It felt so good to finally get into the garden last weekend, the planter boxes are now packed full of veges, herbs and flowers thanks to Awapuni Nurseries’s fantastic online seedling delivery service, and thanks to my Mum, Glenis for helping to get everything in the ground in one afternoon, she’s always had green fingers and is a whizz in the garden, I love spending time with her pottering around and getting our hands dirty as she passes on her knowledge.

If you’re looking at getting stuck in (when the rain finally stops!) to get your garden flourishing this September Awapuni has all the info on what to plant.

Now’s a good time to plant new season veges like silver beet, spinach, lettuce and cucumber. Been craving beans? It’s also a great time to get your dwarf beans and scarlet runners in the ground. Scarlet runners will need a bean frame and you can eat both straight from the garden. Speaking of beans, your broad beans should be almost or currently ready to harvest. Have you tried making this delicious broad bean salad?

If you’ve got sensitive seedlings like zucchini, capsicum and tomato in your vege patch, make sure to protect them from any late frosts. You can use plastic milk bottles – cut the base off and place over the top of the seedlings – or purchase a closure from your local garden centre. A closure is a form of white netting that lets in light and air but no frost. And if you haven’t got these tasty summer plants in your garden yet, there’s still plenty of time.

Now you’ve got the vege garden sorted it’s time to add some colour to your garden. Try planting livingstone daisies, lobelia, sweet peas, dianthus, dahlia, larkspur and petunia.

Once planted, mulch all your flowerbeds to keep out weeds and protect your plants from cooler weather.

Need more to do this month? Try making your own compost. Compost will improve your soil structure, reduce the need for synthetic fertiliser and help with water retention in summer.

Lastly, if you haven’t already, finish splitting and replanting your strawberry runners before they start to shoot away.

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