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Home > Flower and garden articles > A garden lover`s Summer in southern Victoria
A garden lover`s Summer in southern Victoria
 The kind of Summer we`re experiencing in southern Victoria is a garden lover`s dream! There have been lots of rainy days intermingled with warm sunny ones and the result is vibrant, fast growing gardens filled with flowers that last longer than usual thanks to the relatively cool temperatures.
Although the rain tends to keep us indoors a little more than is usual for this time of year, it also makes us greatly appreciate the days that are clear and sunny. And, even when the sun does peep from behind the clouds, it has not been overly warm so we haven`t been pre-occupied with watering the plants, covering ourselves in sunscreen and keeping cool. In short, it`s the kind of Summer I love!
Even though the weather has been mild to date I still remember the scorching hot, dry spells of the last couple of Summers and fear that we might still be in for some of that this year. That`s why I have conscientiously continued the good practice of Summer-proofing my garden.
The preparation for me starts in the dead of Winter while all the bulbs and perennials are sleeping. This year I diligently installed a weeping-hose watering system through more parts of the garden (I`d already started this task the year prior). I position the hoses under the mulch so that I don`t lose precious water due to evaporation or our frequent strong winds which easily blow fine sprinkler mist way off course.
After having laid out the hosing I then re-covered the garden beds in thick layers of old newspaper and bundles of old straw. (I find that this is a job which needs re-doing at least every second Winter). Even though laying out the mulch can make for a hard day`s work, I love it! It stops water loss and keeps weeding to a minimum (and that`s got to be good when you live a busy life).
The other change I`ve made to better cope with Summer is more a mental change rather than a physical one in the garden. I`ve made the decision to not grow too many water-dependent plants and those that I do grow I try and plant in the one area. This way I only have to “baby sit“ that one small part of the garden. Naturally, I occasionally weaken and sneak in a few water-hungry plants every now and then (usually because I simply can`t resist their pretty flowers) but I make a promise to myself that I won`t get too upset when the plants look tired and wilted in the heat of the day.
Que sera.
So far the mulching and the cool weather have resulted in a beautiful Summer garden for me this year. I`ve already had the family over for an early Christmas and we enjoyed it outside in the garden. Everyone oohed and aahed over my gorgeous garden and so all the work over the year was well worthwhile. I just love sharing my garden with appreciative folk!
However you spend Christmas (hopefully outside in your beautiful gardens) I hope that it`s a happy and peaceful occasion.
From all of us at Tesselaar - HAPPY CHRISTMAS and all the best for 2001.
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