November is the month to admire one of the world’s most beautiful flowering trees, Jacaranda. Planted in many suburbs of Sydney, Jacaranda is the feature tree of a trip along the Parramatta River.

In your garden, it’s time to fertilise trees and large shrubs after soaking soil. Remember that care of these plants is vital.

During the busy Christmas holiday period your garden may be left to care for itself so deep watering followed by application of mulch is important.

Pots dry out quickly, especially if made of terracotta or black plastic. If possible, move pots to a shaded area, apply water.  Soak wads of newspaper, place these over the surface and then apply mulch, bark etc.

Hanging baskets should be taken down and, where convenient, buried in soil.  Add newspaper, mulch as mentioned for pots.

In the case of large terracotta pots, if these are not in a conspicuous position, place wet wads of newspaper around the pot, cover with hessian or towelling and fasten with ties. This application would be additional to surface care.

Pot up annuals for display during the festive season.

Check out the new releases in local nurseries:   Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ ; Gaura ‘Belleza’; Cupressus ‘Lemon Scent’; Bougainvillea ‘Sundevillea’ deep pink, light pink and cream – super compact varieties.