Gardening

[Silverteen]

Hi All

 

In the UK we kept a cottage type garden and actually enjoyed being outdoors doing the garden and now we are a few weeks from going to live in Adelaide I wondered if any one had any basic information or websites that would be a good source of information on how gardening is going to be different in Aus.

 

I guess there are heaps of plants that wont survive in Australia and heaps that we couldn't grow in the UK but do well in Australia. we will be living near Adelaide I wondered if there are water type bans etc like we have in the UK when it gets remotely warm for more than a week or two!

 

Any info most welcome!

 

cheers

[VERYSTORMY]

You can grow almost anything. We were in WA and managed pretty much anything we wanted. You just need to plant differently, so some plants that need full sun in the UK may benefit from partial shade. You can also grow something's in the garden that in the UK would need a greenhouse such as tomatoes.

 

There are not normally any water restrictions in South Australia according to the web site for watering by hand. Sprinkers and retic must be before 10 am or after 5pm.

 

However, be aware, water meters are fairly standard across Australia and big bills can quickly appear. We were getting the lawn set up before we left and had a couple of massive water bills due to it needing lots of watering. As a result, native gardens are becoming more popular and plastic grass.

[ChrisH1]

See: http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/biosecurity/weeds_and_pest_animals for an extensive list of prohibited plants and animals in SA. Alternatively, enter "prohibited and banned plants in South Australia" into Google for several PDFs. Every state has banned fauna and flora to protect the native environment, agriculture and horticulture.

 

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

[Bobj]

Might pay to check soil pH where you will be living. The Adelaide Hills area is quite acidic, whereas north north west is fairly alkaline.

 

In other words...azaleas, or carnations?:wink:

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Diane]

Hi All

 

In the UK we kept a cottage type garden and actually enjoyed being outdoors doing the garden and now we are a few weeks from going to live in Adelaide I wondered if any one had any basic information or websites that would be a good source of information on how gardening is going to be different in Aus.

 

I guess there are heaps of plants that wont survive in Australia and heaps that we couldn't grow in the UK but do well in Australia. we will be living near Adelaide I wondered if there are water type bans etc like we have in the UK when it gets remotely warm for more than a week or two!

 

Any info most welcome!

 

cheers

 

No need for water bans here in Adelaide at the moment - we have more than enough at the moment!

 

[Skani]

Lots of information on this site. They also have a TV program on Saturday evenings at 6.30 on ABC1 (suspended temporarily over the Christmas/holiday period) and publish a monthly magazine which is widely available in newsagents etc.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/

 

Because Australia has 5 very distinct climate zones, you will find particularly relevant information from this lady, Sophie Thomson, who lives in the Adelaide area.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1413488.htm

[newjez]

In Perth I used to plant the garden up, and then sacrifice the lot to the sun God. My parents managed to do alright though. In their last house they even had a pomegranate tree.

[NicF]

Lots of things do well here in Adelaide. Roses love it where we are and things like citrus, chillies and rosemary do well. I'm not that much of a gardener but I do have a few small garden beds. Last summer we were in the UK during the hottest week of the summer (40+ five days in a row) and the only watering my garden got was the weekly 1 hour watering from the automatic system. I was pretty sure that everything would be dead when we got back but most of the garden survived, some things better than others. My choisyas were looking pretty shabby but came back with some TLC, the jasmine, roses, rosemary, English box and lemon tree all did fine. The only things that really suffered were the tomatoes and peppers.

[Guest]

I'm in the hills of Adelaide and we have a very English style country cottage garden here. Along with a heap of fruit trees, Aus natives and more.

 

Apart from the watering aspect and the sun in the heat of the day burning roses to a crisp, it seems you can grow pretty much most things. Soil will be key as to what will take and what won't.

 

Also, to keep a garden in flower and colour over the summer months will give you a mighty high water bill. The previous owners of our house, an elderly couple, their water usage was the equivalent of a household of 6 people. That was because they watered the garden so often to ensure the plants survived the dry months. No way are we spending that. I was horrified to waste water on the garden like that, no matter how lovely it may look. It needs to be less living in this part of the world IMHO. We are 3 people and have brought it down to 3-4 person usage but at the expense of losing a heap of non native water intensive plants out the back and watering far less overall and avoiding watering lawns etc. I've also replaced a fair bit with fruit trees and other things and plan to rip out a large feijoa and one or two other things. Plus there is a side of the garden I am digging right up and hopefully going to put a chook run in.

 

I suggest you invest in good UV sun hats, suncream and UV rash vests. And learn to water your garden early in the morning or late at night. And to get any gardening you want to do out the way before 10am or after 4-6pm, at least in the warmer months (so Nov-April generally). O and mozzie repellant. Get a supply of that. And some good gloves. And make yourself familiar with bush fire plans etc if you live in the hills or outside of the suburban area. And also make yourself familiar with the spiders, snakes and other creatures you will come across. Spiders can and do bite and some can be unpleasant (like being stung). Snake can lurk so learn where they might like to hide out and perhaps clear those areas. Encourage blue tongues and skinks. Be kind to them, don't use poison on the snails and stuff. Leave them to the blueys to scoff. I refuse to use anything that may kill the native creatures that lurk in our garden. We've had everything from blueys to skinks to possums and koalas. Have the snake catcher on speed dial if you live in the hills or bush area.

[Guest]

Oh and learn to love ags, lavender, salvia, rosemary and spireas. And roses. We had something like 70 different rose bushes in our garden when we moved in. Its now down to under 50 and I want to take more out. No way do I have time for that many roses.

[JockinTas]

Oh and learn to love ags, lavender, salvia, rosemary and spireas. And roses. We had something like 70 different rose bushes in our garden when we moved in. Its now down to under 50 and I want to take more out. No way do I have time for that many roses.

 

 

I noticed how lovely the roses were in Adelaide. Maybe because of the drier heat they don't get the usual fungal/blackspot problems.

[the bottler]

have rain tanks ... I have bowls in my sink and the basin in the bathroom ... the water gets put in a large garden tub and I hand water with it ... it is surprising how much water you can collect

[JockinTas]

have rain tanks ... I have bowls in my sink and the basin in the bathroom ... the water gets put in a large garden tub and I hand water with it ... it is surprising how much water you can collect

 

I used the final rinse water from the washing machine on the garden when we lived in Perth.

[the bottler]

I used the final rinse water from the washing machine on the garden when we lived in Perth.

 

I believe they are called green water tanks for the waste water from the shower etc something I would like ... it is surprising how quickly you become careful with water