06/08/2026
This Week at Four Acre Garden – Winter Slowly Gives Way to Spring
Winter is still very much with us here in Yass. Frosty mornings continue to greet us, but every week there are a few more signs that the garden is waking up. One of the joys of growing seasonal flowers is noticing these subtle changes—the first blossom, the first bee, the first seedlings pushing through the compost.
Every week is a little different.
Around local gardens this week, the wattles continue to brighten roadsides and paddocks with their golden flowers. Camellias remain one of winter’s stars, while viburnums and daphne perfume the air on sunny afternoons. Hellebores are still quietly flowering beneath deciduous trees, and rosemary is covered in tiny blue flowers that are a magnet for bees.
The first bulbs continue to emerge. Jonquils, paperwhites and early daffodils are flowering, while winter iris are bringing welcome splashes of colour to otherwise quiet gardens.
Our flowering quinces have been beautiful this week, their delicate blossoms appearing before the leaves. The ornamental Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus mume) is now in full bloom, creating clouds of soft pink flowers against bare branches. Forsythia is also beginning to open, promising its cheerful display of golden yellow in the coming days.
One surprise has been our purple scabiosa, which has continued to produce the occasional flower ever since summer. Winter Joy wallflowers are still flowering well, adding fragrance and warmth to the garden, while a few of last summer’s snapdragons are bravely hanging on despite repeated frosts.
The main snapdragon crop, however, is still patiently waiting. Hundreds of young seedlings are growing down near the orchard, ready to burst into growth once spring warmth finally arrives.
One of our reliable Australian natives at this time of year is Grevillea rosmarinifolia. Its red and cream flowers provide valuable nectar for honeyeaters, wattlebirds and native bees when few other plants are flowering.
Behind the scenes, this week has also been about preparing for the seasons ahead.
Yesterday I filled the greenhouse with trays of seeds on the heat mats. Alongside this season’s tomatoes are statice, Persian cress, stock, orlaya, broccolini, pak choy, beetroot, eggplant and capsicum. It’s always a hopeful time of year. Tiny seeds don’t look like much, but each one represents future bouquets, vegetable harvests or seedlings destined for someone else’s garden.
I also spent time tidying my collections of scented geraniums and chrysanthemums. At this time of year they’re mostly being cleaned up and prepared, ready for fresh spring growth. As soon as that new growth appears, I’ll begin taking cuttings to expand the collection and preserve some favourite old varieties.
That’s one of the things I love most about seasonal gardening. While the flowers may seem quiet above ground, there’s always something happening. Winter is a season of preparation as much as production—sowing, pruning, dividing, planning and waiting.
Every tray of seedlings, every swelling bud and every flowering branch is a reminder that spring is already on its way.
If you’re out walking around Yass this week, take a moment to look a little more closely. You might notice a flowering apricot covered in blossom, hear honeyeaters feeding in a grevillea, catch the perfume of daphne on the breeze, or spot the first jonquils pushing up through the grass.
The garden is slowly waking up—and so are we.
