Sophie’s tips for Spring 2024.

by | Jun 10, 2026 | Sophie's Tips

Spring into action in your garden

This is the time of year to feed the whole garden, your ornamentals, fruit trees, vegies and lawn, with organic-based fertilisers. This does not feed the plants, but rather it feeds the soil, improves soil structure, and encourages earthworm and soil microbial activity – the outcome is healthy plants in a healthy garden.

While soluble fertilisers are great, they are best applied every few weeks, so I prefer to use slow-release, pelletised fertilisers which break down slowly over a couple of months. You can use general purpose products, however for plants like roses, fruit trees, camellias and azaleas, and native plants, choose specialist products designed to suit the nutritional needs of these plants.

Natives

Australian native plants are a great, hardy, waterwise choice for South Australian gardens, with many able to survive on rainfall alone once established. Not only have they got interesting, colourful flowers, they provide food and shelter for wildlife, helping to attract the birds, bees and butterflies into your garden. Many, like Isopogon, Kangaroo Paws, Billy Buttons and Geraldton Waxes also make great, long lasting cut flowers.

Vegies

Nothing beats the delicious flavour of home grown produce, especially tomatoes. Now is the time to prep your soil and get planting tomatoes and other warm season vegies for mouthwatering summer and autumn abundance. If growing in the ground, make sure you have added compost and organic fertiliser, and if growing in a large pot, choose a premium potting media designed for vegies.

Ideally for tomatoes its best to wait until the soil temperature gets to 16 degrees, typically around the October long weekend, or start growing your plants on in pots and transplant them into the garden when the soil is warm enough.

Colour in the garden

To me, the best of a good garden is one which has colour and interest all year round. One way to achieve this is add long flowering perennials to your garden like Salvia, Daisies (Argyranthemum), Geranium and Lavender to name a few. These hardy, old-fashioned favourites bloom for many months, love a sunny position and can also be grown in pots.