Spring clean your plants!

Are your indoor plants looking a little dusty and neglected, even though you really do love and care for them? Use our Yates Leaf Shine to bring them back to life!

Yates Leaf Shine not only makes your dull, dry looking indoor plants appear new again, but it can also protect them from nasty insects! It is recommended to keep your Leaf Shine away from ferns and plants with delicate leaves, but most indoor plants will benefit from this brilliant product.

Visit your local ASQ Garden & Landscape store and ask our friendly staff if Leaf Shine is the right product for your plants, and receive some application tips too.

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are a deciduous shrub with large leaves and clusters of beautiful flowers. This easy to care for shrub will brighten up your shady spots and provide long lasting colour from spring through to autumn.

Hydrangeas come in a variety of colours including blue, pink, red, and white which is influenced by the pH level of the soil. Acidic soils produce blue flowers, while alkaline soils lead to pink, however white flowers will not change in colour. Hydrangeas like consistently moist soil, so keep an eye on them during the warmer months! 

The Tea Time range is an exciting new breed of Hydrangea that is easy to grow, and will give you a fantastic floral display to add to your collection! Hydrangeas will grow to approximately 30cm in height when planted in containers, and up to 1.5m on maturity if planted in garden beds.

Lemon and lime trees

Whether you are just looking for some shade, or you want to grow your own fruit for delicious dishes and summer beverages, we are sure to have the right lemon or lime tree for you.

One of our most popular lemon trees is the Meyer. This type of lemon has less skin and tastes a lot sweeter than other lemons and is the perfect addition to a summer salad! We also sell Eureka lemons, Lemonade Lemons and our dwarf patio range including ‘Lots of Lemons’ and ‘Lemonicious’. Dwarf lemon trees are perfect for pots and produce large amounts of fruit.

Our range includes Kaffir, Tahitian, Sweet, Sublime and Finger Limes. If you are looking for a delicious, juicy and seedless lime then you can't go past the Tahitian Lime, or for something a bit different you must try our native Finger Limes! These limes produce small bead-like crystals filled with tangy juice which is used in desserts, as a garnish and even to make marmalade.

Indoor plants

Now is the perfect time to bring the outdoors in and instantly lift your space with indoor plants! Not only does adding greenery to your home look great, but it can also reduce stress, boost creativity and improve air quality. For many years, indoor plants were considered‘outdated’, but recently we have seen the trend make a bold return.

Some of our favourite indoor plants include:
- Sansevieria
- Peace lily
- Boston fern
- Rubber plant

If you’re searching for the perfect plants to brighten your home, make sure you visit ASQ Garden & Landscape to see our range of hand picked plants which thrive indoors!

Dos and don'ts of planting new plants!

Any good gardener knows that planting a new plant in your garden isn’t just about putting it in a hole and hoping for the best! Here are some simple dos and don’ts when introducing a new plant to your garden:

DO prepare the area
Victoria has heavy clay soils, so using gypsum is important. Clay will cause issues such as trapping water at root level, giving your plants wet feet and not allowing roots to penetrate through.

DO mix organic matter through your soil
Adding compost and broken down manures to your garden will help improve plant growth and health.

DO water well and use Plant Starter
Once you have finished planting, give the area a generous water with Grow Better’s Plant Starter to enhance the overall health of your new plants.

DON’T over water your new plants
More often than not, a plant will die from over watering rather than under watering. Checking the soils moisture level is a good way of telling if its time to water.

DON’T use soil if you are planting in pots
Potting mix is designed to drain, yet hold enough moisture for the plant to absorb the water it needs.

Visit your local ASQ Garden & Landscape store and ask our friendly staff for more tips and tricks when planting new plants!

Brighten your home with pots!

Brighten your home and garden this spring with our new range of pots!

Our latest delivery of Dawson pots has added a splash of colour to the nursery just in time for spring. With bright orange through to avocado green, there is a pot to suit every style! With three sizes starting at $24.95 including a saucer, they are the perfect addition to any sunroom, patio or alfresco area.

Our new range of Nova pots are very unique and come in three colours – white, khaki and spearmint. The stylish jute-coloured band around the top definitely makes these pots stand out!

Visit your local ASQ Garden & Landscape to see our extensive range of indoor and outdoor pots, bird baths, water features, statues and more!

Improve your lawn before summer!

With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner, now is the time to head outside and give your lawn a new lease on life!

Weed
If your weeds are out of control, it’s a good idea to remove them before doing any other lawn maintenance. If your lawn is turf like Sir Walter, Buffalo or Kikuyu, you are best to use Lawn Lover’s Buffalo Weed Control. Another option is using a weed grabber or grandpa weeder to remove the weeds by hand. With whatever treatment you choose, you may need to treat your lawn a couple of times, as the weeds have plenty of moisture to keep them going at this time of year.

Feed
Once the weeds are under control, it’s time to feed your lawn. Seasol is a complete garden health treatment that is great for root stimulation and easy to apply. We have a 1.25 litre Seasol concentrate available, which is a great way to get value for money. Apply Seasol every four to six weeks to keep your lawn green and healthy – and don’t worry if you get it on the plants – they will love it too!

Fertilise
About two to three weeks after the Seasol application, it’s time to fertilise. Whether your lawn is turf or grown from seed, you can use the same fertiliser. Granular Sir Walter fertiliser comes in two sizes, either a 4kg or 10kg tub. We also stock a Professional Turf Fertiliser which comes in either 2.5kg or 8kg bags. The size of your lawn will dictate what size tub or bag you need. Grow Better’s Organic Fertiliser is another option, which comes in four sizes and is a good all round fertiliser for the entire garden. No matter which fertiliser you use, make sure you spread it evenly over the lawn and water in well.

Products and tips
Did you know, at ASQ Garden & Landscape we have our very own quality lawn seed products? For full sun areas we have a Hardy Lawn Blend, or for shaded areas, we recommend the Shade Lawn Blend. As well as our own products, we are a licensed distributer for Lawn Solutions Australia, as well as selling instant turf such as Sir Walter. We also supply high quality synthetic turf varieties, so whatever your lawn needs this spring, we’ve got it covered!

Hello, spring!

With the days warming up and the worst of the morning frosts behind us, it’s time to step outside and get your garden back into shape! Spring is the perfect time to establish new garden beds, revitalise your lawn, tidy up any neglected areas and give your garden a good feed. This time of year is also great for planting almost anything, including vegetables.

Getting rid of weeds is one of the most satisfying jobs you can tick off the list. Use your hands or a hoe to remove new and emerging weeds. Because the soil is soft during spring, the weeds should come out quite easily! You should target any persistent weeds, such as oxalis and onion weed, with spot herbicide treatment to ensure they don’t spread. Covering bare spots with mulch or ground covering plants will help minimise the emergence of new weeds. Adding mulch to a depth of 30-50mm is usually sufficient, and the use of weedmat is of great help in the suppression of weeds and it will last longer too! 

So get outside in the sunshine and get your gardening tasks done so you can sit back and relax amongst the fresh blooms this spring!

Find the right secateurs for your winter pruning!

Winter is the best time of year to give your garden a heavy prune, and there is nothing worse than having a pair of blunt or broken secateurs when you’re trying to get the job done! At ASQ Garden & Landscape, we stock a number of different types of secateurs. From every gardener’s dream brand Felco, to more budget-friendly options, we’re sure to have a pair to meet your needs!

Come along to our pruning demonstration on Saturday 8 July and let our friendly and qualified staff help you pick the right pair of secateurs! Click here for more information

Flowers - a forgotten harvest

We often think of flowers as beautiful things to rest our eyes on in the garden, but flowers have been used for pollination, medicines and to repel and attract insects for hundreds of years.

Now, we are seeing many well-known restaurants serve dishes adorned with flowers which not only look, but also taste delicious! If you’re looking to add flowers to your cooking this winter, make sure you pick up some of our favourites including:
- Calendula
- Roses
- Cornflowers
- Fuchsias
- Lavender
- Salvia
- Violets
- Geraniums
- Nasturtiums
- Citrus flowers 
- Borage blossoms

Lavender ice cream recipe
Ingredients:
8 washed and dried stems of English lavender 
600 mL thickened cream
Rind of 1 small lemon
160g sugar
4 egg yolks

Method:
1. In a saucepan, put washed and dried stems of English lavender with the thick cream and lemon rind 
2. Heat until almost boiling, then stir in the sugar until dissolved
3. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl and set aside
4. Strain the lavender through a fine sieve and slowly pour into the bowl of egg yolks
5. Return the lavender and egg yolks to the pan and stir over low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
6. Freeze until frozen around the edge, but not in the centre
7. Beat mixture until smooth in a food processor or bowl
8. Freeze again and repeat this process twice more
9. Cover with greaseproof paper and freeze
Recipe serves 6-8