Frost on the Warrandyte Garden
by Kathy Gardiner
9th June 2025
WOW, WINTER has come crashing in with cold and frosty mornings.
Our first frosts of the season but we are still short on rainfall which hopefully will not become a problem.
The soil under the falling autumn leaves is still bone dry.
We continue to be treated with brilliant sunrises and sunsets, and the river seems to be visibly breathing its misty breath as it quietly rolls on by.
What a stunning town and area we live in.
I have a favourite place on Everard Drive where you can, with very little effort, have a brilliant view of the Yarra River back to the Warrandyte township.
This elevated position is a favourite of locals and many take opportunities to take breathtaking ever-changing photos.
Make sure you look in Warrandyte Nature Facebook page for locals with pure talent with the camera recording the area in all its wintery glory.
This view is quintessential Warrandyte.
Further down the road you will see kangaroos and wombats looking cold in the misty morning light.
Black cockatoos and particularly the yellow tailed black cockatoos are hovering around at the moment looking for seeds and insects to supplement their diet.
By planting hakeas, grevilleas, and wattles, we can help provide food and shelter for these threatened birds.
A lot of pine trees have been taken down around my area and the cockatoos are not happy with the gap in their feeding areas.
They love feeding on my Pincushion Hakea (Hakea Laurina) though.
I managed to pick up three more pots of these beauties this week.
A fabulous tree growing to about three metres high very quickly.
The cockatoos are delighted chowing down on the seed heads.
As winter approaches, the risk of frost increases in Warrandyte, while many winter vegetables can tolerate light frosts, and some, like Brussel Sprouts, even improve in flavour with the cold snap, other plants need protection.
Frost sensitive plants like basil, tomatoes and some citrus varieties should be sheltered.
Simple techniques might include cloths, bird netting, a simple tarpaulin, cloches or even upturned plastic containers overnight to prevent frost damage.
For larger garden beds consider using straw or sugarcane mulch to insulate the soil and protect root systems.
Watering in the morning rather than the evening can also help.
Moist soil holds heat better than dry soil and can act as a buffer against overnight temperature drops.
Whether your sowing winter crops, repurposing leaf litter from raked up leaves, or planting native flora to support wildlife, every action contributes to a healthier and more resilient environment.
Use packed straw mulch (the stuff you buy in big plastic bags at the local garden centre) or rotted down hay to protect the plants.
A simple mulch like this traps the air, retaining more warmth around the plant as well as in the top few centimetres of the soil.
Other materials you could use for a frost-resistant mulch is pea straw, bark chips, rotten down grass clippings or even ripped up plain cardboard.
It is not the frost itself that is dangerous to plants it is what happens after it has landed that is so dangerous.
The cells in the plant’s leaves and stem freeze and swell and eventually burst.
If frost damage is to be minimised, they need to thaw out gently before the morning sun hits them.
By spraying water over plants that have been hit by a frost, you will raise the temperature around the plants leaves.
The plant will thaw gently, and damage will be minimal.
But you will need to get up early as your effort will be too late once the sun hits the plant.
Still water can also reduce the effects of frost.
If you have a pond somewhere in your garden it will keep the air slightly warmer at night.
Even swimming pool will retain enough heat to protect surrounding plants and shrubs from frost.
If one of your plants has been burned by frost you don’t need to worry, it may not have killed the plant.
Young shoots of new plants are particularly susceptible to frosts, more so than mature plants.
Tidy up the plant in spring by pruning all the affected leaves and branches back to fresher, greener growth.
Make sure you look at the labels of new plants that you are purchasing and take note of their “frost tender” or “frost hardy” information.
Correa Alba or Correa Rubra or any of the Nandinas are fantastic frost hardy plants that are flowering profusely at this time of year.
It is also a perfect time to plant a wide variety of winter vegetables into carefully prepared beds.
Prepared before time with compost and a handful of fertiliser.
The soil is still relatively warm, but the air is cooler, its ideal for sowing cool-season crops.
Brassicas like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale thrives when planted at this time of year, and root vegetables like carrots, beetroot and parsnips also do well when seeds are sewn directly into loose, well-draining soil.
You can also purchase punnets of seedlings but with any new planting beware of snails, slugs, and rats, which will love to have a nibble at the succulent new growth.
Spinach, silverbeet, and lettuce are fast growers in the cooler months and can be harvested continuously if leaves are picked regularly.
Bay trees are also a necessity in the garden at this time of year with leaves plucked off to be added into casseroles and soups.
I have learned the hard way to restrain them in pots as my beautiful Bay has sent up shoots everywhere and they are hard to get back into control.
Garlic is also best planted in June.
Remember leaf litter supports biodiversity in your garden.
It provides habitat for insects, frogs, lizards and even small mammals.
Raking leaves into garden beds, or if you are lazy or time-poor like me I just blow them into the garden beds with my garden blower.
Placed in compost piles or heaped under plants creates micro-ecosystems that benefit your entire garden.
Again, don’t forget the old saying “Prune in June”.
Roses should be cut back now.
Don’t be timid.
Roses can cope with harsh pruning.
Even a hedge trimmer will do the job every second year when time gets away from you.
June is the time for planting spring bulbs and strawberries.
Always so much to do in the garden.
Remember to take the time to rug up, wander down and sit by our beautiful Yarra and watch the world roll by and hopefully overhead you will be treated with the raucous cry of a Black Cockatoo.
