Episode: #4 23/09/2006
Presenter: Melissa King

Gardening can be a never ending cycle of activity, yet, there are so many ways to make gardening easier and more time effective. It often starts with choosing the right plants.

A great little groundcover that you don?t see too often is the Evergreen Parthenocissus. It is related to Boston ivy but it is an evergreen so it provides cover all year round. What make this plant so special is that it runs across the ground, but it doesn?t root too much. This means you can easily grow other plants like bulbs and perennials through it without too much competition, so you get a lovely layering effect with your planting.

When you have pets around, or even kids for that matter, one of the biggest challenges is finding robust plants that can cope with a playful battering. Look for strappy leaved plants like giant mondo grass. It is good under shade, particularly if you plant it on mass. Dogs and children can run, jump and flatten but it will bounce back.

A great alternative to the common box hedging is the Japanese Privet or ligustrum rotundifolium. The beautiful rounded form is actually its natural shape. They get pruned just once or twice a year and it maintains a wonderful form. It still has a nice elegant look but it is much softer on the eye.

It doesn?t matter how clean your house is, dust always seems to settle on your house or porch plants. Plants breathe through the tiny openings in their leaves and if they become clogged then plants start to suffer. So rather than wipe them down now it is the perfect time to take plants outside and give then a good clean in the spring rain. You can also remove any dead or damaged foliage and give them a feed and a good general clean up.

Deciduous trees need strong under planting to carry our gardens through the winter and into spring. There is always a tendency to cut off dead or bronzed seed heads on plants that finished flowering, but leaving the seed heads on the plants all through the winter create a fantastic effect, like on a Liriope (L. muscari).

Water saving rule:
A trigger nozzle is the must-have garden accessory this season. Every hand-held hose must be fitted with a trigger nozzle to reduce water wastage. Make sure your hose is in reasonable condition too so you don?t get leaks or tap blow offs and don?t forget to turn the water off at the tap when you?ve finished.