Your garden has sprung or is slowly springing back to life. Your grass is greening, your flowers are blooming, and your desire to head outside and enjoy the good weather is increasing. Here are a few spring garden care tips that will set you up well for summer.

Care for your lawn

After its winter snooze, your lawn is springing to life – or trying to – which means it’s hungry. Spring garden care rule #1: Feed your lawn with a lawn builder. This will help strengthen roots, promote growth and thicken your lawn.

If your lawn is looking patchy, sow some seed and apply top dress to fill in dips and holes. Use either a specialised weed free top dressing mix or a washed sand.

Spread the top dressing over the top of the lawn at a depth of about 4 to 7mm, rubbing it into the lawn with the back of a rack or lawn level. Ensure that at least 1/3 of the leaf is poking through the soil.

For established lawns, weekly watering will be sufficient. Ensure heavy watering periods rather than shallow water applications, as this will promote deeper roots and a healthier lawn.

Mowing the lawn at a longer length will also help the roots grow longer, building a more drought resistant lawn – and let’s face it, there are some pretty bloody hot days awaiting us!

Plant a veggie patch

Make a great summer salad from your very own veggie patch!

Plant beans, carrots, celery, chillies, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, leek, lettuce, melon, potato, pumpkin and tomato.

Prepare vegetable gardens by forking mushroom compost or cow manure through the garden, then giving a thorough water before planting. Add blood and bone and sweeten the soil with garden lime.

Protect vegetable and flower seedlings with animal-friendly snail pellets (use as per product instructions).

For a great harvest, plant blue, purple or yellow flowers near your veggie patch. Bees are especially attracted to these colours and will help pollinate your vegies.

Spring garden care rule #2: Water gardens regularly as spring flowering plants use a lot of water when in flower.

Get on deck

Spring garden care rule #3 – make the most of the warmer months!

In 2012, domain.com.au estimated that adding a deck could increase a property’s value by up to $100,000. Given how the property market has skyrocketed since, it’s probably more now. Cheaper than adding a large extension to your home, decking is the most cost effective and time efficient method of adding square metres to your home.

But getting decked out is about more than just finance, it’s about lifestyle.

Australians love outdoor entertaining – especially during the summer months, which are fast approaching! One of the ways you can have more fun in the sun while investing in the value of your property is to add a deck.

If you home lends itself to it, create flow between internal and external spaces by having your outdoor living area lead off an indoor entertaining area. You’ll get more use of the deck if it’s accessible from a communal space.

Check if you need to get council approval. Not all decks need it, but some do.

And remember this is an investment in quality time with your family and friends, as well as the value of your property. That means you want a structurally sound deck that will withstand the test of time. So make sure you have it professionally designed and installed.

About Empire Walls

We ensure each client receives personalised service, their retaining wall is fit for purpose and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up. Retaining walls are just the start – offered as part of our complete landscaping services, which also includes decking.

• For examples of our work or if you’re after a service not listed here, please see empirewalls.com.au.
• For more information and/or a free quote, call Adam on 0421 573 001 or email empirewalls@live.com.au.
• For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

Winter is coming. It’s going to be cold, wet and you probably will retreat inside. But here are some winter garden care tips to help you enjoy the crisp great outdoors and ensure your garden is looking its best come spring.

Caring for your lawn

Aerate your soil: If the soil has any drainage problems, winter is the season when they’ll expose themselves. Use a garden fork to push vertical holes into heavy soils.

Increase mowing height: As daylight hours decrease so does the ability of lawns to photosynthesise, by increasing mowing heights and leaving more green leaf we increase the food supply to the grass.

Fertilise your lawn: Put down a high quality winter fertiliser in May. Winter fertilisers contain higher levels of Iron which is essential for good lawn health through Winter. The next application of Winter fertiliser should be in July.

General winter garden care

Winter is the perfect time of year to try and remove as many competitors as possible before the weather starts warming up again.

Where possible, bring tropical plants into a protected space – your patio for example. Or construct frames around the plants that are likely to be damaged by the cold or frosts.

Keeping some colour

Plant up a couple of pots with annuals. Choose pansies or polyanthus that are already in flower for an instant show. Water well after planting and keep in bloom by deadheading and watering every 10 days with a liquid plant food.

Reduce watering of potted plants and take the chill off tap water by mixing in a small amount of hot water. It shouldn’t feel warm – just slightly tepid to the touch. This means it won’t shock the roots so much.

Need a hand? We can help you all year long, Learn about our complete landscaping services at www.empirewalls.com.au.