Everything between an empty patch of ground and a living garden — sourcing, soil, clearing, planting. Written for the person doing the work, and written specifically for Canberra and the Southern Tablelands: our frosts, our clay, our suppliers, our weeds.
This series is the written version of the Garden Guide I give my design clients. The soil is the work — everything else in this guide is just the order to do it in.
The series
- Sourcing native plants in Canberra — start this first
- Knowing your site: reading light and moisture
- Six DIY soil tests before you plant
- The gypsum jar test: will gypsum actually fix your clay?
- The six woody weeds to learn by sight in Canberra
- Ground weeds, couch grass, and resetting an area with sheet mulch
- Repairing clay soil: the one-day soil renovation
- Setting out: planting density, spacing and four patterns
- Planting tubestock properly
- The first years, and making more plants for free
Before you dig
Two things to do before a spade goes in the ground. Neither is interesting. Both matter.
Find your services. Contact Before You Dig Australia and have your services located. You are checking for anything you don't already know about — gas, water, comms, power. Know where they run before you put a spade near them.
Wear the right gear. Proper shoes — closed, solid soles. Safety glasses. Gloves. Tough gardening clothes. Sun protection.
That's the pre-flight: services located, gear on, cleared to dig. Start with plant sourcing — it has the longest lead time of anything in the garden, and everything else can happen while you wait.
This series comes from the Garden Guide I give my design clients. I write one letter a week on spatial design, craft and technology — and subscribers read the full guides first.
Join Lach's Letters