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For Claire Austin good gardening is all about planning ahead — planting is just the icing on the cake.
WORDS CLAIRE AUSTEN PHOTOGRAPHY CLANCY PAINE
Autumn is by far my favourite time of year to be in the garden. The cooler mornings and evenings; fewer mozzies; and the days are not as hot. I think it’s the season when roses are at their best and I get my motivation back for the vegetable garden. Autumn brings lots of potential; it is the time to prepare for the next growing season. While everything in the garden is changing, I find it’s the perfect time to plan change in the garden.
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is that preparation is the key to a successful garden: planting is only the icing on the cake — the last 10 per cent!
PLANNING
I like to do lots of planning for new plantings. This is based on what I’ve seen survive well in my local conditions, and particularly what has survived over summer. I get inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest as well as taking mental notes of what’s growing well in my area when visiting friends. The main street of your hometown is always a good indication of plants that do well in your area. I also like to trial a few different plants that may need some extra care; for example, I have a camellia and a hydrangea planted on the eastern side of my house, where they are protected by the coolness of a water tank.
Once I have some ideas, I like to do sketches using coloured pencils to work out how the colours will work together and get an idea of plant spacings. I plant taller plants at the back of the garden bed, medium shrubs and roses in the middle and border plants on the edges.
Over time, I’ve found that my style has evolved from formal plantings to a mixture of perennials and structure — and my garden certainly tells this story.
AUTUMN TO-DO LIST
1. Deadhead
Deadhead flowers and roses to prolong flowering.
2. Fertilise
Fertilise roses and the lawn to give them adequate nutrients for autumn.
3. Plan
Make a list of which plants survived summer and plant more of them.
4. Prepare
Start working on new garden beds for autumn
and winter plantings.
5. Plant
Autumn planting is ideal to give plants time to establish before winter.
6. Sow sweet peas
They say you need to get them in before Saint Patrick’s Day.
7. Order bare-root plants
Order roses and trees from your local nursery
ready to plant in winter.
8. Vegie garden
Start to plant carrots, celery, beetroot, brassicas, peas and snow peas.
PREPARATION
When I have the plan ready-ish, I start to prepare the area. First I mark it out: usually using a hose and a spray can. I like to have curves rather than hard corners, and it makes mowing much easier.
If it’s a small garden bed, I will remove the lawn with a shovel and spray out roots. If it’s a big job, I use a Bobcat. Once I know the size of the area, I bring in some soil. I’m lucky that we can bring it in from a paddock, just making sure it’s good quality topsoil. I’ve raised my most recent garden beds by 30cm. I mix in lime, manure or blood and bone with a pitchfork, let it settle for a couple of weeks, then get rid of the weeds before planting.
PLANTING
Autumn is a great time to plant. The soil is still warm, but the air temperatures have cooled (a little). If soil moisture is okay after some rainfall, it’s ideal for new plants to establish before winter arrives. I check in on my plans. I always end up planting more plumbago and perennials. Make sure you leave enough space between plants: they often look small to begin with, but in a few years they’ll need lots of space.
Once the plants are in, I put down dripper lines to irrigate them, followed by about 5cm of good quality mulch, lucerne hay if possible, and then the growing begins.
Claire Austin runs the Gin Gin Garden Club.
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