SPRING is just around the corner, and Sasha Andersen at Dipper’s Home Timber and Hardware’s extensive garden centre has just what all green thumbs – and emerging green thumbs – are looking for at this time of year.
As the weather warms up, and springtime rapidly approaches, now is the perfect time to be in the garden.
Sasha started working at Dipper’s about six months ago, with the extensive gardening centre her chief responsibility – and she’s loving every blooming minute of it.
“I can’t pinpoint a favourite role in the garden centre, but my favourite days of the week are when our plant deliveries arrive,” Sasha said.
“There’s also lots of watering, ordering and nurturing plants that need a little bit more care than others.
“And, of course, there are lots of conversations and chats with customers,” she smiled.
Spring is the perfect time of the year to cultivate and nurture new plants and foliage, especially flowers and flowering shrubs.
Sasha says plants that are hardy, drought-tolerant and don’t mind full sun, are ideal as Moree’s warmer weather encourages the thermometer to step it up a few notches.
“There are plenty of different plants to choose from as we head to spring and summer,” Sasha said.
“Marigolds are bright and colourful, as well as pest-deterring and long bloomers, and sunflowers have a big impact and are easy to grow.
“Cosmos, in shades of pink, purple, red and white, are low-maintenance, and grow in pretty pastel colours.
“Portulaca loves heat and poor soil, and petunias are great for pots and garden beds,” she said.
Cosmos are feathery-leaved annuals and can reach more than one-metre in height, but are more often seen ‘massed’ at around 750mm.
They bear an abundance of seaside daisy-like blooms in spring, with spot flowering at other times of the year.
Spring is also the ideal time to start getting the vegie garden ready for summer.
“There are plenty of different vegetables and herbs to plant in late winter and early spring, including tomatoes, capsicum and chillis, zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin, basil, parsley, oregano, mint and sweet corn,” Sasha said.
“As it warms up, make sure to mulch well and water early mornings or late evenings.
“By the time November gets here, when it’s really starting to warm up in Moree, I recommend mulching very deeply, and to try some companion planting,” Sasha said.
“Basil goes well with tomatoes, and it’s good to have marigolds nearby as they help with pests and pollination.”
Sasha says general day-to-day care, and regular watering and fertilising, is key to creating a backyard paradise.
“Sugarcane mulch protects roots, and increases moisture retention, and it’s ideal to use a good soil or potting mix,” she said.
“Using a good, quality organic fertiliser always helps, too, and my personal preference at home is Charlie Carp.”
The premium organic fertiliser is produced at Deniliquin in southern New South Wales.
Charlie Carp, made entirely from European carp, is an effective solution to a serious, environmental problem and rids Australian waterways of more than 300 tonnes of the invasive species each year.
“It’s a very good product, and is solving one problem while helping another,” Sasha said.
Sasha spends as much time as she can in her garden at home.
When she’s not, she’s helping customers at Dipper’s Home Timber and Hardware decide which plants to grow – favourites aside – and when and where to grow them.
“I can never name a favourite of my own, but at the moment I’m loving my lavender, cumquat and finger limes,” she smiled.
DIPPER’S Home Timber and Hardware Moree
Address: 398 Warialda Street, Moree
Trading: Monday to Friday 7am until 5pm; Saturday 8am until midday; and Sunday 9am until midday
Phone: 6752 2233
Email: dippers@dippers.net.au
Website: Dipper’s Home Timber and Hardware in Moree
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DippersHomeTimberHardware
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dippers_hth/?hl=en
