# When the soil dries out, continue to prune roses. Spray with a mix of spraying oil and Copper. This seals the cuts and smoothes scale and fungi.

# Plant new roses, trees and berries.

# Think about where you could plant some vegetables as we are approaching spring. Even if it’s only a couple of lettuce and silver beet plants. It always tastes better when you have grown it yourself.

# Fertilise roses, citrus and fruit trees. Take care to keep fertilizer away from the trunk, and water in well.

# Green tip or early bud movement, begins in stone fruits, soon. Spray with copper to protect from leaf curl and bladder plum.

# Wood ash can be sprinkle sparingly on gardens and raked in, but NOT near camellias, rhodos. and other acid loving plants. Read more about Gardening Jobs in August 2018 by Judith Halford

# Rake up leaves so they don’t kill your lawn grasses. Piling these on bare soil in the garden beds. Stops weeds growing and encourages worm activity and when rotted, they help boast your soils organic matter. Can also fill plastic rubbish bags, moisten, tie the top and leave behind the garden shed until spring. Turn bag every now and then.# Move cymbidiums orchids into more sun, but out of frosts and watch flowers unfold.

# New season roses are in garden centres in early June. Be in quick for those old favourites. Don’t prune roses until July.

# Plant and transplant lily bulbs. They do well in containers as they require good drainage. Plant Christmas Lilies now.

# Sow a green manure crop of lupins or mustard in  vegetable ground, that is spare over winter. Read more about Gardening Jobs for June 2017 by Judith Halford

#  Harvesting, tidying and thinking winter are the main things.

#  You can still plant carrots, parsnip, turnips and broad bean seeds. Plant brassicas again now as the white butterfly are not such a problem as the temperatures cool down. But caterpillars will still be hatching and eating, so spray with pyrethrum or target. Pyrethrum is a good natural spray for caterpillars but must be applied in the evening as it breaks down with the UV rays.

#  Plant leeks, lettuce[during the cold they grow OK but are a little coarse as they are growing slower but still good to plant and pick a leak or 2 as required. Mizuna and Coriander are good to grow during the winter and   can spice up a winter salad. Kale, Bok Choy and Spinach   are good quick growing greens for the cooler times. Read more about Gardening Jobs for March by Judith Halford

•    Prune fuchsia and hydrangea; apply aluminium sulphate to the ground around blue hydrangea varieties to keep them blue.
•    Plant lobelia and petunia, in pots and baskets, for quick summer colour. Remember to use a good potting mix.
•    Watch for slugs and snails eating new growth on delphiniums, hosta, dahlias and gypsophila. Also newly planted seedlings, both flower and vegetable, they love them all.
•    Rake out dead moss from lawns where you have killed the moss with Iron Sulphate in solution, then fertilise with lawn fertiliser, to encourage grass growth.
•    Plant early varieties of seed potatoes and continue to mound up as the foliage emerges.
•    Sow seed of cucumber, zucchini, melons and pumpkin in small peat pots and then plant out after fear of frost are over, and also then have minimum root disturbance.
Read more about Gardening Jobs for October 2016 by Judith Halford

• Enjoy the winter fragrance of daphne and winter sweet. Plants available now.
• Plant new strawberry plants now, in hanging baskets, troughs or even in the flower garden.
• Plant garlic cloves. Put them in the ground [about 5cm under the surface] with the pointed tips poking upwards. Important to keep water up to them in spring.
• Sharpen, clean, oil, repair and replace worn out or broken tools. Clean out your garden shed before spring.
• Complete pruning of trees, bushes and vines as soon as possible.
• Plant new fruit trees…plums, peaches, apples and pears etc.
• Plant new roses and begin pruning towards the end of the month.
• You can still plant a flowering polyanthus or two in any drap pots or corners and they will continue too flower until it is really hot again.

# Sow Broad Beans and they will grow, then sit all winter and set beans when it begins too warm up in spring. Remember to put at the back as they can get quite tall by early summer.

# Sow Sweet Pea seeds in a warm, well drained position, with compost and a little lime and they will flower in spring.

# Leaves on deciduous trees begin to colour and drop off. Keep in a pile beside the compost bin to be the brown or carbon layer when making compost.

# Time to plant bulbs to give you spring flowers such as daffodils, freesias, tulips, hyacinths, anemone and ranunculus.

# Store pumpkins in a cool dry place and don’t forget to check them every now and then for signs of decay. Painting with a dilute solution of Janola and water will help kill bugs that can cause them to decay. Read more about Gardening Jobs for April by Judith Halford

Lots of Zucchini ??????? The zucchini can be used in chocolate cakes, pies and salads .

Prune stone fruits e.g plums, peaches after harvest, on a clear warm day to prevent silver blight getting into pruning cuts.

March is time to think about winter vegetables…broad bean seeds, brassica plants, spinach etc. Sow cover crop of lupin or mustard in areas not needed.

If caterpillars, green vegetable bug or passion vine hoppers are attacking your vegetables spray with Beat A Bug , a natural insecticide made up of garlic, chillis and pyrethrum.

There is now a product, of a very fine mesh, available  to keep white butterflies out. It is 2 metres wide and can be put over several hoops and seems to do a good job.

Spring bulbs are beginning to come into garden centres now. Place in fridge for several weeks prior to planting, to encourage early flowering, as they think they have experienced winter. A few daffodils or tulips in a pot are always a delight in spring. Always plant into a good quality potting mix.

Trim hedges now to allow some growth before it gets too cold. E.g lavenders

Continue to dehead  roses and dahlias and you will get more flowers. Read more about Gardening Jobs for March 2016 by Judith Halford

# We are now busy watering, feeding and harvesting. But we also need to be thinking about winter. As the summer crops finish it is time to plant leeks, brussel sprouts, broccoli and the like. Sow seeds of carrot, parsnip, turnip and swede.

# Protect brassicas from white butterfly by covering crop with the new insect mesh, rather than using derris dust.

# Dead head roses, dahlias and perennials reqularly to encourage flowers all summer.

# Harvest garlic and onions when the leaves start to go brown and die off. Fork out and lay in sun for a few days before storing in dry place.

# Dead head agapanthus now to stop them spreading. Read more about Gardening Jobs for February by Judith Halford

# Tie or support with stakes, new growth on roses. Also the nice new basal shoots on climbing roses. Same applies to dahlias and delphiniums.

# Plant tomatoes, peppers, chillies, kumara, cucumbers and pumpkin family outdoors now, but watch out for frosts and cold winds.

# Take out laterals on tomato plants. Do this with care, so do not remove trusses of flowers. Feed regularly and sprinkle ground beneath with Neem Granules, as an insecticide. Cover with insect mesh to keep psyllid off. This has been proven to work, also on potatoes.

# Sow bean seeds now its warmer and also sweet corn seed. Sweet corn gives better results if planted in blocks.

# Cover berry fruits to protect from birds. Keep well watered and side dress with a little potash to enlarge fruit. Read more about Gardening Jobs for November 2015 by Judith Halford

# October is a busy month in the garden, particularly in the vegetable garden. But be warned, some things prefer it quite warm so don’t be in too big a hurry. Wait until the end of the month to sow sweet corn and bean seeds, and the planting out of cucumber, kumara and tomato plants. It is now when you wish you had a greenhouse.

# Start to fertilise, as the soils warm up, plants put on growth, especially roses, fruit trees and citrus. Citrus can be quite yellow due too the cold winter so specific citrus food and some compost is beneficial, likewise with black passion fruit.

# Watch for slug and snail damage on emerging delphiniums, hostas, gypsophila and dahlias.

# Sow pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini etc. seeds in peat or paper pots and place in a warm spot, too plant out later without disturbing their roots. Read more about Gardening Jobs for October 2015 by Judith Halford

# Early spring can be frustrating for us gardeners. We are keen to get planting but we have to remember how changeable the temperatures can be. Later in the month you can begin to sow seeds of tender plants such as cucumbers, pumpkins, cucumbers and tomato seeds in containers in a greenhouse or somewhere warm and protected from frosts. These can then be planted out mid October, depending on the weather. But don't forget to harden them off before planting out into the elements. Be weary of frosts to avoid disappointment!!!!

# Top up veggie bins with compost and sheep pellets. Dig in cover crops that have been cut down and also add sheep pellets and compost. It will then be ready for planting into in October. Read more about Gardening Jobs for September 2015 by Judith Halford

# Continue to prune your roses. Renew the ties on climbers and standards, using soft stretchy cotton strips of fabric. Follow with spray of spraying oil.

# Later in the month fertilise roses with a specific rose food and apply a layer of mulch/ pea hay/ compost.

# Add groups of colour by planting potted colour flowering polyanthus...it won't be long before summer flowering annuals are available. Keep off very wet gardens.

# Keep planting fruit trees, berries, roses, and ornamental trees. Divide runners from strawberry plants and use as new plants or to replace old ones.

# Clean out greenhouses/glasshouses in preparation of new season tomato and cucumber plants. Replace soil if needed as you don't want too plant tomatoes in the same soil as last year. Replace with good quality vegetable mix. Read more about Gardening Jobs for August 2015 by Judith Halford

# July is the month to plan what you ,would like to achieve this coming spring .New veggie beds, a specimen tree to provide shade, spruce up the patio, add to the orchard, add to the rose bed. The maintenance jobs are the same as you would have read last year...but they are all well worth doing.

# Purchase new roses now. Dig a good size hole, make a mound in bottom, spreading roots over it[ cut back any damaged roots]. Add good compost too hole and firm down. Water well. Make sure the budded union is at ground level and not buried. Stake standards at planting and tie well. Read more about Gardening jobs for July by Judith Halford

# It is hard to believe we are close to the shortest day, but winter will come. It has meant we have had extra time in the garden to do those pre winter jobs, such as cutting down your dahlias, lifting and storing gladioli, remove dead leaves of daylilies, trimming hedges and shrubs. It is much nicer working in the garden without that cold wind and wet muddy ground. Read more about Gardening Jobs for June by Judith Halford

# What a lovely Autumn we have had. Now focusing on what has to be done in the garden before winter hits.

#  Move those frost tender plants that are in containers to a warmer place or organise the frost cloth cover, for example, your kaffir lime or lemon grass.

# Cut back dahlias,  paeonia,  lift gladioli and hang in a dry place.

# Dig kumara and leave on top of soil to dry for a few days. Harvest pumpkins, dunk in a solution of diluted janola, before storing.

# Remove old tomato plants but don't put in the compost as disease can be carried over. Read more about Gardening Jobs for May by Judith Halford