Spring is well and truly here, and your garden should be showing many signs of springtime.
Lavender is in full flower for the next few months. Swan Valley Station has a great selection of varieties, colours and growing habits. Some of the newer species have been developed to be compact with masses of flowers.
Despite their name, lavenders are available in colours other than lavender. You will find them in vanilla, lilac, blue, purple and even raspberry.
Kangaroo paws enjoy the warmth and are already looking stunning from the first burst of spring sun. You might know them as red, but they come in myriad colours including green, yellow, black, blue, orange, red and pink. The new varieties available have compact growth habits with masses of flowers, giving your garden a real shot of colour in any sunny spot.
Swan Valley Station’s native plant area is well-established and proving popular for those who want a hardy garden plant that will attract birds and be relatively maintenance-free.
What should you plant in spring? Try grevillea, callistemon (better known as bottlebrush), banksia and woolly bushes. If you want a climbing plant, try pandorea, or native violets for a great hardy ground cover. Small clumping plants such as Dianella varieties are proving popular.
Spring weather means more time outside, but don’t forget your indoor plants.
If you are looking for indoor plants with vibrant foliage that will make a statement on a sideboard or side table, don’t look past philodendron and calatheas.
String of dolphins with its trailing stems and dolphin-like leaves is a great choice for a hanging basket in natural light, as are string of hearts or pearls. Cyclamen, kalanchoe and African violets are great options if you want beautiful, flowering indoor plants. They live longer than a bouquet!
Spring is when your garden is waking up after winter. Top of your spring checklist? It’s time to make sure your retic is back on the right watering days after the winter restrictions.
Also high on the list, fertilising. It’s the right time to feed your garden and lawn. Act now and the results will be easily seen within a week to 10 days.
Swan Valley Station sells and recommends Troforte slow-release fertiliser. General-purpose Troforte is available in three sizes from a 700g container good for up to 10 plants to a 10kg bucket that will do 100 plants and basically a whole big garden.
Slow-release fertiliser is great as the initial application feeds for the next five months. Every time it rains or your retic comes on, the Troforte will release a bit more fertiliser direct to the root area of your plants. The general-purpose one is suitable for fruit trees, shrubs, trees, flowers, vegetable gardens and even native plants.
If your lawn is looking a bit tired after winter, Troforte’s Fert-o-lawn is the best lawn fertiliser available and again will show results a week after application. Apply now for thick green and healthy lawns ready for garden games and entertaining.
Our plant of the month is cherry blossom. Prunus Bleriana (ornamental plum) plants are getting ready for their bright pink full bloom, and we have plenty at Swan Valley Station. They flower from early spring until October and brighten any small to large garden.
Cherry blossom plants can be used as a feature tree in the middle of a lawn, in garden beds and even look great as an avenue shrub planted along your drive or property border. Even one makes a great addition to any size garden. But if you have space, put in a row for stunning results. Just watch them bloom!