Garden To-Do / January
January is high summer on the St Francis coast, and the garden's biggest job is simply coping with heat, wind and thirsty visitors. The trick this month is to water smarter rather than harder, keep everything mulched, and let the garden carry the holiday-season show.
Warm and bright, with long days. Daytime highs sit around 23 to 24°C with mild nights around 17 to 18°C, and the UV is at its strongest, so plants and gardeners both appreciate a bit of shade in the early afternoon.
Summer easterlies are a regular feature, often picking up through the afternoon. They dry plants out faster than the heat does, so check that stakes and ties are secure and give wind-exposed pots a little extra water.
January is typically our driest month, averaging roughly 40 mm. Rain tends to come in short bursts, so deep, occasional watering matters more now than in any other month.
Water young and newly planted trees deeply once or twice a week rather than a little every day, so the roots chase the moisture down. Top up mulch in a wide ring, kept clear of the stem, and check ties after windy spells.
Deadhead summer bloomers like agapanthus as the heads finish to keep things tidy. Hold off on planting anything fussy in the heat; if you must plant, do it late in the day, water it in well and shade it for the first week.
Keep baskets and bedding going with regular deadheading and a weekly feed. For gaps, plant heat-lovers such as vincas, marigolds and portulaca, which shrug off the dry easterlies.
Sow quick summer croppers like beans, beetroot, carrots, radishes and baby marrows, and keep leafy greens picked, watered and lightly shaded through the hottest spells. Late in the month, start winter brassicas like cabbage and broccoli in seed trays for planting out in autumn.
Water early in the morning so less is lost to the wind and sun. Raise the mower blade a notch, a slightly longer lawn copes far better with heat. After the holiday rush, give paths, beds and the compost heap a good tidy, and check irrigation lines for blockages and leaks.
Indigenous plant of the month
If one plant says midsummer on this coast, it is the agapanthus. Right now its tall stems are topped with big, rounded heads of blue or white trumpets, and it will keep the show going through January. It is about as tough as a showy plant gets: evergreen, happy in wind and salt air, and properly water-wise once its fleshy roots have settled in.
Plant it in bold drifts along a driveway or bank, use it to edge a lawn, or grow it in large pots. Full sun gives the best flowering, though it tolerates light shade. Once clumps become crowded and flowering thins out after some years, lift and divide them in late winter. Bees love the flowers, and sunbirds work the tubes for nectar.
See you at the nursery,
Clint
The Farmyard Nursery
Need a hand getting started? WhatsApp us or visit the nursery, and we will point you to the right plants for the season.
