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October 12, 2022
October in the Maltese gardens
We love October for many reasons. The most important is the dramatic change in the islands’ temperatures.
We are still regaled with warm temperatures but at the same time we are being spared from being cooked in the high temperatures of August.
While baby annual seedlings pop up in many corners of the garden in preparation for a floral show next spring, at the same time deciduous trees start losing their leaves.
In the meantime, our evergreen shrubs are filling our gardens with beautiful flowers.
As for annuals, we should make sure that our spring annual seeds are well protected against inclement weather. At this time of the year, it is quite common to expect a heavy downpour which could ruin most of our seeds.
As the small blades of the new seeds start showing, it might be intelligent for us to remove some plants in order to avoid overcrowding.
You should now sow seeds of Virginian stocks, marigolds, and snapdragon in the garden. Pansy and Cineraria should be sown in trays and planted in the final site in the garden during the end of the month.
With regards to bulbs, it is now the time to plant all our spring bulbs. I suggest that besides saving the usual bulbs, one should try experimenting with new bulbs. Hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, ranunculus and anemones do well in our island if planted in a sunny position.
Hyacinths prefer to be sown in pots since they perform much better. Make sure that the soil where you will be planting your bulbs should be rich and has good drainage.
When it comes to perennials, these should be divided and planted during this month.
For those who love roses, be sure to give these beautiful flowers a light pruning so that the bushes will produce fragrant flowers for the Christmas period.
STAKING AND PRUNING
It is quite normal for blistery winds to invade our gardens. Therefore, those trees which could be damaged should be well staked.
IN MY GARDEN
During the last days of September we were regaled with one storm which was well received by our plants.
Everything is now in place for a colourful second spring. The bougainvillaea have started flowering profusely while hibiscus flowers are filling our gardens with colour.
Maurice Mizzi
