The Garden Club meets this Saturday, March 9, in the Hastings Street Uniting Church Hall from 9.30am.  All current members and people interested in gardening are welcome to attend. 

There is a joining fee of $10, which covers the insurance and member's name badge per annum.  We do visits to neighbouring areas and open gardens to gain ideas for our own garden, along with ways to help the environment.

Celebrate Harmony Day and the March equinox on March 21 by planting a local indigenous plant in your garden.  This will help our bird life by providing shelter and feed, too.  

Prune off the sun-damaged parts of plants to to promote fresh replacement growth.

Trellises need to be erected, ready for sweet peas which are planted around St Patrick's Day, for best results.  There are so many varieties available, with such exquisite perfume.

As the heat abates, give lawns a boost by aerating the roots with a fork (garden, that is!) and follow up with a slow-release fertiliser.  Check for worn patches, and repair by loosening the soil and transplant runners of the matching grass variety into the soil.

Most vegetable seeds or plants can be sown now, including the winter greens, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Asian greens, beetroot, spring onion, lettuce, leek and silverbeet.

There is a great variety to meet all our tastes.  Keep on top of fruit fly by leaving lures in place until no more new flies appear for 30 days or more.

Collect all fallen fruit into a black plastic bag and leave in the sun to roast larvae before binning them.  Continue to make sure your garden has plenty of water sources for thirsty birds and insects.

Good gardening!