GARDEN CARE

Every garden needs to be maintained, these are the key items that are done around Bent Street to keep the garden looking it's best.

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Weeding 

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An ongoing task in any garden. We keep an eye out and remove any weeds by hand as they come up. As the plants grow they eventually crowd out any weeds and this will become less of a problem. Mulching will also help suppress the weeds and reduce the weed pressure.

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Watering

The plants selected are drought tolerant, though like all plants will perform best with some additional irrigation.

When the garden was getting established we did water them twice a week in the month after planting (or whenever soil was dry), and then we water deeply once a week for the first summer, or more often in very hot or dry conditions.

There is ongoing weekly watering during hot weather or prolonged dry spells to help ensure continued flowering and a better display. We have a water meter connected to the irrigation system so it doesn't activate when it's raining.

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In winter no watering is required as the plants are dormant, we adjust irrigation timer as necessary.

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Winter cutback

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Many plants  are herbaceous perennials. Herbaceous perennials go dormant over winter, and need to be cut down to about 10cm above ground level

each winter to make room for new growth in spring.

Tim Pilgrim recommends leaving this cut back until late winter, to ensure the longest possible time to enjoy the dormant forms of the plants which while appearing dead have fantastic structure.

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The plants that require this treatment are:​​