A.K Gardening Group

Can you truly call yourself a gardener without owning at least one ridiculously floral shirt? 🤔

Gotta love a good before and after photo 😁

These photos don't show it but we stuffed the green bin, XL garden bag and d.i.y compost bin until they were full. We even took some away. Order has been restored to the universe.

❤️

We renovated an overgrown garden bed, pruning shrubs and removing select plants as requested by our client, and discovered a concealed gas meter along with a flourishing passion fruit vine. Despite the passion fruit vine growing in the oddest spot and in the oddest way, it was flowering, so we lightly trimmed it so it's not in the way, and we cross our fingers it fruits 🤞

Despite our apple tree being decked out in its finest netting, those sneaky local parrots just wouldn't give up their pursuit of a snack. Our genius solution? Apples on a stick! We skewer some apples from our tree onto thin bamboo sticks and voilà, a strategically placed snack bar for our feathered friends around the garden. Today, a pair of Rosellas swung by for an apple snack - and didn't even glance at the tree. It's a bird-brained win-win: we're thrilled, and the local wildlife is fed.

You may not be able to see it, but we've mowed the grass, pulled out the weeds, pruned certain plants and trees, and planted some in empty garden beds, and that's just the front yard.

Check out these purple chillies (my favourite colour) - Mexican Twilight Peppers - with a medium to hot taste (hotter than jalapenos). Can't wait to use them in the kitchen when they're ready.

Visual representation of shabby to chic

Great little article about predatory insects and how they benefit the garden..

Predatory insects provide natural pest control when companion flowers invite them into your garden. These nine beneficial hunters keep pest populations in check without chemicals.

LADYBUG + TOMATOES
Devours aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. Attracted to yarrow, dill, fennel, and tansy flowers.

PARASITIC WASP + CABBAGE
Lays eggs inside cabbage worms and aphids, killing them from within. Attracted to sweet alyssum, dill, coriander, and Queen Anne's lace.

GREEN LACEWING + PEPPERS
Both larvae and adults consume aphids, thrips, and small caterpillars. Attracted to dill, coriander, angelica, and dandelions.

SOLDIER BEETLE + CUCUMBERS
Eats cucumber beetles, aphids, and caterpillar eggs. Attracted to goldenrod, asters, and native wildflowers.

GROUND BEETLE + BEANS
Nocturnal hunter that consumes cutworms, slugs, and root maggots. Attracted to permanent groundcover and white clover.

ASSASSIN BUG + SQUASH
Pierces and drains squash bugs, stink bugs, and beetles. Attracted to sunflowers, coneflowers, and milkweed.

PRAYING MANTIS + EGGPLANT
Ambush predator eating caterpillars, beetles, and flies. Attracted to tall grasses and flowering shrubs for egg case attachment.

HOVERFLY + LETTUCE
Larvae consume aphids while adults pollinate. Attracted to daisies, marigolds, and flat-topped flowers like yarrow.

SPINED SOLDIER BUG + CORN
Pierces and feeds on corn earworms, armyworms, and beetle larvae. Attracted to goldenrod, amaranth, and sunflowers.

Plant nectar-rich flowers throughout the garden, avoid broad-spectrum pesticides, and let predators restore natural balance.

Sunshine and fresh cut grass make every backyard look great 🌞