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Seasonal guide to spring planting

By Bunnings magazine/ Spring 2023

A cane basket with lemons, leaves and gardening gloves in it next to a plant.

Spring: the season when the garden comes alive! These planting and growing tips will get things blooming.


Spring fever

Whether you’re craving freshly harvested produce or a vaseful of cut flowers, now is the season for green thumbs to swing into action. In spring, as soil temperatures increase, growth speeds up (notice the resurgence of weeds!), says gardening writer Rachel Clare, so it’s an ideal time to look into vegetables, fruits and flowers to start growing. “Early spring, around Labour Day, is when it’s warm enough to plant summer crops like tomatoes, beans and zucchinis,” she says. “Late spring is a beautiful time in the garden when roses, foxgloves and other flowering plants come into bloom.” This seasonal guide to spring planting will help you get started.

Tomato growing and citrus fruits

Tomatoes and citrus fruits are both useful homegrown produce staples to have on hand and spring is the perfect time to get them into the garden. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot in your backyard or outdoor space to plant both and prepare the soil with compost and sheep manure. A special citrus mix will help fruit and flower development, likewise a tomato-specific fertiliser. Not got a large garden? Both plants do well on small balcony areas as long as they are watered well and have good drainage. “Always stake tomatoes when planting, and loosely stake young citrus trees for the first year or so,” says Rachel.  

Close up image of tomatoes growing on a plant.

Add climbers to your spring gardening checklist

A gardening gem, climbers not only offer handsome flowers and foliage to your home’s outdoor area, but also have the remarkable ability to wrap themselves around almost any structure. This makes them a marvellous choice for beautifying bare fences, walls and entrances. Luckily, it’s the season for it – spring is a great time to plant climbers, says Rachel Clare.

“If you’re after an evergreen with a lovely scent, star jasmine is a relatively easy-care climber that always looks good and produces flowers throughout spring and summer,” she says. “Native Clematis paniculata, with its star-shaped white flowers that attract bees and butterflies, is ideal for archways and verandas.”

For a romantic vibe in your garden, try planting climbing roses as temperatures start to warm up or, suggests Rachel, wisteria. “This twining deciduous climber is covered in hundreds of racemes of fragrant purple or white flowers in spring.”

A red brick pathway leads to a timber gate covered by a green arbour with climbing white roses.

Wear gloves and a mask when handling compost. After applying fertiliser around edible plants, delay harvesting for a few days and rinse well before cooking and eating. Store all garden chemicals and products out of the reach of children and pets.

Want to be a blooming success this spring?

For all your common questions and queries about gardening, visit our advice form.

Some products are not available at all Bunning stores, but may be ordered.

 

Photo Credit: Sue Stubbs

Health & Safety

Please make sure you use all equipment appropriately and safely when following the advice in these D.I.Y. videos. You need to be familiar with how to use equipment safely and follow the instructions that came with the equipment. If you are unsure, you may feel it is safest to consult an expert, such as the manufacturer or an expert Bunnings Team Member.

Grave health hazards are linked to asbestos, which may be in homes built up to 1990. Health hazards may result from exposure to lead-based paints in older materials and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer.