‘Tis the season: Autumn beauty in country’s best gardens

The change in seasons marks the perfect opportunity to tour some of the nation’s best gardens. Here are our picks of Australia’s most beautiful.

The Autumn Festival of Country Gardens will be held in the south west of WA on May 4.

Autumn is a superb time to visit gardens, with many festivals and open garden weekends in late April and May. This weekend, the Yarra Valley Plant Fair and Garden Expo is on at Wandin (yarravalleyplantfair.com.au), featuring rare plant sales, talks and demonstrations. In NSW, the Southern Highlands Botanic Garden at Bowral has a plant fair April 27-28, and historic Oldbury Estate and its three gardens at Sutton Forest are open April 26-28 (shbg.com.au). Near Toowoomba, Queensland, Gardens of the Downs (gardensofthedowns.com) on April 27-28 showcases gardens, crafts and markets in the Pittsworth area. In South Australia, Stangate House at Aldgate hosts the Adelaide Hills Garden Affair on May 5 (adelaidehillsgardenaffair.au). More than 50 stalls, a speaker program and entertainment are set in the garden, which features a riot of autumn colour, heritage roses and the first flowers of its extensive collection of camellias. In the southwest of WA on May 4-5, the Autumn Festival of Country Gardens has 10 open gardens and a garden fair on May 4 at Ford House, Bridgetown (festivalofcountrygardens.com.au). Also check opengardensvictoria.org.au and opengardenscanberra.org.au

Blown Away

Windflowers (Anemone x hybrida) are named for the way the pretty blooms on long, slender stems sway in the slightest breeze. They add colour and movement to shadier spots in the garden from late summer through autumn.

Anemone Regal Swan

Anemone Dainty Swan

To the original tall white or pink singles, recent varieties add new colours, double flowers and compact form (pga.com.au).

Anemone Pamina

Anemone Snow Angel

Q&A

My couch lawn is gradually being overtaken by kikuyu that grows much faster and taller. How can I overcome this?

Rajiv Malde, Hope Island, Queensland

Kikuyu often infests lawns from seeds or pieces off other lawns, carried in on lawnmowers. It’s fast, aggressive and recovers well from wear, so is used on sports ovals. For homeowners, it’s relatively cheap but requires frequent mowing. Only small patches can be dug out by hand. Winter Grass Killer is safe to use on couch but should not be used on kikuyu, as kikuyu can be killed by it.

What is the best way to incorporate new soil and compost into a garden without disturbing roots of established plants?

Brenda Frew, Canberra

You shouldn’t dig around roots of established plants, as this can damage them. Sprinkle compost on top, then water in and earthworms and other soil critters will do the rest for you. Only add new soil if you need to bring up the level of a new bed significantly, but beware you mustn’t raise the soil level around existing plants. This can cause stems or plant centres to rot, and a thick layer can stop oxygen reaching the roots, retarding growth or potentially killing the plants.

On my small, potted, dual-grafted lime tree, the Tahitian side is flourishing but the kaffir side is unhappy. Should I remove this part?

Jenny-Ellen Kennedy, Hobart

Multi-grafted trees can be tricky to keep in balance, as one variety is usually stronger. You could prune back the Tahitian lime to balance it with the (now-called) makrut lime but if the makrut is doing poorly, it might not be worth it – and the graft could be failing. Pruning it off probably won’t make any difference.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] The best question for April wins a copy of Visionary: Gardens and Landscapes for our Future (Hardie Grant, $70) by Claire Takacs