Spring fever! It’s the season for open gardens

It’s that time of year when some of the nation’s best gardens throw open their gates to visitors. Don’t miss out on these must-see destinations.

Enjoy open gardens Australia-wide this spring. Picture: Supplied

Spring garden events invite you to stroll through private gardens, visit country communities, buy plants and generally celebrate the season.

In NSW, Bathurst Spring Spectacular (October 26-27) offers eight open gardens; nearby, Orange Open Gardens (October 27) has six gardens plus plant stalls and choirs. The Millthorpe Garden Ramble (November 2-3) offers 10 village and rural gardens. The Bundanoon Garden Ramble (October 26-27) has eight gardens. Crookwell Garden Festival (November 2-3) features 12 gardens with a market on the Saturday morning.

The Tumbarumba Spring Flower Festival (October 26-27) coincides with the town’s Tastebuds Festival. The New England Garden Festival (November 2-3) has open gardens, stalls and workshops.

In Victoria, check out Alexandra & District Open Gardens (October 26-27) and the Yarra Valley Plant Fair & Garden Expo (November 9-10).

In South Australia, the Riverland Rose and Garden Festival has 35 open gardens and dozens of events, from this weekend until October 27.

In WA, the Festival of Country Gardens (October 31-November 3) has 25 open gardens to celebrate its 25th year.

Ring the Bells

Also known as Million Bells, Calibrachoa hybrids are relatives of petunias but longer-lived.

Calibrachoa Colibri ‘Purple Bling’

Calibrachoa Colibri ‘Abstract Guava’

They’re compact, low mounding, and flower from spring for most of the year.

Calibrachoa Colibri ‘Exotic Red Bling’

Calibrachoa Colibri ‘Cherry Lace’

Q&A

What are the best lemons for me to grow? Are there advantages to planting two different varieties together?

Rod Leonarder, Sydney

Lemons are self-pollinating so you don’t need two varieties for fruit set, but this will extend your harvest. ‘Eureka’ is the most popular, being mostly thornless, a strong grower, with fruit produced year-round. ‘Lisbon’ is vigorous and cold-tolerant but it is thorny, cropping heavily winter-spring. ‘Meyer’ is a cold-tolerant, smaller hybrid with the main crop of thin-skinned, juicy fruit in winter, and some fruit year-round. All are available on dwarfing rootstocks, which makes a smaller tree but with full-size fruit. Newer varieties include ‘Seedless Eureka’ and ‘Lemon Pinky’, a variegated form of ‘Eureka’ with pink-fleshed lemons.

Are there any poisons that I can safely use to kill off the overgrown weeds in a vegie garden?

Andy Dunn, Sorrento, Victoria

Organic weedkillers are available such as Slasher, Bioweed, Slayer and Seasol’s EarthCare. They basically burn the foliage, so are effective on soft weeds, algae and moss – but they don’t kill tough weeds with persistent root systems or bulbs. They are also non-selective, meaning they affect all plants. You can use suppression by covering the beds for six weeks or so with cardboard or thick layers of newspaper, plus mulch. If you can borrow some chooks, they’ll make short work of all weeds.

My three papaw trees are prolific, but they’re getting too tall for me to reach the fruit. Can I prune the trunks?

Kevin Graham, Perth

Pawpaw trees get too tall to harvest and can also be short-lived, so cutting back the hollow trunks in spring or summer is a good way to rejuvenate plants and extend their life. Ideally, cut just above a side shoot. Cover the cut with a can or plastic container to keep water out.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] The best question for October wins a copy of Paul Bangay’s new book Big Garden Design: the Making of Beautiful Country Gardens (Thames & Hudson, $90)

Paul Bangay’s Big Garden Design: the making of beautiful country gardens.