Winter Garden Ideas

Gardeners growing vegetables find that companion planting provides many benefits, one of which is protection from garden pests. A major enemy of the carrot is the carrot fly, whereas the leek suffers from the onion fly and leek moth. Yet when leek and carrot live together in companionship, the strong and strangely different smell of the partner plant repels the insects so much that they do not even attempt to lay their eggs on the neighbor plant. They take off speedily to get away from the smell. This is why mixed plantings give better insect control than mono-culture, where many plants of the same type are planted together in row after row. Even when plants are affected by plant diseases, a mixed plant culture can usually alleviate the situation.

It is important to remember that not all “protective” botanicals act quickly. For example, marigolds, to be effective in nematode control, should be grown over at least one full season, and more is better, for their effect is cumulative. One should also realize that certain companion plants will diminish each others natural repelling ability as they grow together.  The effects of plants on one another are important outside the vegetable garden, among trees and shrubs as well as grains, grasses, and field crops.

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Autumn Gold

When it comes to garden plants autumn can be one of the most stunning seasons. Not only are most garden borders still bursting with late flowering perennials, but also as the light changes and the temperature starts to drop towards winter, garden plants are starting their preparation for slumber. This can take different forms for different plants, many will lose their leaves or die back completely, but even failsafe garden evergreens can start to show different colour hues as autumn progresses.

Autumn doesn’t need to spell the end of garden pleasures. You simply need to look at what you’ve got and use it to its best potential. Take the patio – An hour or so of late summer sun facilitates morning coffee on the patio, lunch al fresco or evening drinks. If the summer planters are past their best then give them a make over or move them somewhere to finish their finale and plant up a tub or two with some autumn bedding. Make the most of any sunny hours and use overcast days to tidy, prune and prepare the garden for the season ahead.

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