Yates Growing With You Australia - Summer Edition 2021

SUMMER 2021

IT'S TIME TO

celebrate YOUR GARDEN

Christmas Gifts ideas for gardeners

HOW TO GROW A BUMPER TOMATO HARVEST

Heavenly hanging baskets

Grow

A PARTY-WORTHY LAWN

BATHROOM BEAUTIES PLANTS FOR YOUR BATHROOM

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NEW

Couch Turf Great things start with Yates™

Now it’s easier than ever to get that dream lawn in next to no time. NEW Yates Couch Turf the perfect all-rounder for Aussie backyards. This hardy and weather tolerant turf is low maintenance, giving you more time to play... or just sit back and admire the view.

Currently rolling out in Queensland

More information will be available on our website Yates is a registered trade mark and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

Letter

from the editor

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of hot weather, so summer is a challenging season for me. However, it's very rewarding in our vegie patch and orchard, so I should forgive summer for being blisteringly hot!

Our mulberries delivered again in spring and we now have a freezer full of juicy deep purple berries, enough to keep us berry-well fed all year! The peaches and nectarines are coming along nicely and for the first time we have almonds and macadamias developing. I was so excited to see the long clusters of gorgeous pink flowers on our 'Pinkalicious' macadamia!

The cucumbers, zucchinis and pumpkins are growing rapidly and it's wonderful to see all the excited bees enjoying the flowers (and unknowlingly giving us a great harvest). I must remember to check the zucchinis every day this summer, as last year I turned my back and got way too many behemoths!

For the past few years I've been growing red corn, which is a very productive corn with striking burgundy-red cobs. There is too much to eat fresh (though I must say that I prefer eating yellow sweet corn), so I dry the cobs and then grind the kernels to feed to our chickens. It's a very handy source of additional protein-rich feed and my arms get a good workout from using the hand-driven mill! We have a big bed of red corn growing this summer, which our chickens are looking foward to.

Gardening is definitely a pursuit that always keeps me wanting to try something new.

This summer I'm growing peanuts for the first time. I purchased raw peanuts from a health food store and have dedicated a full garden bed to them. They take around 5 months to mature, so here's hoping that my foray into peanut growing is a success come late summer, or at least I'll have learnt something from trying.

We're growing several different types of tomatoes this year, but one of my favourites is Tommy Toe. It has masses of tasty, apricot sized fruit and what we don't use fresh, I freeze whole in plastic bags.

No slicing or blanching, just straight into the freezer. They are then perfect for using during winter and spring in bolognese and other cooked tomato-based dishes. I just throw them in, straight from the freezer.

It couldn't be easier!

I hope you have a wonderful summer in your gardens and you and your families have a safe and very happy Christmas.

Angie Thomas

Horticultural Communications Manager

Bring ‘The Great Outdoors’ indoors Keep your plants happier and healthier with a range of Yates® plant care products.

Indoor plant care is now much simpler with a specially designed range of potting mixes and fertilisers. From the smallest balcony to your indoor jungle, Yates® has a solution. This means every plant from leafy greens to stunning orchids will always get the care and nourishment they need.

Great things start with Yates™

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What's inside

06

SUMMER GARDENING ESSENTIALS

Learn about key summer gardening jobs to keep your garden looking fantastic.

08

CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

18

IT'S PAVLOVA SEASON!

Grow some of your very own delicious fruity pavlova toppings.

20

GROW A PARTY-WORTHY LAWN

29

CREATE A HEAVENLY HANGING BASKET

Grow a ball of colour! Ideas for creating some eye-catching hanging baskets.

30

MOSQUITO MISERY?

Special gift ideas for the gardener (or gardener to be) in your life.

Summer outdoor gatherings need a lovely lush green lawn.

Learn how to make yours party-worthy.

Tips on how to stop mosquitoes around your outdoor entertaining spaces.

10

22

32

WATER SAVING TIPS

How to save water and keep your summer garden looking great.

12

SUMMER FLOWER SEED SOWING GUIDE

WEED WARRIORS

Getting tough woody weeds and tree stumps under control.

24

SUMMER VEGIE & HERB SEED SOWING GUIDE

WASP ALERT

Summer is peak wasp season.

Learn about common wasps and how to control them.

34

INTERVIEW WITH A PASSIONATE COMMUNITY GARDENER

Your handy guide to what gorgeous flowers to sow and grow in summer.

Fresh home-grown vegies & herbs - what to sow and grow during summer.

We talk to Phil Pettitt, Manager of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney Community Greening program.

14

26

36

HOME GROWN CUT FLOWERS

BUMPER SUMMER TOMATOES & VEGIES

Grow your own! Fill your house with vases of homegrown flowers.

How to maximise your summer harvest PLUS speedy summer salad inspiration.

16

28

BATHROOM BEAUTIES

Add some leafy luxury to your bathroom with indoor plants.

TOP SUMMER ROSE CARE TIPS

Simple summer steps to keep your roses healthy and fabulous.

GARDENING IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES

Practical summer gardening tips for around Australia.

SUMMER GARDENING

Essentials Blistering temperatures, parched soil, intense humidity or monsoonal rains are some of the challenges facing gardeners throughout Australia during summer. However, by taking a few simple steps, summer can also be a celebration of lush green lawns, productive home harvests and vibrant flowers. Here are some of our top tips for summer gardening.

A mitey problem Mites, often called red spider or two-spotted mites, thrive in summer's hot dry weather.

Mites are very tiny pests (about 0.2 - 0.5 mm long) that are difficult to spot with the naked eye. However if you were to look at them under a microscope, two-spotted mites are yellowish-green with a large dark spot on each side of their abdomen, and change colour to reddish-orange with the onset of cooler conditions.

Mites damage plants with their piercing and sucking mouthparts and attack a wide variety of plants, including tomatoes, roses, strawberries, beans, azaleas and indoor plants.

The first symptoms of a mite infestation include yellow or mottled leaves. Mites breed very rapidly and as colonies increase, they also form masses of spidery webbing. Left untreated, mites can quickly decimate plants and in severe cases, plants can die.

Yates® Nature's Way® Vegie & Herb Spray is an insecticidal soap, made from natural vegetable oils, that is very effective against mites. It works by contact action so good coverage of the mites is important, including underneath the foliage where mites often hide. Spray plants every 5-7 days to keep mites under control.

Yates Nature's Way Vegie & Herb Spray will also control other common summer pests like aphids, mealybug and whitefly and is approved for use in organic gardening.

Mites fun facts!

Mites aren't insects! They are arachnids, related to scorpions, spiders and ticks.

There are around 3000 species of mites in Australia.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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Summer soil health Soil is the engine room of the garden, so nurturing the soil during the hot and harsh months of summer is important. Adding rich sources of organic matter to the soil, like Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser, helps increase soil moisture and nutrient holding capacity, promoting better soil health. Apply Yates Dynamic Lifter over garden beds and then top with a layer of organic mulch, like bark chips or straw, to help keep the soil surface moist and protected.

Ant patrol When ants take up residence in the lawn, their mounds make the lawn look untidy and leave areas of the lawn unusable. Ants can also create nests in garden beds, affecting plant health and biting you when you're working close by. Yates Home Pest® Ant & Cockroach Destroyer Granule Bait can be sprinkled near ant mounds in lawns and around ornamental (non-edible) gardens where ants are active.

The professional bait technology kills the ants you can see and also helps to eradicate the ant nest.

Citrus TLC Citrus trees are busy year round and in summer they're developing their fruit in preparation for delicious cool season harvests. It's important that we provide citrus trees with enough nutrients to support summer fruit growth, as well as keeping the foliage healthy and green. Feeding citrus in summer is as easy as spreading a few handfuls of Yates Thrive® Natural Citrus & Fruit Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food around the root zone of in-ground or potted citrus trees and watering in well.

Grasshopper control Grasshoppers can be common during the warmest months, damaging both lawns and garden plants by chewing into leaves and stems.

You may be familiar with the snapping and buzzing sound they produce as they jump. Grasshoppers in lawns can be controlled with Baythroid® Advanced Insect Killer for Lawns and on ornamental (non-edible) plants, use Baythroid Advanced Insect Killer for Gardens. Start spraying as soon as you notice any grasshoppers or their damage.

CHRISTMAS gift ideas!

Looking for a special gift for the gardener in your life?

Or would you like to encourage a green-thumb-to-be on their new gardening journey? Here are our top gift ideas to make choosing Christmas presents this year easy.

Indoor plant + care pack » Indoor plants continue to be a hot item, and for good reasons! Plants can combine wonderfully with interior decor and design, improve our mood and reduce stress, and the combination of the plants and the microbes found in potting mix can help purify the air. » Create a perfect leafy-themed Christmas gift with a new indoor plant, a decorative pot, some Yates® Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns and easy to use Yates Thrive® Plant Food Spikes Plants & Ferns to keep the new plant well fed and lush. » For orchid lovers, combine a beautiful flowering moth orchid, a pretty pot, a bag of Yates Specialty Potting Mix Orchids and Yates Thrive Plant Food Spikes Orchid to promote healthy growth and lots of gorgeous flowers.

For citrus lovers » Citrus continue to be one of the most popular fruit trees for people to grow at home. In addition to their colourful and delicious fruit, they also have glossy green leaves and fragrant white flowers in spring. » A perfect Christmas gift for a citrus lover is a citrus tree (look for dwarf varieties), a Yates Tuscan® pot, a bag of Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter® and a bottle of specialised citrus food like Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Liqiud Plant Food. All tied up with a big bow of course!

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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Good gardening reading » A fully revised and updated edition of the Yates Garden Guide is out now. With over 7 million copies sold since it was first published in 1895, it contains a wealth of gardening information. With chapters on planning gardens, choosing feature plants and growing trees and shrubs, creating productive vegie gardens, solving the most common garden problems, guides on what to sow and grow throughout the year, organic gardening, growing lush green lawns and general garden maintenance, it's a comprehensive guide for beginner and experienced gardeners alike. Available at book and department stores and through online booksellers. RRP $45. » The good gardening reads continue with the 'Yates Top 50' series of books. Yates Top 50 Indoor Plants and how NOT to kill them details how to care for 50 of the most popular indoor plants. And Yates Top 50 Edible Plants for Pots and how NOT to kill them contains easy to follow information on how to successfully grow 50 delicious edible vegies, herbs and fruit in pots. RRP $35.

Seed starter pack » A practical gift for a gardener is a seed starter pack. » A collection of flower seeds can create months of floral colour for the lucky recipient. You could choose seeds based on that person's favourite colour, for example Yates Salvia Blue Bedder, Yates Accent on Blue, Yates Cornflower and Yates Forgetme-not for blue lovers. Or perhaps a pretty in pink collection, including Yates Accent on Pink, Yates Cosmos Sensation and Yates Dianthus Double Pinks. » And for people that are keen to grow some of their own fresh vegies and herbs, a collection of tasty vegie and herb seeds, including Yates Sweet Basil, Yates Lebanese Cucumber, Yates Sweet Corn Sun'n'Snow, Yates Zucchini Blackjack and Yates Tomato Tiny Tim. » Include a bag of Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds and a seedling tray to complete this special home-growing kit.

Extra Christmas garden ideas

In the lead up to Christmas, garden centres will be filled with colourful potted plants that make beautiful gifts.

Vibrant red poinsettias are super Christmassy or there are also pretty pastel pink and white poinsettia varieties. Or what about a beautiful hanging basket filled with a cascading calibrachoa, a potted Australian native NSW Christmas bush or a hydrangea in full stunning bloom.

Christmas sorted!

How to save water in your garden!

Sweltering temperatures and dry soil during summer can be taxing for our gardens. But by using a few simple water saving techniques, summer can continue to be filled with flowers, we can enjoy relaxing and entertaining on a lovely lush green lawn and have a wonderfully productive season in the vegie patch.

When plants have access to enough moisture over summer, they can continue to thrive. However, over time, and particularly during hot and dry conditions, soil and potting mix can become water repellent. This can result in moisture pooling on the surface and not moving down into soil or potting mix evenly and effectively. With potted plants, water can also run down the gap between the potting mix and the pot wall, filling the saucer but leaving the root ball dry.

Water repellent soil

To make the most of any irrigation and rainfall, using a soil wetter helps break down the waxy, water repellent layer and enables moisture to penetrate down into the root zone where it’s needed. The Yates® range of Waterwise® Soil Wetters can be used on garden beds, lawns and potted plants to help fix water repellency and promote improved moisture levels in soil and potting mix.

Yates Waterwise Concentrated Soil Wetter is a liquid formulation for mixing in a watering can and applying over soil and potting mix. It also contains added seaweed and trace elements to promote healthy plant growth.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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» The soil underneath the lawn can also become water repellent, causing lawns to suffer from inadequate access to moisture.

This water repellency is quick and easy to fix by using Yates Waterwise Hose-on Soil Wetter. The hose-on pack will treat 130m2 of lawn. It's also best to water the lawn thoroughly once or twice a week, rather than applying small amounts of water each day, which helps get moisture deeper down into the soil. » Yates Waterwise Soil Wetter Lawns, Gardens & Pots is a coconut fibre (coir peat) based soil wetter and is applied by hand around the garden and potted plants. Coir peat also adds valuable organic matter to the soil and helps hold water at the root zone. » Plants also lose moisture from their leaves.

To help plants cope with stressful summer conditions, foliage of sensitive and wiltprone plants like hydrangeas can be sprayed with Yates Waterwise DroughtShield™. It’s an anti-transpirant that forms a protective, biodegradable polymer film over the leaves, reducing moisture loss from the foliage as well as helping to reduce sunburn. Apply Yates Waterwise DroughtShield prior to predicted hot weather, before going away on holidays and also over plants prior to transplanting to help reduce transplant shock. » To minimise moisture loss from the soil, apply mulches around trees and shrubs and over garden beds. Mulches such as bark chips and straw reduce water evaporating from the soil surface and also help to protect the soil from baking heat and heavy downpours.

The additional benefits of mulch are that they improve the look of the garden and as organic mulches break down, add valuable organic matter to the soil. » And during the hottest months, we also need to make the most of every drop of water. Greywater from the laundry or shower can be collected and used to water the lawn and garden. Add Yates Greywater Fertiliser to your greywater to help neutralise the alkaline effect of soaps and detergents on soil pH, help kill unwanted microbes in the greywater and reduce the potential negative effects of greywater on soil quality.

Yates Greywater Fertiliser also contains the nutrients nitrogen, potassium and chelated iron to promote healthy plant growth.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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Flowers to sow in

r e m m u S

It's time to sow a fabulous range of flower seeds, to bring glorious floral colour into your garden and outdoor spaces over the coming months. And the bees and butterflies will love you for it!

Seeds by AUSTRALIA WIDE

TROPICAL / SUBTROPICAL CLIMATES'

TEMPERATE CLIMATES

COOL CLIMATES

Accent on Blue

Borage

Alyssum - Carpet of Snow, Cameo Mixture

Californian Poppy

Accent on Pink

Calendula Pacific Beauty

Aquilegia

Cosmos Bright Lights, Sensation

Accent on White

Chrysanthemum Snowlands

Borage

Dahlia Cinderella

Ageratum Blue Mink

Everlasting Daisy

Calendula Pacific Beauty

Delphinium Pacific Giants

Aster Colour Carpet

Marigold Cupid

Californian Poppy

English Daisy

Bee Pasture

Statice

Chrysanthemum Snowlands

Forget-me-not

Butterfly Field

Sunflower - Yellow Empress, Bronze Shades, Dwarf Sensation

Cosmos - Bright Lights, Sensation

Foxglove

Catmint

Paper Daisy - Pink

Dahlia Cinderella

Gerbera Colour Mix

Cineraria Starships

Delphinium Pacific Giants

Gypsophila Baby's Breath

Coleus Pots of Beauty

Dianthus

Hollyhock Double Elegance

Colonial Garden Collection

Echinacea

Petunia Colour Parade

Cottage Garden Mix

English Daisy

Phlox Drummondii

Festival of Flowers

Forget -me-not

Poppy Red Flanders

Impatiens Buzy Lizzie

Foxglove

Portulaca Sundancer

Lobelia Cascade Mixture

Gerbera Colour Mix

Virginian Stock

Marigold - Petite Yellow, Safari Mixture

Gypsophila Baby's Breath

Swan River Daisy

Nasturtium - Jewel Mixed, Cherry Rose

Hollyhock Double Elegance

Nigella Persian Jewels

Petunia Colour Parade

Pansy Giant Supreme

Portulaca Sundancer

Poppy - Iceland Artist's Glory

Snapdragon

Primula Fairy Primrose

Sunflower - Yellow Empress, Bronze Shades, Dwarf Sensation

Rockery Mixture

Virginian Stock

Salvia - Blue Bedder, Dwarf Scarlett

Swan River Daisy

Stock Giant Perfection Wildflwers of the World Zinnia - Sunrise Mix

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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Home grown cut flowers Imagine having vases full of fabulous flowers in your home throughout the year. They help brighten a room and put a smile on your face, but can also put a dent in your wallet, unless you grow them yourself! It's time to be a DIY florist!

Here's part one of some of our favourite home grown spring and summer blooming flowers.

Spring flowering » Freesias, jonquils, daffodils, anemones, Dutch iris these late winter and early spring flowering bulbs, planted during autumn, can naturalise in the right sunny, well-drained garden location and provide bunches of spring blooms. And with freesias and jonquils, they are also beautifully fragrant. For daffodils and jonquils, it's best to put them in a vase on their own, as their sap can affect other flowers. Hyacinths and tulips are additional vase-worthy bulbs, however, they are best lifted and chilled each year or started from fresh bulbs. » Sweet peas - one of the most joyful experiences is picking a posy of your very own sweet peas. The flowers are so pretty and most varieties are heavenly scented.

Sow sweet pea seed during autumn in a sunny protected spot with well-drained soil. For tall varieties, like superbly fragrant Yates® Sweet Pea Original, sow next to a trellis or support. Smaller varieties like Yates Sweet Pea Bijou Semi Dwarf are perfect for pots. Although sweet peas don't have a long vase life, you'll have lots of new flowers coming on to take their place. » Lavender - different varieties flower at various times of the year, however late spring flowering English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is one of the most fragrant.

Cut long stems of English lavender and remove the lower leaves before placing in the vase. » Roses - we couldn't talk about cut flowers without mentioning roses! Whether you grow for colour or fragrance (or both), look for varieties with long stems such as pretty pink 'Cinderella', rich red 'Mister Lincoln' or snowy white 'Ice Girl'. Don't forget to feed your roses every eight weeks from spring to mid-autumn with Yates Thrive® Natural Roses & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food to promote healthy leaf growth and lots of fabulous flowers.

G R O W I N G W I T H Y O U - YA T E S

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Summer flowering » Gypsophila - best grown as an annual from Yates Gypsophila Baby's Breath seed, it produces sprays of delicate white flowers on fine stems. Perfect as a long lasting filler in floral arrangements, it does best in a full sun position. Sow new seed each month to ensure you have an ongoing supply of these dainty flowers. » Gerberas - vividly coloured daisy-like gerberas are one of the most popular cut flowers. Preferring temperate to warm climates, gerberas need a protected, sunny position in very well-drained soil or can also be grown in pots. It's important to keep the crown of the gerbera plant dry and monitor for powdery mildew. At the first sign of mildew, spray plants with Yates Rose Gun®. » Dahlias - a summer favourite, dahlias come in a range of gorgeous colours and flower types. Tubers are usually planted during spring and need a well-drained spot in full sun to light shade. Tall growing varieties will need to be staked, particularly for the impressively large flowered 'dinner plate' dahlias, which can reach up to 30 cm across.

Snails love dahlia leaves, so regularly sprinkle some Yates Snail & Slug Bait around the plants, particularly during damp weather. » Zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos - these summer flowering annuals are a magnificent way to create a cut flower garden. Easily grown from seed sown in spring, they all take around 12 weeks to flower. Sunflowers, such as Yates Sunflower Yellow Empress, make a statement on their own and zinnias and cosmos provide bright bouquets of pinks, yellows, reds, oranges and white. Pick sunflowers and zinnias when the first petals are starting to open and for cosmos, pick stems just before the flower buds burst. » Hydrangeas - if you can bring yourself to cut back your hydrangea bushes, their big blousy blooms make a spectacular cut flower. Give your hydrangea a thorough watering the day beforehand and cut stems with open and mature flowers (immature flowers can wilt).

After a few days, you can refresh your hydrangeas by submerging the flower heads in cool water for 15 minutes.

Cut flower tips

1. Cut your flowers in the cool of the early morning and immediately place the stems in a bucket of cool water.

2. Before placing in a vase, cut the stem ends at 45 degrees with sharp secatures and remove any leaves that will be sitting below the water line.

3. To help prolong the vase life, refresh the water every other day and re-trim the stem ends to promote better water absorption.

BATHROOM BEAUTIES A steamy shower or a calming bubble bath are perfect ways to wind down and escape from the daily grind. Up the relaxation factor by including a collection of lush plants in your bathroom.

Leafy luxury at its finest!

When creating a plant-filled bathroom retreat, it's important to choose plants that like the particular environment found in a bathroom.

Luckily, many indoor plants have come from tropical rainforests and so prefer growing in a protected and humid location like a bathroom.

Most bathrooms have frosted glass windows or a sheer curtain for privacy, providing perfect muted indirect light. Rainforest plants also love the humidity that is usually found in our bathrooms, helping replicate their natural habitat. Plants that like an airy room with bright sunlight, including many cacti and succulents, will not do well in a bathroom.

For bathroom florals, peace lilies (Spathiphyllum wallisii) have beautiful crisp white flowers and together with their lush green foliage match any bathroom colour and design. Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) and flamingo flowers (Anthurium scherzerianum) come in a wide variety of gorgeous flower colours, including pretty pastel pink and deep burgundy, as well as multi-toned flowers, and will both enjoy living in your bathroom.

And for foliage colour, waffle plants (Hemigraphis alternata), prayer plants (Maranta leucoeura), peacock plants (Calathea spp.) and arrowhead plants (Syngonium podophyllum) all bring interesting leaf colour highlights into the bathroom.

Many of these foliage plants are also sensitive to harsh light and dry air, making them perfect for your steamy bathroom.

Another benefit from growing plants in your bathroom is that periodically you can put them in the shower and give them a tepid rinse. This will wash dust off the leaves and help give the potting mix a good soaking.

Fungus gnat woes?

Fungus gnats are the annoying tiny black flying insects that often plague indoor plants. They also lay eggs that hatch into root-damaging larvae.

Banish fungus gnats by applying Yates® Gnat Barrier granules over the surface of the potting mix. These abrasive granules deter the female fungus gnat from laying her eggs, helping to break the fungus gnat life cycle.

Pot like a pro When planting your bathroom plants, start with a premium potting mix like Yates Specialty Potting Mix Plants & Ferns, which has been specially designed to be the perfect foundation for leafy indoor plants.

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Vanity toppers If space is at a premium on your bathroom vanity, then compact plants or plants that grow vertically are ideal. Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) produce beautiful and long lasting flower spikes and are a gorgeous addition to a bathroom. Hare's foot ferns (Davallia solida var. pyxidata) have lush foliage and fascinating hairy stems that creep over the pot edge.

There are also decorative glass terrariums, filled with moisture-loving moss and ferns, that are wonderful bathroom companions.

Hangers and holders When you think you've run out of room, look for vertical blank places around the bathroom. Shower caddies that hang over the shower screen are traditionally used for storing soaps and shampoo bottles. However they make the perfect spots for small potted plants if you flip the caddy around so it's on the outside of the shower. You can also grow cascading plants in hanging baskets, installed above the bath or in the corner of the room. And there's also bath racks, which can be used for a small potted plant, and you'll still have room for your toiletries.

Corner fillers If there's a spare corner in the bathroom, then look for upright plants that won't encroach too much on the floor space. Kentia and parlour palms are tropical-looking options, together with the ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia). You can also grow climbing plants, such as Devil's Ivy and heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron scandens) up a support or moss pole.

For smaller plants, you can still use them as corner fillers by positioning them on a decorative plant stand.

Feeding tips Feeding your bathroom beauties is important to help keep them healthy and growing lots of fresh foliage.

It doesn't need to be complicated or time consuming.

It's as easy as inserting a Yates Thrive® Indoor Plants & Ferns Spike into the potting mix. The spikes contain concentrated nutrients, specially designed to feed your plants for up to 2 months. No mixing, no measuring and out of sight. Feeding made easy!

Home-grown PAV LOVA TO P P E R S Enjoying delicious pavlovas this festive season? You can grow some of your very own future pavlova toppings at home! Here are some tasty thought starters.

Berries: » Strawberries - it's lucky that these bright red quintessential pavlova toppers are easy to grow at home. For new strawberry growers, you can start strawberry plants during summer from potted plants from your local garden centre and it will take around 3 months for plants to start bearing fruit. Happy to grow in the ground or in pots or troughs, the key to getting the best possible strawberry harvest is to give them at least 6 hours of sunshine a day and consistent moisture and nutrients. Help keep the soil or potting mix moist with regular watering and applying a layer of sugar cane or lucerne straw around the plants. And feed every one to two weeks with Yates® Thrive Strawberry & Berry Fruit Liquid Plant Food to promote healthy leaf growth and lots of flowers and luscious berries. Monitor for snails and slugs, which can ruin berries. To kill snails and slugs, lightly sprinkle Yates Snail & Slug Bait around the plants. » Blueberries - growing on semi-deciduous to evergreen bushes (depending on the climate), these delicious nutrient packed berries add to the colour rainbow on pavlovas. Blueberries need well-drained soil or potting mix (they detest wet feet) and do best in a full sun position. Look for varieties that are suited to your climate - some blueberries are suited to cool areas, others perform well in warmer climates. They also need an acidic soil or potting mix (pH around 5.0). In alkaline areas, soil pH can be lowered (made more acidic) by applying Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur. Blueberries like consistent moisture, particularly during fruiting season, and will benefit from fortnightly applications of Yates Thrive Strawberry & Berry Fruit Liquid Plant Food to promote fruiting.

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Passionfruit: » Fragrant and tangy passionfruit pulp drizzled over a pavlova is divine. To grow your own passionfruit at home, you're going to need a sturdy fence or pergola for the vigorous vine to grow up. They're warmth lovers, so choose a sunny frostprotected position. Passionfruit can be started from young plants purchased from a garden centre. Before planting, enrich the soil with some handfuls of Yates Dynamic Lifter® Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.

Promote lush healthy leaf growth and lots of fruit by keeping the soil moist (but not wet) and feeding the vine every six weeks from spring to autumn with Yates Thrive Natural Citrus & Fruit Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food. It will take around 18 months to start producing fruit and vines can be productive for around six years.

Insider passionfruit tip!

Passionfruit's gorgeous flowers need to be pollinated by bees, so encourage lots of bees into your garden by growing lots of flowers.

Cherries » You can grow cherries at home if you live in a climate where you receive enough ‘chilling hours’. So cherries are best suited to areas with cool or cold winters, however, there are some varieties that will bear fruit in warmer areas. Check your chosen variety to see whether it requires a pollinating partner. Cherry trees are deciduous and vary in size from medium height trees down to dwarf varieties in the Fleming’s® nurseries ‘Trixzie®’ range that grow to around 2.5 m tall. Perfect for smaller gardens and also growing in pots.

From spring to autumn, keep the soil moist and feed every six to eight weeks with Yates Thrive Natural Citrus & Fruit Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food.

More topper tempters

Other pavlova toppings that you can grow at home include mangoes, kiwifruit, raspberries, stone fruit, grapes and bananas. It will require some patience before they produce fruit, but the sooner you get growing, the sooner you'll be enjoying them.

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Grow a

party-worthy lawn After months of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in many cities and towns across Australia, Aussies will be desperate for a much needed catch up with family and friends over summer. One of the best places to hold a gathering is outside on your lawn. Is your lawn ready? Here are our top tips to get it party-worthy.

Banish weeds » Often the first thing we notice about a lawn is weeds. Broadleaf weeds such as capeweed, dandelions, catsear and plantain are a different shape and colour to the lawn grass, really stand out and ruin the look of a lawn. Some weeds, like thistles, can be downright prickly too! It doesn't need to be complicated or time consuming to create a weed-free lawn. » If you have a couch, kikuyu, fescue or ryegrass lawn, Yates® Weed'n'Feed comes in an easy to use hose-on applicator and will selectively control common broadleaf weeds. Yates Weed'n'Feed also contains added surfactant which aids spray coverage and leaf penetration. » If you have a buffalo lawn (or are unsure about which lawn type you may have), it's important to choose a weed killer that's safe for buffalo lawns. Yates BuffaloPRO Weed'n'Feed has been specially designed to be safe for controlling broadleaf weeds in buffalo. It's also suitable if you're not sure what type of lawn you have. » Both Yates Weed'n'Feed and Yates BuffaloPRO Weed'n'Feed are also boosted with a quick burst of lawn greening nutrients.

Deep green lawn? Yes please! » Your lawn is made up of thousands of hungry grass plants, all desperate for a summer feed!

Munns® Professional Golf Course Green is an organic based lawn fertiliser that's rich in nitrogen to promote deep green growth, as well as providing the lawn with phosphorus for a strong root system and potassium for grass health. The organic matter in Munns Professional Golf Course Green also benefits soil health and helps improve soil structure.

Lawn armyworm control » One of the most common pests that attack lawns over late summer and into autumn is lawn armyworm. These caterpillars are the larvae of moths and damage lawns by feeding on grass stems and leaves. During the day they hide in the thatch layer of the lawn, emerging in the late afternoon and evening and can rapidly decimate large areas of lawn. Lawn armyworm can be controlled with Yates Grub Kill & Protect for Lawns. It's available in both a granular and liquid concentrate form, and is applied over the lawn by hand or using a pressure sprayer. Yates Grub Kill & Protect for Lawns should be applied as soon as any armyworm damage is detected.

Fixing bare spots » Bare patches in the lawn not only spoil the look of the lawn, they're the perfect place for weeds to establish. So make patch repair a priority when getting your lawn ready for summer party season. To fix the bare patch, remove any dead grass or weeds and gently cultivate and loosen the soil to create a nice soft and crumbly surface. Next scatter some Yates Lawn Seed Repair over the patch and gently rake into the surface. Yates Lawn Seed Repair contains a premium blend of turf seeds that are ideal for patch repair in sun or shaded lawns, creating a rich green, fine textured grass cover. Yates Lawn Seed Repair also contains slow release fertiliser that will feed the new patch as it establishes and a natural wetting agent to promote better water absorption into the soil and aid seed germination. It's very important to water the patch regularly as the new grass establishes.

Summer LOVING

After the spring floral frenzy has finished and while we’re relaxing and entertaining at home over summer, it’s wonderful to have trees and shrubs that will flower during the hottest months.

Vibrant blooms also help to bring visual relief to landscapes bleached under harsh sunshine.

Could your garden do with some summer loving?

Weed warriors TOUGH WEED CONTROL Fragrant frangipani

A frangipani can create a lush tropical look in your garden, make a superb summer shade tree and of course the flowers are beautiful and heavenly scented. Frangipanis are you predominantly trees that in a range gorgeous colours, from indestructible Do have a deciduous tree stump thatcome refuses to of die?

Or seemingly the traditional white through to apricots, pinks, yellows and rich burgundy, woody weeds that need to be controlled? Summer is with the many time to get on top varieties having multi toned blooms. Frangipanis are most at home in temperate to of these tough weeds. tropical climates and can grow up to 8m tall, however for small spaces and pots look for dwarf varieties.

Here areinvasive some tips to help keep frangipani looking fantastic: Tough, woody and weeds likeyour blackberry, lantana, African boxthorn and

privet can create a significant problem in the garden, as can seedlings and suckers Feeding – frangipanis will appreciate a feed during summer with a fertiliser that will ofprovide treesalike laurelfor and wattles.lots of flowers and healthy leaf growth as goodcamphor blend of nutrients encouraging well as® enriching the soil with valuable Yates way Thrive Roses unwanted woody weeds, Tree & Blackberry Killerorganic is anmatter. effective of Natural controlling Yates & Flowers Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food is a complete, organically based fertiliserreshoot. that tree seedlings and suckers as well as tree stumps, which can often The active gives frangipanis, and other flowering plants, a nutrient boost as well as nourishing the soil with ingredient, triclopyr, is systemic and travels through the plant’s system, concentrated, composted manure. Apply around the root zone of both in ground and potted killing it roots and all. ®

®

frangipanis and water in well.

Summer is an ideal time to get problem trees and shrubs under control, Watering – if the weather is hot and dry, frangipanis will appreciate deep watering once a week, especially if the tree while plants are in active growth and sap is flowing. Control weeds like is still young and the root system is small. There’s no need to keep the soil constantly moist, as frangipanis do best blackberries, camphor laurel seedlings and gorse by thoroughly spraying in slightly drier conditions. Regular watering however is important for potted frangipanis, as pots can dry out very Yates Tree & Blackberry over the and quickly. A 3–5 cm layer of mulchKiller over the surface offoliage the pot will helpstems. minimise moisture loss and an application of Yates Waterwise™ Soil trees Wettercan will help water repellency develop in potting mix over time.

Woody weeds and be reduce controlled using a which basalcan bark or cut stump bark spraying involves or spraying Diseasetreatment. & pest controlBasal – one of the most common problems painting with frangipanis is rust. Rust appears as yellow or orange stems from ground levelthe toleaves a height of 30 cm with Yates Tree & coloured pustules underneath with corresponding yellow spots on the upper leaf surfaces. It ruins the look Blackberry Killer.

Old, the rough bark may requireDamage more thorough spraying. of the foliage and can cause leaves to drop prematurely. can be minimised by spraying early infections ® Rose Shield a systemic fungicide that travels through the plants sap system to regularly2with Drilling cmYates deep holes orwhich axe contains wounding trees can help the product control rust. into the plant. penetrate ®

For cut stump treatment, liberally spray or paint the product onto freshly cut Crepe stems or myrtles trunks. Yates Tree & Blackberry Killer can also be mixed with kerosene Crepe myrtles are stunning deciduous trees that have attractive bark, colourful autumn for weeds like sweet briar, African boxthorn, olive and privet, to foliage assist efficacy. and are smothered in bee-attracting flowers in summer. They’re very hardy and come in a range of gorgeous flower colours, from white through to light and dark pink, lavender and almost red.

‘Diamonds in the Dark™’ are compact crepe myrtles with striking, almost black leaves and flower colours include white, red and pink. Dwarf crepe myrtle varieties grow to around 3-4 m tall, so are great for a small backyard.

Woody weed tip!

Some crepe myrtles can be susceptible to powdery mildew, which is a disease that looks like a To allow the herbicide to work effectively, film of light grey ash over foliage and flower buds. Powdery mildew can deform leaves and weaken the do not burn, cut or clear plants for 6 plant as well as damage flowers. Powdery mildew is easy to control with a systemic fungicide, which months after spraying. moves around the sap system of the plant to target disease. Yates® Rose Shield contains the systemic fungicide myclobutanil, which controls diseases like powdery mildew. Spray as much of the tree as possible every 14 days, from the first sign of disease.

GARDEN WEEDS Heavenly hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are spectacular flowering shrubs that make a beautiful inclusion in cool to sub-tropical gardens.

New gorgeous varieties of hydrangeas are being released Weeds can harbour pests and diseases like aphids and regularly and flower colours include the traditional brilliant rust, allowing seasons blue, white andinfestations bright pink, as to wellmove as rubybetween red, lime green and and your garden plants.

Weeds also detract from the lovely multi toned and lacecap flower heads. Here’s how to keep your look of yourfabulously garden! showy: hydrangeas

® ® Feeding - scatter Yatesgrass Thrive Natural Weeds can include weeds asRoses well &asFlowers broadleaf Organic Based Pelletised Plant Food around the root of weeds like thistles, dandelions and clover. Thezone earlier hydrangeas every 8 weeks and then water in well.

It contains weeds are controlled, the less their opportunity to flower, than 50% natural ingredients, boosted with fast acting are setmore seed and spread.

So as soon as weed seedlings fertilisers, including extra potassium to promote lots of flowers as well as nitrogen spotted, it's time to act.

and phosphorus to encourage healthy leaf and stem growth and a strong root system.

Yates® Nature's Way® Organic* Weed Killer is made from Watering - most hydrangeas prefer growing in a position that is protected from harsh all natural ingredients, including clove oil, and gives fast sun. Morning sun and afternoon shade is ideal or dappled sun all day. Keep hydrangeas Moss & algae tip: visual burn-down of weeds. Visible results may be seen on well-watered, as the large leaves can rapidly lose moisture and wilt. Hydrangea foliage some weed species after just one hour. can also be susceptible to sunburn during hot dry weather. Spray foliage with Yates Nature's Way Organic* Weed Killer will also control which applies a protective film over the leaves Yates® Waterwise™ Approved for use DroughtShield™, in organic gardening*, Yates Nature's algae and moss, which can be to help reduce moisture loss andissun damage.

Way Organic* Weed Killer glyphosate free and is not common in moist and shaded active in control the soil.

Thefor formulation contact action, Disease - watch white talcum works powder by looking spots on leaves whichareas around the garden and socould it's important to spray disease all foliage until run-off.

Repeat indicate the damaging powdery mildew.

Regular sprays of ready to on hard surfaces like paths ® treatment mayGun be required on Shield perennial or powdery mature mildew plants.under control. and driveways. or Yates Rose will keep use Yates Rose

Tree Stumps

Blackberry

Lantana

Privet

Groundsel

Wattles

Yates® Tree & Blackberry Killer controls tough,invasive weeds like blackberry, lantana and privet as well as stumps of unwanted weeds.

HOW TO APPLY TO A FRESH CUT STUMP Apply Yates® Tree & Blackberry Killer to the cut stump immediately after cutting, using a sprayer or brush application as per label instructions.

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During the warmest months, there is a delicious range of vegies and herbs to sow and grow.

VEGIES & HERBS

to sow

IN SUMMER

Seeds by AUSTRALIA WIDE

TEMPERATE CLIMATES

COOL CLIMATES

VEGIES

FRUIT

VEGIES

VEGIES

Beans Dwarf - Borlotti, Bountiful Butter, Brown Beauty, Gourmet's Delight, Stringless Pioneer, Snapbean Stringless

Honeydew melon

Broccoli - Shogun Winter Harvest, Summer Green

Beetroot - Cylindra

Beans Climbing - Purple King, Stringless Blue Lake

Rockmelon Hale's Best

Brussels sprouts Drumtight

Broccoli - Shogun Winter Harvest, Summer Green

Beetroot - Baby Beets, Derwent Globe, Super King

Watermelon - Candy Red, Country Sweet, Sugar Baby

Cucumber - Lebanese

Brussels sprouts Drumtight

Cabbage - Sugarloaf, Red Mini

HERBS

Eggplant - Black Nite

Chinese cabbage - Buk Choy

Capsicum - Giant Bell

Basil - Gourmet Mix, Purple, Sweet, Thai

Kale - Tuscan, Red Russian

Cucumber - Lebanese

Carrot - All Seasons, Baby, Manchester Table, Topweight

Chives

Lamb's Lettuce

Kale - Tuscan, Red Russian

Cauliflower - All Year Round Hybrid, Phenomenal Early

Garlic chives

Lettuce - Salad Mix

Lamb's Lettuce

Celery - Green Crunch

Coriander

Mesclun French Salad Mix

Lettuce - Salad Mix

Chinese cabbage - Wom Bok, Long Green

Cress

Spinach - Baby Leaf

Mesclun French Salad Mix

Cucumber - Apple, Burpless, Continental, Gherkin Pickling,

Dill

Tomato - Big Beef, Grosse Lisse, Heirloom Favourites, Patio, Roma, Small Fry, Sweetbite, Tiny Tim, Tommy Toe

Spinach - Baby Leaf, Summer Supreme

Leek - Welsh Wonder

Oregano

TROPICAL / SUBTROPICAL CLIMATES

Lettuce - Baby Combo, Buttercrunch, Cos, Frilly Mix, Great Lakes Iceberg, Mignonette Green

Parsley - Italian Plain Leaf, Curled

VEGIES

Okra - Clemson Spineless

Rocket - Large Leaf, Wild

Eggplant - Black Nite

Pumpkin - Butternut, Hybrid Grey Crown, Queensland Blue

Sage

Radish - French Breakfast, Gentle Giant, Salad Crunch, White Icicle, Confetti Mix

Thyme

Tomato - Big Beef, Grosse Lisse, Heirloom Favourites, Patio, Roma, Small Fry, Sweetbite, Tiny Tim, Tommy Toe

Silverbeet - Compact Deep Green, Fordhook Giant, Perpetual Green, Rainbow Chard Spring Onion Swede - Champion Purple Top Sweet Corn - Early Chief, Honeysweet, Sun'n'Snow Tomato -Improved Apollo Turnip - Japanese Hakurei, Purple Top White Globe Zucchini - Blackjack, Greyzini, Lebanese, Solar Flare

Check seed packs for sowing directions and the best sowing times in your area.

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Here are the three easy steps to sowing and growing delicious vegies and herbs in summer: Step 1 Choose a sunny spot in the garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunshine a day. There are some vegies and herbs, such as Yates Silverbeet Rainbow Chard and Yates Sweet Basil that can be grown in part shade. Many vegies and herbs are also perfect for growing in pots. Be tempted by delicious options like Yates Dwarf Beans Tricolour Mix and Yates Italian Plain Leaf Parsley.

Step 2 Follow the directions for use on the seed packet and either sow seeds direct where the plants are to grow or sow into trays of Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds.

Water gently and keep the soil or potting mix moist. For beans, limit watering until seedlings emerge as seeds can rot before germinating. For seedlings grown in trays, transplant them into their final home once they're large enough to handle.

Never visit the grocery store again

Shop for all seeds great and small.

From juicy tomatoes to fresh leafy greens. Start growing vegies with our online shop. Choose from over 200 varieties of seeds all available at

shop.yates.com.au yates.com.au/shop/

Step 3 Once the seedlings are established, encourage lots of healthy growth by feeding each week with Yates Thrive® Natural Vegie & Herb Liquid Plant Food.

Great things start with Yates™ @yatesgardening

BUMPER CROPS

How to get the best out of your summer tomatoes & vegies

Whether you have a large backyard vegie patch or a collection of pots on a balcony or courtyard, you can achieve a delicious home grown harvest with some simple summer steps. Here's how to keep your tomatoes and vegies humming.

Feeding To help maximise plant growth during the warmest months and promote the best possible yields, it's important to feed your plants regularly throughout summer. For fruiting vegies, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, capsicums and pumpkins, they'll do best when fed with a high potassium fertiliser, potassium being the key nutrient responsible for flowering and fruiting. Yates® Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser is rich in potassium and is ideal for feeding all your fruiting vegies. Add two spoonfuls of Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit into a nine litre watering can and apply over and around the plants.

For leafy summer vegies such as lettuce and silverbeet as well as fragrant herbs like basil, parsley and coriander, a nitrogen rich fertiliser is ideal, nitrogen being the nutrient that promotes leafy growth. Yates Thrive Natural Vegie & Herb Liquid Concentrate is ideal for leafy vegies, and you can feed and water at the same time, which is a handy time saver during hot summer conditions.

Watering It's critical to keep your tomatoes and vegies well watered during summer. Water stress can lead to leafy vegies prematurely running to seed and in tomatoes, can predispose them to a condition called blossom end rot (a sunken black patch that develops on the base of the fruit). Applying a soil wetting agent such as Yates Waterwise® Soil Wetter around the root zone of plants helps fix water repellent soil and allows moisture to penetrate down into the root zone where it's needed.

An additional way to reduce the incidence of tomato blossom end rot is to supply the plants with additional calcium. Yates Hydrangea Pinking Liquid Lime & Dolomite is an easy to use liquid source of calcium and can be applied around the root zone of tomato plants using a watering can.

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Protection Hungry insects will be as interested in your tomatoes and vegies as you are! Some of the most common pests over summer include caterpillars, which can chew through leaves as well as into tomato fruit, aphids and mites. And particularly during humid or damp weather, diseases like mildews, blights and leaf spots can also be prevalent, causing plant health to suffer.

To easily control the most common pests and diseases on tomatoes and vegies, Yates Tomato & Vegetable Dust can be dusted over susceptible plants. It's an effective, ready to use dust, containing a combination of insecticides and fungicides.

Dust plants every seven to ten days to keep them protected from insects and diseases.

An additional pest that can attack tomatoes, as well as other fruiting vegetables such as capsicums and eggplant, is fruit fly.

Adult fruit flies lay their eggs on the fruit and the eggs hatch into larvae (maggots) which tunnel through and ruin the fruit.

Preventative action is required, so that the female fruit fly does not have a chance to lay her eggs. Yates Nature's Way® Fruit Fly Control can be sprayed onto the foliage and stems (not the fruit itself) of susceptible plants and the special formulation attracts and kills both Queensland and Mediterranean fruit fly.

It's important to apply Yates Nature's Way Fruit Fly Control, from when the fruit is still small and well before it has changed colour, and reapply each week up until harvest.

Snail & slug tip!

Particularly if the weather is damp, protect your vegies from destructive snails and slugs with a light scattering of Yates Snail & Slug Bait.

Speedy summer salad inspiration Need some ideas for quick growing summer salad ingredients? The list of plants below will have you harvesting in less than 2 months from sowing seed and quicker if you start from seedlings.

• Lush and leafy - rocket, summer spinach, tatsoi, colourful loose leaf lettuce • Herbs - basil, coriander • Tasty root vegies - baby beetroot, radish All these delicious options can also be grown in pots, so you can still grow your own speedy salad on your balcony or courtyard. Start with a Yates Tuscan® pot, a bag of Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter® and your chosen seeds or seedlings. Keep the potting mix moist while the plants establish and feed each week with Yates Thrive Natural Vegie & Herb Liquid Concentrate to promote healthy growth (and lots of salad!).

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Top summer

rose care tips

If you're new to rose growing or already have a collection of these gorgeous flowers, there are three simple rose care jobs you can do during summer, that will pay dividends over the coming months.

Pruning Using a sharp pair of secateurs, cut back rose bushes all over by about 30% and also completely remove any dead or spindly stems and spent flower heads. Summer rose pruning has several benefits, including refreshing and reinvigorating the plant, encouraging a fresh flush of flowers in around six to seven weeks time and reducing the amount of pruning you'll need to do in winter.

Feeding After you've pruned, giving your roses a good feed will help promote healthy fresh foliage growth and lots of new flowers. Liquid feeding during summer is ideal, as the nutrients will be quickly available to the rose and you can water and feed at the same time. Yates® Thrive® Rose & Flower Liquid Plant Food contains a combination of nutrients specially designed to feed roses, including flower-promoting potassium.

Dilute two capfuls in a nine litre watering can and apply around the rose's root zone.

Pest & disease control Rose foliage is susceptible to black spot disease. This disease is favoured by wet and humid conditions and appears as irregular black spots on leaves that become feathery or fringed with yellow margins. Another common rose disease is powdery mildew, which looks like a dusting of white talcum powder over leaves, stems and flower buds. Tender new rose foliage and flower buds are prone to attack from sap-sucking aphids and mites (which love summer's hot and dry conditions) as well as caterpillars. To control the most common diseases and pests on roses, spray ready to use Yates Rose Gun® over plants every 2 weeks.

Pro tip!

While you have your secateurs out, cut off any stems that have appeared below the graft (bump on the stem). These will be the rootstock, will not produce the same blooms as the original rose and can eventually take over.

Create a

H E AV E N LY H A N G I N G B A S K E T

When you think you've run out of room to garden, vertical spaces can provide fabulous additional growing space. Hanging baskets make wonderful use of thin air! Hanging baskets full of flowers add colour and pizzazz to outdoor areas and can also help screen out less than desirable views. Here are some hanging basket ideas for you to create over summer.

Hanging baskets can be planted with one plant variety, combined with different plants in a similar shade to create a block of colour, or a variety of different colours grown together to create a contrasting or complementary effect. When combining different plants in a hanging basket, use the 'thriller, filler, spiller' principle, where the tallest plants are in the centre, surrounded by smaller more compact plants and then around the edges plant your trailing plants that can cascade out and over the basket edge.

Once you have your basket, potting mix and plants, part fill your basket with a good quality potting mix such as Yates® Premium Potting Mix and then temporarily place your plants around the basket, seeing how they look in different positions. Once you're happy, backfill around the plants with potting mix and water in well.

In sunny spots, that receive at least 6 hours of sunshine a day, flowering annuals and perennials like calibrachoa, spreading petunias, lobelia, pelargonium, alyssum and verbena create beautiful baskets. Put your colour scheme together while you're in the garden centre and work out how many plants you'll need to create a full effect.

To keep your hanging basket looking its best, regular watering and feeding is crucial.

Yates Thrive® Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food is ideal for feeding hanging baskets as you can water and feed at the same time. And trim back any wayward growth and spent flowers.

Also monitor for pests like aphids and caterpillars, which can be controlled with quick and easy sprays of Baythroid® Advanced Garden Pest Insect Killer Ready to Use.

In partly to fully shaded areas, ornamental sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), impatiens, coleus, torenia, Dichondra 'Silver Falls' and polka dot plants (Hypoestes phyllostachya) will provide lush foliage and floral colour.

Hanging baskets will dry out quite rapidly, particularly if they are made of porous material such as coconut fibre. The larger the basket, the more potting mix it will contain and the more moisture it will be able to hold, so bigger is definitely better.

Yates® Tuscan® self-watering hanging baskets are a great option as they have an in-built water reservoir in their base.

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Mosquito misery?

Are mosquitoes making your outdoor areas unbearable? Just when we want to escape and enjoy outdoor BBQs and gatherings, mosquitoes are waiting to make it miserable. Read on for some mosquito control strategies during the summer entertainment season.

There are around 300 species of mosquitoes in Australia, some of which can spread serious diseases like Ross River virus. During warm weather, mosquitoes can complete an entire life cycle, from egg to adult, in as little as seven days, and can lay 50 - 100 eggs at at time, so numbers can swell rapidly.

Take an extra step to limit mosquito numbers around your outdoor areas by emptying water from pot saucers, so they don't become a mosquito breeding ground, and monitor bird baths and other water sources for signs of mosquito larvae (wrigglers). And don't forget to apply an insect repellent when you're outdoors too.

Mosquitoes are attracted by the carbon dioxide in our breath and also our body odour and heat, so as soon as we venture outside, we put out the welcome mat for mosquitoes. It's the female mosquito that wants to suck our blood, which she uses as a protein source for egg development.

Some people are not affected by mosquito bites but others can be a mosquito magnet and suffer from red itchy bites.

Plant foliage and leaf litter are places where mosquitoes rest and hide. So unfortunately the lovely leafy plants surrounding your outdoor entertainment areas are perfect spots for mosquitoes.

To limit the number of mosquitoes, spray Yates® Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray onto plant foliage and the leaf litter underneath the plants.

This kills the mosquitoes where they hide and creates a perimeter barrier for control of mosquitoes for up to 14 weeks.

To further reduce mosquitoes, spray Yates Home Pest Long Term Barrier Spray around outdoor surfaces where mosquitoes rest, such as eaves, flyscreens, awnings and around mounted light fittings. It will provide up to three months protection.

Ant control tip!

When ants build nests in your lawn or garden beds they can cause havoc. If disturbed they can bite, they create unattractive mounds of dirt in the lawn and their nests can damage plant roots.

Sprinkle Yates Home Pest Ant & Cockroach Destroyer Granule Bait around ant mounds to eradicate ants and the nest.

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There’s nowhere for your household pests to hide.

For all homes great and small .

Looking for an easy-to-use and fast acting way to protect your home from pests?

The Yates® Home Pest range has you covered. With up to 12 months protection inside your house, Yates® Home Pest Barrier Spray is an effective solution against cockroaches, ants, spiders, flies, cat fleas, silverfish and mosquitoes. Using Yates® professional microcapsule technology means long last control and peace of mind for you and your family.

Yates is a registered trade mark and Great things start with Yates is a trade mark of DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd

Great things start with Yates®

WASP alert Summer is peak wasp season and we need to be on guard to prevent being stung.

Learn about two of the most common wasps found in and around gardens European and Paper wasps.

European wasps (Vespula germanica) are introduced wasps that are aggressive to humans, particularly when their nests are disturbed. They have a painful and inflammatory sting and unlike bees, can sting multiple times. Worker European wasps are 12-15 mm long and have bright yellow and black bands along their abdomen, with distinct black triangular markings at each band.

European wasps will often construct their nests underground (you may notice a single entrance hole) or in wall cavities or ceiling voids. Nests are round and made of chewed wood fibre, giving the appearance of muddy paper-mache.

Nests can become enormous and be home to thousands of wasps.

Common paper wasps (Polistes humilis) are an Australian native wasp, generally tan coloured with darker stripes, 10 - 15 mm long and narrower than the European wasp. Paper wasps build small papery nests made from chewed wood fibre and saliva, with a distinct honeycomb structure. These nests often hang from horizontal surfaces such as underneath windowsills and eaves and in shrubs and trees. Each nest can contain up to 20 wasps. Paper wasps can be an asset in the garden, helping to pollinate fruiting plants, however, can sting if they are disturbed.

Yates® Home Pest Blitzem!® Wasp Killer & Nest Destroyer is an effective way to control common wasps, including European wasps and their nests. It comes in a ready to use jet spray can, which can spray up to four metres. This allows access to hard to reach nesting zones, such as underneath the eaves and roof voids, and allows you to spray wasps from a safer distance.

Yates Home Pest Blitzem! Wasp Killer & Nest Destroyer is fast acting and kills wasps and their nests on contact. When spraying wasps, best results are achieved when the wasps are contacted directly.

Wear protective clothing and treat in the evening when wasps are in the nest and are less active.

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IT’S P S A W ON! S A E S AGGRESSIVE INTRODUCED EUROPEAN WASPS ARE OUT AND ABOUT KILLS WASPS ON CONTACT DESTROYS THEIR NESTS SPRAYS UP TO 4M

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INTERVIEW WITH A PASSIONATE

Community Gardener Community gardens are wonderful places where people can utilise shared land for gardening. However the benefits extend much further than growing food. Angie Thomas, Yates Horticutural Communications Manager, sat down with Phil Pettitt, Manager of the Community Greening team at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, to find out all about these special gardens.

What is the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Community Greening program all about?

Community Greening (CG), sponsored by the Department of Communities and Justice, is an outreach education program designed to empower and support social housing residents to create community gardens. These community gardens vary greatly. Some are small with 2-3 garden beds, others are large with over 100 members, some are community nurseries where they give out plants and there are also special projects, including bush tucker gardens. Each are managed differently by community or local partner organisations. The projects can be plot style gardens, others are gardens where produce is grown together and shared amongst all.

How did Phil become involved?

Phil originally trained at the RBG many years ago and has been working in the industry and the RBG ever since, including managing the dedicated CG team for the last 11 years.

What are the benefits of the Community Greening program?

It helps create a sense of community, provides access to fresh food, including cultural foods, promotes gentle exercise,

access to role models, a reconnection with informal and formal learning and has potential employment outcomes for some participants. There is also a better connection to nature and an enhanced sense of community and space. It ultimately ends up creating a feeling of safety for vulnerable communities and better health outcomes.

CG also provides ongoing workshops, training and support and assists with working bees. Having mentored more than 1000 projects, the team's skills help ensure the best possible outcomes. Their experiences and knowledge is also being harnessed through research programs that examine the benefits of growing urban food.

With the support of partner organisations the program also offers group Zoom educational workshops and the comprehensive digital content has enabled the development of an online Master Gardener Pathway course.

Tell us about the range of people and places that are involved in your program?

The CG program is delivered across NSW from Wilcannia in the far west to Maroubra in the east, up to Lismore and down to Albury and Eden on the south coast. We support public and

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community social housing providers and residents, refugee groups, churches working in communities in need, women’s shelters, libraries, community centres, youth correctional centres, schools and pre schools. There is an extremely diverse group of participants from many countries, including 11% identifying as First Nations. It is the diversity and enthusiasm of these people, and the many partner organisations, that create and develop a very strong program.

What are some of the success stories of community greening?

Some of the best outcomes have been the community coming together and new arrivals to the country meeting new people, making friends and learning to grow food.

At a deeper level, some of the participants leave social housing and rent or buy their own property. This can be made possible through participating in additional education and work experiences, leading to permanent work and a new career. Several participants have gone on to create a vocation where they now identify people suffering similar challenges to them, such as mental health issues, and then utilise plants to connect them with a new sense of purpose. To have the participants able to utilise the skills they’ve learnt and developed whilst working in the community garden, and to take them to another level to help others, is probably the most rewarding and satisfying outcome. The benefits of volunteering in the program can also not be understated.

How has Covid affected CG ?

The team had to upskill very quickly to be able to deliver digital programs and continue to be able to provide support and keep participants engaged and connected. Live Facebook workshops were particularly popular and the digital connectivity allowed geographically diverse groups to remain in touch.

When seedlings became scarce due to panic buying, the team initiated a seed growing support network. CG participants grew seedlings, thanks to donated seeds from Yates®, and the seedlings were then shared with other growers or less able groups to ensure everyone could access seasonal vegetable seedlings. The CG team were the connectors during the first lock down, to move seedlings between community groups following COVID guidelines.

How can people get involved?

People living in social housing in NSW can register their interest at community.greening@botanicgardens. nsw.gov.au. The Community Greening website (www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Learn/ Community-Greening) also has a list of community group contacts.

Are there similar programs in other states?

Yes, and a great place to start looking is the Community Gardens Australia website (communitygarden.org.au).

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Gardening in different climates All around Australia, there are lots of things to keep you wonderfully busy in the garden during summer.

In temperate climates: » Summer vegies like beans and tomatoes can be attacked by small sap sucking whiteflies. You may have noticed clouds of whiteflies fly up from plants when disturbed, or sticky honeydew on leaves and stems (which the whiteflies excrete). Affected plants can become mottled and yellow. Control whiteflies with Baythroid® Advanced Garden Pest Insect Killer Ready to Use. Spray plants thoroughly, including underneath leaves where whiteflies often congregate. » Continue baiting for fruit fly on or around stone fruit trees and fruiting vegetables like tomatoes with weekly sprays of Yates® Nature's Way® Fruit Fly Control. It's important to protect fruit with this preventative baiting until all fruit are picked. » Cockroaches are prolific and rapid reproducers and are attracted to areas where food and water are available. They will most commonly be noticed in warm, sheltered spots in the kitchen, pantry and garage. Banish cockroaches in the house with Yates Home Pest Cockroach Killer Gel Bait. Using the handy syringe applicator, apply small spots of gel in areas frequented by cockroaches.

Cockroaches will eat the bait and transfer it to other colony members before dying.

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In sub-tropical and tropical climates: » Powdery mildew is exacerbated by warm humid weather and can plague cucurbits like zucchinis, pumpkins and watermelons during summer. Infected leaves begin with a dusting of powdery white spots followed by leaves yellowing and dying. Spray Yates Mancozeb Plus Fungicide & Miticide over the leaves every 7-10 days to control and prevent powdery mildew. » Continue to sow seeds of tomatoes, capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, lettuce and pumpkins so you'll have an ongoing supply of fresh home-grown produce. » Take semi-hardwood cuttings of shrubs like buddlejas and hibiscus. Choose firm 10 - 15 cm pieces of leafy stems, remove all but the top few leaves and dip the stem ends into Yates Clonex® Purple Rooting Hormone Gel before inserting into a pot of moist Yates Specialty Potting Mix Cuttings & Seeds. Keep the pot in a protected spot while roots develop.

In cool climates » While the soil is still warm, fix weedattracting bare patches in the lawn with Munns® Professional Quick Fix Lawn Seed.

It's a premium turf grade seed blend which has been specially developed to quickly repair lawn bare patches. It also contains slow release fertiliser to feed the newly establishing patch for up to three months and a wetting agent to improve moisture penetration down into the root zone. » Keep feeding summer vegies to maximise plant health and the harvest. Feed fruiting vegies like tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchinis with potassium-rich Yates Thrive® Flower & Fruit Soluble Fertiliser every one to two weeks. » As the weather cools down in late summer, rodents will start looking for warmth and shelter indoors. Stay one step ahead and minimise rat and mouse problems by placing Ratsak® Fast Action Throw Packs in the roof void and Ratsak Fast Action Wax Blocks in damp areas such as laundries and garages.

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