The weather is cooling off and the flowers are winding down but we are still busy here on the farm.  At the end of a busy season there are still plenty of jobs to do, and although you might think we take the winter off, there is definitely still lots going on.  
Usually trying to create some kind of order out of the chaos is one of the first jobs.  Late summer and autumn are one of the busiest times, with harvesting in full swing and seed sowing for the next season already begun, it's hard to know whether you are coming or going sometimes.  Bulb orders start to arrive, making you dream of spring flowers during the heat of summer, and the mad rush of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day creep up on you before you know it and there is hardly time to take a breather.  There is certainly no time to tidy up after yourself!  Hence one of the first jobs in the 'quieter moments' of the cooler weather.
I like to think of it as 'putting the garden to bed' and this usually consists of me throwing a lot of things on the compost pile.  Older dahlia tubers that never made it into beds, paper packaging from bulbs and corms and copious amounts of weeds from all the summer beds that I spend hours clearing.  
A fresh dumping of compost has arrived, a truck and trailer load, two massive piles of soil improver that need wheelbarrowing and shovelling onto beds to freshen them up, as well as being used to create new no-dig garden beds.  My children are often bemused at my squirrelling away of cardboard boxes to create said beds...although they are often embarrassed when I approach every shop assistant in sight and ask if I can pinch their boxes as they are unpacking stock.  "Mum!  You and your cardboard boxes!!"  It's becoming a familiar catch cry.
I pruned some roses early the other day, those that unfortunately got hit with some weed killer, but thankfully they seemed to have survived.  Hold off on your rose pruning until about July, I will be doing the rest of mine then.
The seeds I started in late summer are tucked away in their new beds and will now over winter nicely, giving me a quicker start to spring flowers.  The beauty of hardy annuals, plants that don't mind the cold, can handle a bit of frost, and they will establish their roots well enough through the winter to really give you a good jump on spring.  It does, however, seem like we are in for a milder winter...I already have autumn sown stock flowering and some of my sweet peas that I planted in February.  Looks like another odd season on the way.  
I have been diligent with my succession sowing this time around so next season (which will be Blooms on the Hill's 5th season!!) we will have flush after flush of beautiful spring flowers and later on waves of summer blooms.  I've put in lots of bulbs too....about 1500 tulip bulbs for spring (eek!!) and there will be ranunculus, anemones and lots of gorgeous heirloom daffodils, with plenty of ruffles and double blooms.  There is plenty to look forward to.
Trays of seeds have gone into the greenhoue....it's finally cool enough outside to move them in, and not roasting in there to fry everything.  Summer is definitely a no-go zone in the greenhouse, especially after this summer where some of my plastic seed try lids actually melted while in there.
Autumn is also the time to plant new perennials.  I've been putting in a new collection of Bearded Iris, a highly underrated flower.  There are so amazing, their colours and the way some sparkle is divine.  They also have the most crazy names!  Love the creativity.  I have put in some new hydrangea as the foliage is fabulous in bouquets and florists are always looking for some blue in late summer. I am also collecting more perennials specifically for foliage because as a flower farmer/florist....you can never have enough foliage!!
The other massive job for winter is digging and dividing the dahlia tubers.  This job I can hardly write about ....I'm dreading it that much!  The tubers will get divided however, despite my reluctance, and tubers will be available to purchase come spring.
Despite the flowers slowing down we are still selling bunches at the Yinnar Bakery, so pop on down and buy some colour for your kitchen.  Bouquets for special occasions are still available to order via the website and we are open for any winter weddings.  We actually have one booked for July at the Budgeree Hall and can't wait to share the beautiful woodland theme that the bride has requested.  Flowers throughout the cooler months will be sourced through Melbourne Suburbs Wholesale Florist although some will still come from the farm as there is always something in flower. 
Feel free to drop a comment on this post and share your gardening journey!

Half-way through May, and with the cold weather approaching, it's time to start thinking about digging and dividing your dahlia tubers.  As a home gardener this is not a necessary step here in the southern hemisphere, however who wouldn't want more dahlias the following seasons!?!
So why do we dig and divide our dahlia tubers?  As a flower farmer this is an easy one to answer.  You either want to increase your stock of particular varieties, you want to have dahlia tubers available to sell for the coming spring, or a bit of both.  Here at Blooms on the Hill we have been steadily increasing our stock through both dividing and purchasing new varieties each season, but we also have tubers for sale in the spring, usually around September.  This year we are aiming to have our sale up and running a bit earlier and our systems working so our sale can take place with orders via our website. (In the past orders have been via direct messages and bank transfer)
As a home gardener you also may want to increase your stock of a particular variety, depending on your garden space and your love for dahlias, but it is also a lovely way to share the flowery love and pass tubers onto friends, family and neighbours.  This is just one of the extraordinary things I find about gardeners....they are the most generous lot of people you can ever meet...always wanting to share tubers, bulbs and cuttings.  It's almost like passing on pieces of their gardens is passing on pieces of their hearts and souls and nothing gives them more joy than sharing something they have grown, and loved, themselves.  
If you don't want to dig and divide your tubers, here in the southern part of the world you certainly don't have to.  Dahlia tubers can remain in the ground quite happily, as long as they are not sitting in standing water.  If they are they will most likely rot.  Your dahlia plant will naturally die back over the end of autumn and early winter and then re-sprout for you come next spring.  The single tuber that you originally planted will have turned into a sizeable clump, storing its nutrients safely until it's ready to grow again the following season and produce another bounty of beautiful dahlia flowers for you.  Leaving the plant in year after year is perfectly fine, however you will find that over a few years that the plant will produce more foliage and less flowers, so this is the time when it is a good idea to dig up the clump (which by this time will be enormous!) and divide.  You don't have to divide into individual tubers, unless of course you want to, but simply cutting it into half or quarters with your spade is enough to give your dahlia plant a new lease on life.  Re-plant the parts, maybe give some away, but you will find that your dahlia will produce a lot more flowers the following season.
In the northern hemisphere, in areas where the ground freezes over winter, it is necessary to dig up your dahlia clumps, as the tubers can't handle the freezing temperatures and will basically turn them to mush.  Storing tubers over the winter can be a challenge but is not an impossible feat if you have the right set up. The same rules apply here in the southern hemisphere as they do in the north. This need not be complicated or expensive but getting the temperature right and the level or humidity, is important.  Storing your tubers in some kind of medium, like potting mix, saw dust or vermiculite can help keep your tubers safe through the winter.  You will also need to keep the temperature above freezing.  The other thing is you don't want your tubers getting too warm otherwise they may wake up too early, which you don't want as the plants are tender annuals and don't handle frost well.  You certainly can't plant them out in the garden until the last frost has passed.  In terms of the humidity, you do need to make sure that your tubers don't dry out too much otherwise they will shrivel up and potentially die.  Check your stored tubers regularly and spritz them with water if you feel they are drying out. You may find that some still do shrivel but often these are fine and still viable.  Often do we find that a tuber that looks way past it and almost dead goes on to produce a perfectly good shoot and grow a fantastic plant.  So don't give up on them too soon!
This weekend here at the farm we will be hosting a dahlia tuber dividing workshop with bookings currently open through the website.  For the cost of $150 you will learn how to dig up the tubers and you will then be given your own clump of tubers to have a go at dividing.  You are free to take home your divided clumps and extra tubers will be available to take home.  The more participants we have on the day is an added bonus as you can share tubers amongst yourselves so you can take home a good selection of varieties for your garden, so be sure to invite your friends and family!  The workshop is taking place on Sunday the 18th of May at 10.30am with morning tea provided.  

Hope to see you here at the farm!

Amber