Each month we give ideas, tips and planting advice for cooler, warmer, wetter and drier areas in each zone, so ask at your local nursery which zone best matches your conditions.
Get the key to climate zones here.
WATCH: How to get your garden ready for summer
Flowers
All zones
- Alyssum
- Amaranthus
- Aster
- Calibrachoas
- Cosmos (above)
- Dahlia
- Marigold
- Petunia
- Phlox
- Portulaca
- Salvia
- Verbena
- Zinnia
Zones 1-3
- Balsam
- Celosia
- Gomprehrena
- Salvia
- Vinca
Zones 4-6
- Ageratum
- Arctotis
- Aster
- Begonia
- California poppy
- Celosia
- Cleome
- Cornflower
- Dahlia
- Delphinium
- Godetia
- Impatiens
- Marigold
- Nasturtium
- Snapdragon
- Verbena
- Zinnia
Vegetables
All zones
Zones 1-3
- Basil
- Beans
- Beetroot
- Cabbage
- Capsicum
- Chilli
- Chives
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Globe artichoke
- Okra
- Potatoes
- Radish
- Sweet potato
Zones 4-6
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cucumber
- Leek
- Marrow
- Parsley
- Parsnip
- Potato
- Silverbeet
- Shallots
- Squash
- Turnip
- Sweet corn
What to do in the garden in December
- Mow and apply a hose-on fertiliser to have your lawns looking their festive best for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
- Give outdoor furniture a pre-Christmas clean with a pressure hose.
- Deadhead roses, cut away dead and ugly growth from bushes and lightly prune native plants.
- Add water-storing crystals to pots to keep your plants hydrated while you’re much more busy celebrating than worrying about watering.
- Mulch garden beds and check that already-laid mulch has not formed impenetrable barriers.
- Cut back herbs that have gone to seed.
- Net fruit trees to protect summer crops from bird and possum attack.
- Dead spent flowers of annuals, and lightly trim and feed with liquid fertiliser to encourage vigorous new growth.
- Lay snail bait around vegie beds.
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