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Winter vegie planting

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The first saturday in July so have been on The Good Earth with Mike O’Connell, 3WBC talking about winter vegie gardens.
Once again selling broad beans as a star crop. Why? Because they’re so easy to grow for great results, and not just the eating. These are a really simple crop that look great over winter, filling gaps in the garden that may otherwise look quite bare. Just head out to your local nursery or seed seller, buy the seeds and a bag of compost (because you should always feed the soil if you want good results). Spread the compost as a thin layer, 1 bag per square metre is good, cultivate in lightly, plant the seeds about a finger depth, and water.
Mike tells me the birds got to his so you might want to protect with netting, or a scarecrow or old CDs on string also deter the blighters.
Come spring when you are ready to harvest cut the plants off at the base, leave the roots in the ground because there’s lots of good nitrogen down there. Then you will be ready to plant out summer greens in the same patch and use up some of that nitrogen.
Rug up, put on a beanie and get moving out there, the cold will disappear in no time.

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Winter in Melbourne

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Today is the winter solstice, no doubt we are all looking forward to warm sunny days and balmy evenings, but one of the best times in Melbourne is now with beautiful crisp mornings and bright sunny days. Get out and marvel at the trees, kick the autumn leaves if they’re still about. Visit a nursery for bare rooted trees and roses. Don’t be put off because the plants all exposed, it just means the plants are dormant so the nursery can sell them cheaper without pots to take up more space. Check out all the fruit varieties available. There are lots of multi graft options which means you can get multiple fruit on one tree, perfect for small spaces.

Autumn trees

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Now is the time to research trees for your garden. There are plenty of to choose from, varieties that will suit a small garden, whether it be a small back garden / courtyard or front garden.
Like all other parts of a small space, trees have to work hard through all the seasons. Consider leaf colour (especially now) but also the bark colour and the sculptural effects of the trunk. Think multi trunked Crepe Myrtle and Maples. Of course fruit trees are also a great option, citrus for evergreen – in pots or in the ground – or deciduous. – apple, pear plum and so many more. The beauty of fruit trees is of course you get the fruit, but they are also easy to maintain as a small tree.
And, then there are native trees for bird life. The options are endless, consider summer shade – for you, for the dog, the kids play area, somewhere nice to sit in the summer shade.
Email Small Spaces, we would be happy to help you choose a tree for your garden.

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Inner West courtyard

Latest Work

Courtyard garden for a Melbourne apartment.  This is a small Melbourne apartment, our client was overlooking a very bland concrete yard and fence. The brief was to create a garden view, lush and full to look at from the living room window.

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On the radio 94.1fm the good earth

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It’s the first Saturday of the month, so time for The Good Earth with Mike O’Connell on 94.1fm. We are on from 10-11am. This month I will be talking about small trees for small spaces. A subject close to my heart! Of corse Mike will try to convince me that anything worthwhile has to have fruit…. He has a point of course but always good to have a few options. Listen in it should be fun with really bizarre segues.

Kids, vegies & entertaining in Brunswick back garden

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Family entertainment
Summer al fresco dining

 

While we were working on a neighbours front garden in West Brunswick, we ran into a client from a couple of years ago. I had prepared and garden design and layout for their back garden. The brief was to work within the existing levels, incorporate privacy from neighbours, outdoor storage, al fresco dining, vegetable garden beds and child friendlly play space. The levels worked well to divide the back yard into zones, allowing for outdoor seating (over what was a garage floor), step down to lawn & play area and vegie beds to the side.

The planting scheme was essentially native / indigeneous. My intent was to show colour contrast in the foliage. I think this is highlighted quite well by some of these shots taken in spring 2012. The combination of grevillea, eucalyptus ‘Silver Princess’ and leucophyta looks great!

Summer in a Melbourne Garden

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We have just arrived back from a glorious few weeks at the beach. It’s always nice to get out of town for a bit over summer. Unfortunately along with the great weather at the beach, Melbourne has also experienced some very hot spells which is showing up as damage in the garden.

 

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