A suburban garden checklist: seasonal tasks for Melbourne backyards
As beautiful as they may be, gardens, unfortunately, need regular upkeep. It’s especially important to manage them carefully as the seasons change.
Whether your flowers are just about to bloom with the approach of spring or you need to prepare for winter, there are steps you can take to ensure your garden’s health.
In today’s article, we’ll outline your seasonal suburban gardening checklist, so that you know what to do and when to do it. Keep your garden vibrant and healthy by doing these important tasks.
For more gardening support or a tailored service, reach out to our friendly team at Gardening Direct today.
Seasonal garden care
While caring for your garden year-round is important, most of your gardening prep will happen just before spring. This ensures that your plants receive the vital support they need as they enter the season of growth.
If you’re at the tail end of winter or have started noticing new growth on your plants, it’s time to act.
Your garden maintenance Melbourne checklist
To make your garden maintenance tasks a little easier, we’ve broken them up into different categories. This way, you can take them one step at a time and ensure that you don’t miss anything on the checklist.
The clean-up stage
Before you start planting new flowers, it’s important to clean up your gardens first. Here’s our clean-up checklist to get you started the right way:
- Remove dead plants
- Weed your garden
- Mow your lawn
- Trim your trees and shrubs
- Clear pathways of debris
- Check your tools
Removing unwanted or dying plants ensures your new sprouts aren’t fighting for space or nutrients. This can increase their chances of survival.
Likewise, making sure your garden is easy to walk through is crucial. Sticks, leaves, or scattered tools could be a tripping hazard. Since you’re planning on being in the garden, it’s important that you are safe.
You should also make any structural changes to your garden during this stage. Whether you’d like to add more garden edges, raised beds, or a water feature, now is the time to do so.
Garden preparation
Once cleaned up, it’s finally time to start prepping your garden for new growth. This checklist will help you get started, ensuring your garden is ready for planting.
- Loosen and break up your soil
- Mulch or remulch your garden as needed
- Remove any slugs, snails, or other pests
- Set up irrigation
- Turn the compost and add it to your garden
Each of these tasks is designed to improve the health of your garden, adding more nutrients and protecting it from damage or harm.
Planting done the right way
Once finally ready to plant, you’ll want to consider what and where each new sprout will go. Carefully plan out your garden beds, stagger and rotate vegetables as needed, and ensure flowers, shrubs, and trees have the space they need to grow.
- Draw up a garden plan
- Start seeds in small pots inside
- Repot plants that need more space
- Start planting, following the set-out instructions of each plant
- Consider pest-repelling plants for future protection
- Water as needed
Once you’ve finished planting your new plants, it’s important to remember to maintain them. They’ll likely need regular watering and perhaps replanting if they grow too closely together.
The perfect plants for your Melbourne home
Each plant has its own preferred environment. To ensure your garden thrives, it’s essential to select plants that complement our temperamental Melbourne climate.
Here’s a short list of sturdy yet stunning flowering plants ideal for your Melbourne home:
- Kangaroo paw
- Lavender
- Snapdragons
- Sunflowers
- Pansies
- Geraniums
- Daisies
- Dahlias
- Foxgloves
Each of these plants is a vibrant, colourful option that you can use to seamlessly complement your home. They are well-known for being tough enough to handle our Victorian climate, with the proper care.
Rely on a local expert gardening service
Do you struggle to get your yard to where it needs to be? Gardening is not only time-consuming and physically taxing, but it can also be unpredictable and confusing without the right knowledge.
At Gardening Direct, we offer a comprehensive garden maintenance service to help you stay on top of your garden’s needs. You can schedule our service to suit your preferences, whether that be weekly visits, monthly support or even a once-off check.
Once ready, our gardening experts will get to work. Mowing, cleaning, soil prepping, planting, and much more to ensure your garden stays stunning, no matter the season.
For a trusted, local gardening service, don’t hesitate to reach out and have a chat with our friendly team.
