Winter is the ideal time to feed roses.  Add horse, sheep or cow manure, blood and bone or a commercial rose food after pruning your roses in June or July.  Additional manure and compost can be added throughout the growing season.  Feeding roses, coupled with regular pruning, are the best means to ward of pests and diseases.  Roses require little watering and do not tolerate humidity, so they thrive in a hot, dry summer.

Autumn leaves provide nitrogen rich mulch for vegetable gardens and flower beds.  Simply put the catcher on your lawn mower to collect and shred the leaves before spreading them straight onto your garden or adding to the compost heap for a richer mixture.

With the hot, dry summer we are experiencing here on the South Coast, property owners are looking for signs of water stress and keeping the water up to their gardens.  Always remember that it is preferable to water in the morning.  Evening watering encourages fungal diseases and daytime watering is less effective due to increased evaporation rates.  Deep watering and mulching will help your garden survive the summer heat.