As if sensing a celebration, trees and flowers are aflame with displays of joyous colour this month. Enjoy the show, writes Helen Young.

Timely tasks

It’s not too late to dress the garden for the festive season. For instant cheer, buy pots of petunias, impatiens or torenia in bloom. (Geraniums are great potted plants for hot summers; ‘Big Red’ is a standout for colour and performance.) For lawns, repair bare patches and top up mulch. Fertilise lightly or, to get it looking green quickly, apply a hose-on, liquid lawn fertiliser.

Tip-prune lanky shoots on sasanqua camellias and prune back wildly growing climbers such as wisteria. Also prune shrubs that have finished flowering such as bottlebrush, emu bush (Eremophila) and butterfly bush (Buddleja). Feed them to encourage new growth.

Pest watch

If gardenia buds are dropping off, mealy bugs may be the culprits. Spray with PestOil or Eco-Oil, repeating after two weeks. Enclose plants with netting to keep insects out. Ongoing fruit fly protection is essential in affected areas. Rid caterpillars from the vegie patch with Dipel or Success but leave those in other parts of the garden to develop into butterflies.

The edible garden

Water vegetables daily, keep replenishing mulch and apply soluble fertiliser fortnightly to maximise productivity. In hot areas, protect young plants with a shadecloth cover. Pick beans every other day to keep them cropping. Keep sowing rocket, basil and radishes for a constant supply. In warm areas, plant more tomato, capsicum and eggplant seedlings for harvesting well into autumn. Keep fruiting trees well watered to enhance fruit quality.

December in bloom

This month blossoming trees include flowering gum, frangipani and poinciana. Gardens are full of flowers to pick and top of the list are fragrant gardenia, blousy heads of hydrangea, red NSW Christmas bush, agapanthus and lilium. Pick in the cool of the morning and get them into water as soon as possible. Also flowering are hibiscus, roses, gladiolus and shasta daisies.

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