Justin's Tidy Gardens in Bassendean, Western Australia, Australia | Gardener

Justin's Tidy Gardens

Locality: Bassendean, Western Australia, Australia

Phone: +61 401 509 096

Address: 56 Anzac Terrace 6054 Bassendean, WA, Australia

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24.01.2022 Hello fellow garden travellers, seize the moment! Now is the time to consider planting, particularly native bushes, trees and exotics. Between mid March to late April is a great time as it gives root systems several months of cool, damp soil to establish themselves before the onslaught of hot, dry, summer weather again. Don't rush straight into digging holes and putting things in the ground. Give yourself a couple of weeks of soil preparation which includes adding rock minerals, soil improver, wetting agents, manure, mulch and various minerals such as lime and gypsum, depending on your soil type and what you are planting. For information about establishing a veggie garden, look at Sabrina Hahn's response in The West's habitat section on Thursday. Happy gardening!

24.01.2022 Doesn't the garden look nice? I will write some useful hints on keeping it alive in hot dry weather over the coming months. Stay tuned!

15.01.2022 Hello everyone. It is the beginning of winter now and hard to be outside with the damp cool weather and the plants going dormant. Remember that the month of June is when we are supposed to get the most rain, nearly a quarter for the whole year. There are also lots of weeds to take care of that seem to have sprung up overnight! But cheer up, it is a great time to plant and make some major changes in the garden. The soil,clay or sand should be moist and easy to work. Putting i...n fruit trees or natives and transplanting those that are in the wrong place is winter work. The weeds are another question. They can only grow with light, water, unused patches of soil. Starve them of one of these and you can keep them under control. I will lay out carpets and large flattened cardboard boxes, paper and wood chips all help to hinder them. Regular circuits of the garden to pull out the main offenders is a good idea and good means of exercise for 10-15minutes a day. Regular sweeping and raking of the paths stops a build up of soil and in the lawns, try a product such as weed and feed or hand pulling which will also aerate the soil. Weeds are all different. Clovers I generally leave or feed to the chooks, whereas others such as bindi, etc I try to remove when they are green. If left to dry out, they flower and spread much further when it next rains. One of the safest chemicals is glycophate, the active ingredient in round up and many other weed controls. Most can be diluted but drip a potent dose on paths and enclosed areas because it is impossible to remove otherwise. Glysophate is also non-residual, which means it is safe to garden in and plant afterwards. Cheers Justin See more

14.01.2022 A customer of mine was looking for some Geraldton Waxes to put in her garden. I went out to purchase some but found them difficult to find at several nurseries. I was advised that they only are available in Spring when in bloom. I understand they look lovely then but this is definitely not the time to plant them. The best time to plant any bush, tree, etc is when they are dormant. For many natives and certainly fruit trees and bushes, this is now, in the Autumn when things ar...e cooling down and the plants are not trying to put all their energy into leaf growth and blossoms. The Winter months allow the roots to really settle into the ground and take hold for when the weather becomes hot and dry again. I suppose in fact, any plant that is flowering is not at the right stage to plant. Maybe not for all..... Anyway, i found some nice Waxes that obviously were not flowering and they will go into the ground as soon as possible. Give your plants a chance ! Look after what you can't see at this time of year, that is, the poor old root system. See more

13.01.2022 Its been a cold start to Spring but not necessarily a bad thing. It seems that Spring and Autumn are shrinking and Summer is generally getting longer. Many garden advertisers are suggesting a great time for planting. Be careful what and where you plant. Tropical plants and summer veg perhaps. Native plants, hedge or cottage plants and general exotics not so much. These plants need time to get established before the onslaught of the summer sun. If you put a native in an expose...d part of the garden 6 months ago, it is going to have a better chance of survival than putting it in now. Not waste money on trying to fill the garden now. Be patient, and look towards a gradual development of the garden space, including the medium strip. Remember that soil preparation is everything; add clay and organics in sandy soil, plenty of wetting agents and of course, mulch. Mulching should happen all year round but in Summer, it is designed to keep the soil and hence, the base and roots of plants, moist and cool. Don't plant or water to shallow. Give the plant plenty of depth and width in good added soil. Get the sprinklers tested and working properly. You don't want to find out in a month or so that some of the garden is not getting watered. It could be too late by then ! Enjoy a colourful and fruitful time in the garden. See more

11.01.2022 Advice for garden survival on hot days: They (plants) will get damaged from the hot days. There is no escaping that. As long as the base of the plants and root systems stay cool and reasonably moist then the foliage will return. People lose plants when they are shallow rooted or allow the soil around the plant to be exposed, dry out and absorb a lot of the heat. Also, plants that have been recently planted will struggle immensely. Investing in a few metres of shade cloth can also protect some of the burning, especially for trees in pots and vegetables. Put a little water on the base of the plants each morning before a really hot day and check on them at the end of the day. All in all, trust your gardening instincts.

11.01.2022 Thank you to all the birthday and Happy New Year messages. I haven't posted for a while but part of my New Year's resolution is to provide more regular gardening tips to my followers and customers. In the heart of Summer, the garden is under fire from a range of places, particularly the hot sun. However, the warm dry easterlies can also be detrimental to the garden and protection is important from these winds as well. For the intense Sun, Yates drought shield is a good prod...uct to reduce moisture loss in leaves, putting less pressure on the roots to suck up moisture. Also drape some shade cloth where you can on fruit trees and ornamentals where possible. Any added protection from the sun is a good thing. Protection from the wind is also a good idea. You can use barriers such as cardboard or wood structure and shade cloth screens to lower the impact of the wind. The wind has the ability to suck all the moisture out of the soil surface within minutes, so try to water on relatively still days. People are not always aware that early morning, rather that evening is the best time to water; just as the sun comes up. If plants are watered in the evening, it is more likely that your plants can pick up moulds and destructive bugs. Continued mulching is desirable but don't let the mulch touch the base of plants. It is quite easy for rot to set in and kill your asset. I have recently lost a pawpaw tree this way. Remember to avoid major planting on hot summer days and pruning should be rarely be done in the heart of summer. Too much moisture can be lost unless you bandage the trimmed sections. Of course, regular checks of sprinklers and drippers is necessary though a little annoying. Once a week just wonder around the garden when the retic is on and see that they are working properly. Blockages are the most common problem. Finally, reuse as much water as possible by tipping dishwater, etc onto the garden. Don't leave buckets of water lying around though as the mozzies love to breed in them. Catch you soon. See more

10.01.2022 Call 0401 509 096 for Justin's Tidy Gardens

07.01.2022 I see lots of people using the Autumn weather to redesign their gardens and carry out lots of planting. There is a pitfall that all of us get into. We become a little overzealous to fill as many spots in the garden as we can and use every available space. Be aware that these small seedlings or saplings you put in will probably grow to double, triple and far greater than the size they are now. I recently spoke to a customer who plans to plant 8 Lillypillies in an area as big a...s a backyard swimming pool. I warned her how large they grow and there wouldn't be room to move, assuming they all didn't die from over competition. Natives particularly, need room and rob each other of moisture and nutrients if given the chance. Always look at the label on a new plant for its mature height and width or check out the mature plant in other people's gardens. Then you will know how much room it will take up and avoid a dense mess in a few years time. Also, be aware of how close you plant them to paved areas, fences and sides of houses. We forget the problems that over hanging branches and in particular, roots can do to a property. I planted a nice cute Jacaranda about 5 metres from my pergola. It is now huge and growing precariously over the roof on a fairly acute angle because its trying to escape the shade of plants nearby. A recipe for trouble! Be patient, be more generous with space for your plants and after a bit of time they will eventually fill those unwanted spaces. See more

06.01.2022 Its the end of June and the weeds are having a field day in most people's gardens. Strangely, strong healthy weeds can mean you have pretty good soil ??? If you have some old mats or carpet pieces tucked away somewhere, they can be used effectively to control weeds in out of the way places in the garden which have been overtaken by weeds. Any cover of the soil reduces the ability of a weed to germinate and grow without oxygen, water and light. Throw the carpet down and at the end of winter you can take it up and put it in the bin or store it for next year. If you are worried about presentation, put a thin layer of mulch or wood chips on top of it so it looks like part of the garden. Avoid rubber underlay or anything that can leech into the soil. Otherwise carpet your garden and stay on top of the weeds!

05.01.2022 The Justin's Tidy Gardens page is now officially up!

01.01.2022 Dear gardeners, this weekend i saw a lawnmower man throwing away beautiful, green lawn clippings and thought, what a waste! Lawn clippings are full of nitrogen and will be the basis of a fantastic compost. Ask the mower man to put the clippings in a shady and possibly moist place in the garden. You could even put plastic or something over to avoid moisture loss. It will break down fast and create free compost for use later in the year.