bluey smoky purple colours which I love you so much, but now it’s definitely time to remove the entire flower heads to tidy them up.

I will also remove the old flowering stems from kangaroo paw now. I do that by removing the whole stem cutting right down at the bottom of the flower stem. It’s also a great time to dig up kangaroo paw and divide them, divide them into two or four and then spread the pieces around the garden. Kangaroo paws are native perennials and each clump is made up of hundreds of individual clumps. Pull out one clump, cut the old leaves off and you see a new fan of leaves which is the next plant coming. Then you can plant that out as a new clump.

Autumn is definitely bulb planting time and this means tulips, daffodils, freesia…. today I’m planting allium my lovely favourite drumstick allium. I’m planting my favourite white Daffodil ‘Thalia’ and I’m also planning a beautiful white Freesia. These bulbs flower in early spring and provide the most fabulous fragrance are throughout the garden you can plant leaves in pots of calls or throughout the borders of the garden. I’m planting into a wonderful vintage old laundry tub and I’m massing in the bulbs into this and it will just look absolutely spectacular come spring.

Autumn is really a good time to move plants around, especially evergreen shrubs. If you’ve got a shrub that’s in the wrong spot maybe an Azalea, or camellia, it’s a really good time to move it into the better spot while the soils are still moist and warm.

Now is a good time to plant winter veggies and winter herbs. Broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, broad beans, kale and cauliflower can go in. Plant coriander by seed or seedling now too. Chervil is an unusual gardeners herb but difficult to find in the shops and goes great in a potato salad. It’s got a really unusual aniseed flavour. Fennel and dill are good to go in now too.

Linda Ross is a Master Gardener and Landscape Gardener.

www.lindaross.com.au