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A FRUITFUL EXERCISE If you've been wanting some fruit trees in your garden, now's the time for planting - apples, pears, oranges, lemons. Fruit trees add colour, shelter and shade as well as bearing delicious seasonal fruit. Choose an area that will get regular sunshine and is sheltered. Using compost will help produce a rich base for the trees to grow strong and productive. Determine the shape of your fruit tree in order to prune in a way that will encourage healthy and bountiful produce. In the initial stages pruning will direct its growth for the future. They will also need regular watering in this stage. BIRD SONG Attract some beautiful birds in your garden by trying out one of the following recipes. This could be a fun project for kids to do - they can help make it and then watch which birds come visiting. You could even get them a few bird books from the library and encourage them to find the names of the ones they can see. FROSTY EXTERIOR With frosts becoming more frequent it's a good idea to bring patio plants or delicate pot plants inside, or into as sheltered a position as possible, even to a high area in your garden where they will be less susceptible to frosts. You can create a protection against frost by setting up a cover by placing stakes around the plants/garden and before dusk drape some kind of cover such as a sheet or tarpaulin. Remember to remove in the morning to let the light and sun in during the day. COMPOSING COMPOST A compost bin is a great asset to have in your garden - providing a second use for your food scraps and cheap sustenance for your plants. To set up a compost bin you'll need a compost bin that you can make or obtain from most gardening stores - plastic or wooden. Choose a well sheltered area and place on well drained soil. To make effective compost it's important to have enough moisture and air, however too much moisture will result in soggy, smelly compost - keep the compost heap bin covered to help avoid this. Start your compost bin by digging up the soil the bin will be placed on, and putting garden clippings on top of this, inside the bin. From here continue building up thin layers of grass clippings, garden trimmings (not too coarse), food scraps and soil until full. Avoid putting in meat or bone, invasive weeds, cat or dog feces and plants such as bamboo or flax. Once the layers have been built up to a metre high, turn and mix it every couple of weeks to aerate and increase the break down speed. Compost accelerators can also help to speed up the breakdown speed and scattering some lime can help neutralise odours. When compost is ready for use on the garden it should be dark brown, crumbly and even with an earthy smell. If the compost is well maintained and turned this should be within 2-5 months. June and July are a great time to collect fallen autumn leaves for the compost bin. Melt some lard in a saucepan, when it has cooled to room temperature mix in peanut butter, chopped nuts, sunflower seeds and some cornmeal and allow to set. Once set, place in a netting bag and hang from a tree branch. You can also collect a few pine cones, smear peanut butter on them and hang them from the branches. Attract more of a particular bird by doing a bit of research into which foods appeal to them. For example sugar water will attract nectar feeding birds such as Tuis and Bellbirds. To make a bulk amount, mix 1 cup of sugar with two litres of water. Place a small amount of this in a shallow container outside. Make sure you change the sugar water and sterilise the container daily, otherwise bacteria can grow which is deadly to the birds. www.hermagazine.co.nz | 105