The rains are officially here. It’s that time of year again where you shake off your coats; dust off your heaters and retreat inside to escape the coldness. Winter has come – and whilst many can argue that we’re treated to a rather mild winter here in Perth, between the chilly minimum temperatures and heavy rainfall, unmaintained gardens can grow rampant and out of control before you realise.
Revell’s director, Jenny, has put together her top tips for maintaining your garden during winter, so it thrives when the warmer weather comes back around.
1. Trim those trees
With winter comes storms and with storms comes strong winds. The wild weather has started to batter our coast with wind gusts up to 125km/h on the stormier days. When those high winds are combined with untrimmed tree branches they can cause damage to homes and yards. It’s important to keep your trees trimmed to avoid any damage to your own property and to maintain a safe distance between your trees and nearby power lines. Low hanging branches could cause power failures, bushfires and serious accidents during storm season. Western Power suggests having 2.5 metres to the side and 2 metres below as the minimum clearance.
Make sure you put safety first when it comes to trimming taller trees around power lines and hire a professional pruner or arborist to do it for you.
2. Man your garden is going to LOVE this…
Yes of course, we’re talking about manure! Winter is the perfect time to lay manure down in your garden and set a good base for the coming months. Whether it’s cow, horse, sheep, chicken or any other sort of manure, they all contain nutrients that will assist the healthy development of your plants or vegetable gardens.
If using fresh manure, ensure you give it some time to age, as it may burn your plants if applied too soon. Manure can be found at your local farm or gardening store – and remember to look for manure, not fertiliser, as that shouldn’t be applied until spring.
3. Weeding, Weeding, Weeding!
This one pretty much speaks for itself. All the rain during winter will do wonders for your grass, plants and greenery but unfortunately it will be a breeding ground for weeds. Not only are weeds an eyesore, they put up a tough fight for nutrients and water – and will win most of the time. So spending some time outside getting rid of them (or getting us to do it for you) will help the rest of your plants that you actually want to be there, to stay strong and flourish.
4. Prune to perfection
There’s no need to be scared of the secateurs any longer. Treating your shrubs to a good prune once they start to become overgrown can actually do great things for the plant. Not only will it help with the aesthetics of your garden, ensuring all bushes are neat and tidy, it’ll also help to encourage more flowers to grow, with thicker foliage. Pruning towards the end of winter will help your plants blossom in spring.
There is of course different pruning rules for different plants, so feel free to give us a call to have a chat about which plants need cutting right back and which will benefit from a small clipping. Better yet, let us know how big your garden is and we quote on doing the whole lot for you!
