Gardening tips from Canberra’s greenest thumb

As a garden city, Canberra has its fair share of green thumbs. If anyone has a claim to being Canberra’s best gardener, it’s Andrew Forster.

As the head gardener at Floriade for over 20 years, and now Northside Operations manager for City Services, Andrew knows a thing or two about gardening.

Here, Andrew shares his best tips for Canberra gardeners over autumn and winter.

Plan and prepare

Andrew says that the cooler months are the ideal time to plan your garden.

“Get yourself an A3 piece of paper and do a mud map of your yard, adding in north, south, east and west,” he said.

Think about what you’d like to grow and consider where in the garden it would be best to plant.

“Veggie gardens need a good sunny location,” he said.

“Autumn is a good time to have a look around our streets at the deciduous trees.”

Assessing what is growing well in your neighbourhood will give you an idea of what will thrive in your yard.

“Winter is a good time of the year to tidy up the garden and prepare garden beds for spring plantings.”

Look for inspiration

Beyond your suburb, Andrew says it’s a good idea to check out other gardens. Some of his favourite spots for garden inspiration include:

• local gardening centres
• Floriade
• the Australian National Botanic Gardens
• open days at CIT Bruce
• open gardens when they are advertised
• the National Arboretum Canberra to see the bonsai display and the different forests that are growing.

Do your research

Before investing in plants, it pays to do a little research.

“Your local garden centre is a good spot to go to if you’re a novice or if, like me, you’re a visual person and need to see something in the flesh,” he said.

He also suggests tuning into the Canberra Saturday Breakfast show on ABC radio from 8:30am.

“If you haven’t been to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, have a look at the website,” he said.

“The bulb suppliers are there, there are some ideas for landscaping and lots of other horticultural talks.”

Consider bulbs

Andrew says bulbs are his favourite thing to grow in Canberra.

“You can mostly plant and leave them,” he said.

“If you haven’t seen miniature cyclamens before and have a deciduous tree, have a look at the different species (such a cyclamen persicum or cyclamen coum) and you can create a fairy garden.

“Another good tip is mixing small bulbs grape hyacinths with tritelia (star flower) under a tree and letting them naturalise. They can escape into other areas so if you don’t want that, don’t plant them.”

Rather than simply browsing catalogues and garden centres for bulbs, Andrew suggests considering local garden clubs, buy, swap and sell groups or asking family, friends and neighbours.

Think about your soil

According to Andrew, the type of soil that you have will largely depend on where you live in Canberra.

He suggests testing the pH of your soil to see if it is acid or alkaline. Some plants like acid soils, others like alkaline but most thrive with a pH of around 5.5 to 6.5, he says.

If you’re looking to take your home garden up a notch, there are a few things Andrew say make all the difference:

• time in the garden (additional watering or watering systems when required)
• maintenance, including weeding, pruning, and integrated pest control
• having a good understanding of planting locations and the types of plants suitable for a cool climate.