Win a bespoke Daylesford getaway inspired by The Productive Garden Companion

Win a bespoke Daylesford getaway inspired by The Productive Garden Companion.

There are moments in a big project like a book where you stop, look around, and realise just how many people are holding it with you.

The launch of The Productive Garden Companion has felt like one of those moments for me.

This book has been years in the making. It carries so much of my life, my work, my gardens, my teaching, and the way I’ve come to understand beauty, abundance, seasonality, and living well. And when it finally went out into the world, the response was extraordinary. Warmth, encouragement, generosity, pre-orders, messages, comments, and a sense that this book was already beginning to find its people.

I wanted to mark that support with something deeply special. Not something flashy or generic, but something thoughtful, beautiful, and genuinely generous. Something that felt aligned with the spirit of the book and with the world that has shaped so much of my work.

So, to celebrate the pre-order launch of The Productive Garden Companion, every pre-ordered copy now goes in the running to win a bespoke Daylesford getaway valued at $2,690.

This is not just a giveaway. It is a thank you.

At the heart of it is a three-night stay at Acre of Roses in The Potting Shed Retreat. If you know Acre of Roses, you’ll know it is a place of extraordinary beauty and care. Sandy has been one of my greatest champions and supporters over many years, and also a wonderful collaborator. I am so incredibly grateful to her for the generosity behind this prize and for helping create something that feels so deeply aligned with this book and this season.

The giveaway also includes breakfast or lunch for two at Cliffy’s Emporium (the very place much of my book was written!), two tickets to a Natasha Morgan workshop, and one of my seasonal syrup packs. The Acre of Roses experience also includes curated breakfast provisions by Michael Furness, a Spinal Flow session with Simone Gilbert, and a restorative wellness experience by Catherine Laurent. Together, it has been shaped as an offering of beauty, nourishment, rest, and connection.

That matters to me.

Because this book has never just been about gardening as task or output. It is about the life that gathers around a garden. The rituals. The table. The pause. The learning. The return to what matters. I wanted this giveaway to reflect that same feeling.

Why pre-orders matter

I know people often hear that pre-orders are important for authors, but it really is true.

A strong pre-order campaign helps build early momentum around a book. It gives retailers confidence. It supports visibility. It influences print decisions. And it helps a book travel further from the very beginning. In very real terms, pre-orders help a book find its readers.

For an author, they are one of the most meaningful forms of support.

So if you have already pre-ordered, thank you. Truly.

And if you have been thinking about it, this is a beautiful time to do so.

What’s included

The Potting Shed Experience at Acre of Roses
A three-night stay for up to two guests in The Potting Shed Retreat, shaped around beauty, stillness and restoration.

Also included:

• Curated breakfast provisions by Michael Furness

• Access to the private outdoor bath pavilion beneath the trees

• A firepit experience during your stay

• A Spinal Flow session with Simone Gilbert

• A restorative wellness experience with Catherine Laurent

• Breakfast or lunch for two at Cliffy’s Emporium

• Two tickets to a Natasha Morgan workshop

• A Natasha Morgan seasonal syrup pack

Total prize value: $2,690 AUD

How to enter

To go in the running:

• Pre-order one or more copies of The Productive Garden Companion

• Email your proof of pre-order to hello@natashamorgan.com.au

• Include your full name and contact details

Each copy purchased counts as one entry. So if you pre-order multiple copies, you receive multiple entries.

You can find the full giveaway details here: Daylesford giveaway

And you can pre-order the book here: The Productive Garden Companion

Entries close at 8.00pm on Sunday 31 May 2026 (AEST)

Thank you so much for supporting this book. It means more than I can say.

Join a workshop

Explore current workshops in the shop.

This season’s offerings include:

• Garden Design

• The Productive Garden

• The Wicking Bed Garden

• Introduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping

• The Medicinal Garden with Caroline Parker

If you are building your garden from home right now, my e-books on Wicking Bed Gardens and Introduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping offer practical step by step guidance that pairs well with the workshops.

Continue your gardening journey with me

If you enjoy this kind of content, my workshops offer more detail and guidance on design, productivity and seasonal care. May is also a great month to sign up to my newsletter if you do not already subscribe, where you can find out more about an exciting giveaway I am running for those who pre-order a copy of my book The Productive Garden Companion.

If you are building your garden from home right now, my ebooks onWicking Bed Gardens andIntroduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping offer practical step by step guidance that pairs well with the workshops.

You may want to check out my related content below:

From Fumigation to Flavour - What Happens to Imported Garlic Before It Reaches You

Gravel to the Edges – Blurring Boundaries

The Medicinal Garden Workshop with Caroline Parker & Natasha Morgan — Step into the magic of nature

Stay connected for more seasonal inspiration:
Instagram | Facebook | Gardenstead | LinkedIn | Pinterest | YouTube | Website | Newsletter

Thanks so much for following along.
Natasha xx

May Garden Tasks for Australian Climates

May brings a quieter kind of momentum to the garden.

The intensity of summer has eased. The days are shorter, the mornings colder, and the garden begins to ask something different of us. This is not a month of urgency. It is a month for noticing. For clearing what is finished, preparing beds with care, and making considered decisions about what comes next.

In many parts of Australia, May is one of the most useful planting windows of the year. Soil still holds some warmth, but growth has steadied. Moisture lingers longer. New plantings often establish more reliably, especially in cool season vegetable beds and newly planted perennials. It is also a valuable time to pay attention to what the garden has shown you through summer and autumn. Where did crops perform well? Which spaces felt tired or overworked? Where is frost beginning to settle, or water beginning to sit?

I tend to think of May as a month for quiet structure. Not stripping the garden back, but strengthening what matters. Feeding the soil. Repairing supports. Planting for the months ahead. Observing first, then acting with a little more clarity.

Tasks for all Climates:

• Plant trees, shrubs, climbers, and perennials while the soil still holds some warmth.

• Lift and divide perennials that have outgrown their space, giving tired clumps a new lease on life.

• Cut back spent berry canes and tidy deciduous shrubs.

• Compost fallen leaves, layering them to feed the soil.

• Sow green manure crops such as mustard or vetch, or plant broad beans in any bed you want to keep active while building the soil.

• Strengthen the structure of your garden: repair trellises, replace stakes, check tree ties before the winter winds arrive.

What to sow and plant now, and tasks by climate.

Temperate

Seeds to sow now.

Edible: Lettuce, cauliflower, peas, coriander, broccoli, spring onion, onion, parsnip, pak choy, thyme, strawberries, chives, garlic, parsley, radish, rocket, shallots, spinach, mizuna, swedes and turnips.

Flowers: poppies, billy buttons, cornflower, delphinium, tansy, alyssum, cerinthe, love in the mist, hollyhock, lupin, pyrethrum.

Tasks:

• Plant cool-season crops while soils are still workable. 

• Direct sow or plant hardy greens in succession rather than all at once, so you have a continuous harvest through the colder months. 

• Tidy and prepare beds for winter cropping by removing spent summer plants, adding compost and keeping the soil covered. I chop plants off at the ground, rather than pulling them out, so the roots can decompose in the soil.

• Plant flowering annuals for winter and spring display such as alyssum, cornflower, delphinium, hollyhock, lupin and poppy, depending on your local frost level. 

• Watch moisture and airflow as the season cools. In temperate areas, May is a good time to shift from growth-at-all-costs into steadier maintenance: less frequent watering, better drainage awareness and closer observation of fungal issues. 

Cool and Alpine

Seeds to sow now

Edible: Broad beans, corn salad, garlic, mustard greens, rocket, shallots, spinach, spring onions.

Flowers: alyssum, billy buttons, cerinthe, corn cockle, false Queen Anne’s lace, hollyhock, poppy, pyrethrum, tansy and tulips.

Tasks:

• Use frost to your advantage by continuing with cold-loving crops and planning around frost pockets rather than fighting them. Frost sweetens brassicas and root veg. May is the right time to notice how cold settles across the garden. 

• Divide or tidy perennial edibles such as rhubarb while growth is slowing. 

• Mulch and protect soil before winter deepens, especially around garlic, leafy greens and any newly planted seedlings. In cool zones, getting beds covered before the harshest cold is more useful than leaving them exposed. 

• Sow or plant cold-season flowers for later colour. Tulips are also typically planted from late autumn into early winter.

• Plant the hardiest edibles only now, such as beans, garlic, spring onion.

Subtropical

Seeds to sow now: 

Edible: Beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, burdock, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, chives, collard greens, coriander, dill, endive, fennel, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, onion, oregano, pak choy, parsley, peas, potatoes, radish, rocket, shallots and strawberry runners

Flowers: nasturtium, poppy, pyrethrum, salvia, Sturt’s Desert Pea, sunflower, sweet pea, tansy, viola and zinnia.

Tasks:

• Plant your main cool-season crops now. May is one of the best windows for broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, beetroot, celery, fennel, kale, lettuce, peas, garlic and shallots in subtropical gardens. 

• Get root crops in promptly while conditions are still mild. Carrots, beetroot, radish and onions are all suited to this period in subtropical areas. 

• Feed and reset beds after summer exhaustion with compost, mulch and light cultivation where needed. May is very much about slowing down, tending and re-establishing what matters most. 

• Plant strawberries or strawberry runners if your local conditions suit it. 

• Sow or plant seasonal flowers such as nasturtium, poppy, salvia, sunflower, sweet pea, viola and zinnia to carry colour and pollinator interest into the cooler months.

Tropical

Seeds to sow now:

Edible: amaranth, angelica, asparagus, asparagus pea, basil, climbing beans, bush beans, beetroot, borage, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chicory, chilli, chives, choko, collards, coriander, cucumber, daikon, dill, eggplant, endive, fennel, tarragon, garlic, ginger, globe artichokes, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lemon balm, lettuce, luffa, marrow, mint, mizuna, mustard greens, Warrigal greens, okra, oregano, pak choy, parsley, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, radish, rocket, rockmelon, rosemary and sage

Flowers: alyssum, borage, calendula, cleome, cosmos, marigold, nasturtium, salvia, sunflower and zinnia.

Tasks:

• Make the most of the broad May planting window. Tropical gardeners can still plant a wide range of crops now.

• Sow in stages rather than all at once, particularly for fast crops such as beans, lettuce, Asian greens and herbs, so you do not end up with a glut all at the same time. Tropical conditions can still drive quick growth. 

• Keep on top of pest pressure and airflow. Warm, humid conditions can still favour mildew, caterpillars and fungal issues, so spacing, pruning and regular checks matter. 

• Refresh beds with compost and organic matter before planting heavy feeders such as brassicas, cucurbits and fruiting crops. Tropical gardens can keep producing hard, so soil replenishment remains important. 

• Add flowering support plants such as calendula, cosmos, marigold, nasturtium, sunflower and zinnia to attract beneficial insects and keep the garden lively.

Arid

Seeds to sow now:

Edible: beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, burdock, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chicory, collard greens, dill, endive, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lemon balm, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, pak choy, parsley, parsnip, peas, radish, rocket, silverbeet, snow peas, spinach, strawberries, swedes, thyme and turnips.

Flowers: alyssum, bergamot, calendula, Canterbury bells, cerinthe, corn cockle, cornflower, delphinium, false Queen Anne’s lace, hollyhock, lupin, mignonette, poppy, pyrethrum, sweet pea, tansy and viola.

Tasks:

• Use May as a key planting window for cool season food crops. In arid gardens, it is often one of the more forgiving planting times of the year.

• Prioritise soil preparation before planting by adding compost and organic matter. In arid gardens, improved water-holding capacity and soil structure are essential for success. 

• Mulch deeply after planting to reduce evaporation and buffer temperature swings. Even as temperatures fall, moisture conservation remains one of the most important jobs.

• Watch for frost as well as dryness. Arid does not mean frost-free, and May can bring sharp overnight drops, so newly planted crops may still need protection depending on your local site. 

• Add tough seasonal flowers suited to autumn sowing.

How I work with May.

I see May as a month of consolidation. The rush has passed, but the garden is not asleep. It is still moving, just more slowly, and that slower pace makes it easier to see what needs attention.

This is the month I start thinking more carefully about structure. I clear only what is properly finished. I feed beds that will carry winter crops. I mulch exposed soil. I check ties, arches and trellises before the weather turns rougher. And I pay close attention to how cold, moisture and shade are beginning to behave across the garden.

I am also thinking about continuity. I do not want bare gaps sitting for too long or soil left exposed through winter. This is something I talk to Matthew Evan’s, of Fat Pig Farm and author of Soil, in my book, The Productive Garden Companion. 

I want the garden to keep carrying itself forward. That might mean succession sowing leafy greens, replanting a bed as soon as it opens up, or putting in something simple that protects and improves the soil while I decide what comes next.

May rewards that kind of steady, practical care.

Quick checklist.

• Clear out truly spent summer crops and tidy only what is finished. 

• Add compost or well-rotted organic matter to any beds you plan to plant next. 

• Mulch exposed soil to protect structure, hold moisture and buffer temperature shifts. 

• Plant or sow what suits your climate now, especially cool-season edibles in temperate, cool/alpine, sub-tropical and arid regions. 

• Weed early while the ground is still softer and easier to work. 

• Check trellises, ties, arches and other supports before late-autumn and winter winds strengthen. 

• Watch how water moves through the garden after rain and fix any drainage issues before winter deepens. 

• Notice frost pockets, shade shifts and wind exposure so you can plant more intelligently. 

• Keep succession sowing going for leafy greens, herbs or other quick crops where your climate allows. 

• Pause and observe what actually worked this season before making new decisions.

Continue your gardening journey with me

If you enjoy this kind of content, my workshops offer more detail and guidance on design, productivity and seasonal care. May is also a great month to sign up to my newsletter if you do not already subscribe, where you can find out more about an exciting giveaway I am running for those who pre-order a copy of my book The Productive Garden Companion.

If you are building your garden from home right now, my ebooks onWicking Bed Gardens andIntroduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping offer practical step by step guidance that pairs well with the workshops.

You may want to check out my related content below:

The Productive Garden Companion is now available to pre-order - This is the book I’ve wanted to find my entire life.

Beauty, Tending, Belonging: Why I Keep Growing Things - Growing things is how I remember who I am.

The Medicinal Garden Workshop with Caroline Parker & Natasha Morgan — Step into the magic of nature

Stay connected for more seasonal inspiration:
Instagram | Facebook | Gardenstead | LinkedIn | Pinterest | YouTube | Website | Newsletter

Thanks so much for following along.
Natasha xx

The Productive Garden Companion is available for pre-order

The Productive Garden Companion is now available to pre-order

This is the book I’ve wanted to find my entire life.

I have been waiting to write these words for over a year.

My book — The Productive Garden Companion — is now available to pre-order. And even sitting here writing that sentence, it feels completely surreal.

This is the book I have wanted to find my entire life. The one I kept reaching for and couldn’t find. So I wrote it.

I have poured everything into these pages. Every season of observation. Every lesson learned in soil. Every conversation with a gardener who taught me something I didn’t know I needed. Every moment of doubt, and every moment of complete conviction that this book needed to exist. I have left nothing in the tank.

---

What is The Productive Garden Companion?

It is not a book that simply tells you what to plant and when. It is something far more than that.

It brings together a lifetime of gardening, two decades of landscape architecture and design thinking, twenty years of teaching, and the lived lessons of two very different gardens — Oak & Monkey Puzzle and Little Cottage on a Hill. It holds my beliefs about beauty, abundance, seasonality, resilience, and generosity. And it holds my deepest conviction that a garden — any garden, at any scale — can play a profound role in helping us live more grounded, capable, and meaningful lives.

For me, a productive garden has never been just about output. It has always been about creating spaces that give more than they take. Spaces that are unapologetically beautiful as well as abundant. Spaces to be lived in, not just tended. Spaces that hold us through the hardest seasons and reward us with the most extraordinary ones.

That is what every page of this book is devoted to.

---

Who is this book for?

It was written for you. Exactly as you are. Exactly where you are.

Whether you are beginning with a single pot on a windowsill or working with acres. Whether you have gardened for decades or have never put a seed in soil. Whether you arrive at these pages with confidence, or simply ready to begin.

These pages are my way of walking beside you.

I wrote the dedication to this book before I wrote anything else. It has guided every single page since:

To you.

To you, beginning from exactly where you are: with a single pot on a sill, a small patch already full or only an idea you haven’t quite named yet.

To you, arriving with whatever you carry: experience or uncertainty, weariness or wonder, a lifetime in gardens or none at all.

These pages are my way of walking beside you, offering what I have learned and loved, in the hope that they keep you in good company as you grow your own way.

---

What is inside?

448 pages of everything I know, distilled as generously as I know how.

It features 24 extraordinary contributors from Australia and around the world — designers, growers, thinkers — whose voices you can sit with directly through QR-linked video conversations, as though you are simply in the room with us. You will hear from people whose work has shaped how I see gardens, growing, and the world.

Alongside their voices, you will find downloadable guides, templates and resources designed to extend the book far beyond its printed pages.

This book is not just something you read. It is something you live with — and return to, season after season. As much at home on a bedside table as on a potting shed bench.

It is, in every sense, a companion.

---

Why now?

Because I believe there has never been a more important time for a book like this.

So many of us are quietly looking for a way back to something that feels real, grounded, and within reach. Something we can tend with our own hands and feel the difference of. A garden gives you that. Not just food and beauty, but rhythm. Solace. Community. A reason to pay attention to the world around you.

That is what this book is for.

---

How to pre-order

You can pre-order The Productive Garden Companion now via the link below.

Simply click the link below and it will automatically direct you to the pre-order options available in your country — no searching, no navigating, just straight to where you need to be.

On sale:

Australia: 15 September 2026

UK: 17 September 2026

USA: 22 September 2026

Thank you for being here for this moment. For following along, for your patience, your encouragement, and your trust over this past year. It means more than I can say.

I cannot wait for this book to find its way into your hands.

Natasha xx

Join a workshop

If you love plants that work hard and give more than one thing back, my Medicinal Garden workshop is a natural next step. We’ll explore some of the most useful and beautiful plants to grow, and how they can enrich both your garden and your daily life.

Explore current workshops in the shop.

If you are building your garden from home right now, my e books on Wicking Bed Gardens and Introduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping offer practical step by step guidance that pairs well with the workshops.

Stay connected

Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Gardenstead, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube, visit the website and subscribe to the Newsletter for seasonal updates.

Stay tuned, for more exciting book news coming soon.

Thanks so much for following along.

Natasha xx

You may want to check out my related content below:
My top 5 plants from Oak & Monkey Puzzle – plants that I keep coming back to.

April garden tasks for Australian climates & adding interest for winter – The first week of the month of mileston

Redefining Productive - What it means in my Garden

The Medicinal Garden Workshop with Caroline Parker & Natasha Morgan — Step into the magic of nature

Stay connected for more seasonal inspiration:
Instagram | Facebook | Gardenstead | LinkedIn | Pinterest | YouTube | Website | Newsletter

My top 5 plants from Oak & Monkey Puzzle

My top 5 plants from Oak & Monkey Puzzle

Some plants stay with you.

Not just because they performed well, although these ones certainly did, but because they came to represent something much bigger. A season. A milestone. A long held dream finally made real.

Oak & Monkey Puzzle was where so many of my plant dreams came true. It was the first place I could truly grow the things I had longed for. The plants I wanted to cut in armfuls. The plants that marked the seasons so clearly. The ones that offered beauty, fragrance, structure, and that particular kind of generosity that makes a garden feel deeply lived in.

For nine years on five acres in Spargo Creek, I built that garden slowly, season by season, precinct by precinct. It held me through some of the hardest years of my life, but it also gave me so much. It gave me a place to test my ideas. It gave me proof that beauty and productivity can sit side by side. It gave me a garden full of plants that worked hard, and a few that were simply too magnificent not to grow.

This month, as part of my April month of milestones, I’ve created a free eBook for newsletter subscribers featuring the full Oak & Monkey Puzzle plant list, organised garden by garden across the property. It is a list built over nearly a decade of living, growing, observing, and refining on five acres.

In this article, I begin with my top five plants I return to again and again when I think about Oak & Monkey Puzzle.

They are not the only plants I loved there, not by a long shot, but they are five that hold something of the spirit of that garden for me.

Subscribe to the newsletter to download your free copy of the entire eBook

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Hydrangea paniculata

If there is one plant I have become known for, it is probably this one.

The Hydrangea paniculata I grew at Oak & Monkey Puzzle never came with a cultivar name. It was simply sold to me as Hydrangea paniculata, and over time it became one of the plants I most relied upon. Hardy, generous, and deeply beautiful across an extraordinarily long season, it carried the kind of quiet strength I value so much in a garden.

In spring and summer, it was all freshness and lift. Then came that beautiful soft shift into blush tones, before the flowers deepened into the rusted, parchment like autumn phase I love so much. Even after that, the spent flower heads held beautifully through winter, catching frost and low light in a way that made them feel just as valuable as when they were in full bloom.

That is what I mean when I talk about high performance plants. They do not only offer one fleeting moment. They hold their place and give back over time. This is something I talk about in my upcoming book - stay tuned for a huge announcement!

This plant mattered enough to me that when I left Oak & Monkey Puzzle, I took cuttings from it and planted them again at Little Cottage on a Hill. To me, that says everything. It’s a plant I would happily propagate from one property to another. I will never let it go!

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Fragrant repeat flowering roses

For me, a rose must earn its place through fragrance as well as beauty.

At Oak & Monkey Puzzle, one of the great joys was finally being able to grow armfuls of roses that were not only beautiful, but richly scented and generous across the season. I did not want roses that gave one quick flush and disappeared. I wanted repeat flowering roses that I could keep cutting, keep bringing inside, and keep living with.

Three of my great loves were ‘Jude the Obscure’, ‘Golden Celebration’ and ‘Just Joey’. They had the softness, fragrance and fullness I longed for, and they brought that old world sense of abundance that is almost impossible to replicate with florist flowers. To cut them fresh from the garden and bring them indoors was one of those bucket list moments that felt every bit as magical as I had imagined.

They were not just ornamental plants. They shaped the atmosphere of the picking garden. They offered fragrance, seasonal continuity, beauty in the vase, and the kind of richness that makes you want to stop whatever you are doing and take notice.

If I am making room for a rose, it must be doing all of that.

---

Hellebores

Hellebores are among the plants I rely on most for that crucial turning point in the year when winter begins to loosen its grip.

At Oak & Monkey Puzzle, they brought beauty at exactly the moment it was most needed. When so much else was still resting, hellebores were already there, quietly holding the garden and offering the first sense that the season was beginning to shift.

I grew all sorts, from single black to double black, single whites and many shades in between. What I love most about them is their restraint. They are not loud plants, but they are deeply moving in their timing and presence. They flower when the garden still feels sparse. They ask you to come closer. They reward attention.

They are also wonderfully suited to cool climate gardens, particularly where there is filtered light and a certain softness of setting. At Oak & Monkey Puzzle, they sat beautifully within the more layered and intimate planting combinations, offering that low, luminous kind of beauty that can anchor a whole moment in the garden.

They are, without question, one of the plants I would never want to garden without. Post Office Farm Nursery are your hellebore specialist growers.

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Peonies

Peonies are the exception in this list.

When I talk about plants that work hard or offer more than one thing back, peonies are not necessarily the first to come to mind. They are not long flowering. They are not especially structural for most of the year. And yet, when you can grow them well, you do.

Because they are magnificent.

At Oak & Monkey Puzzle, I discovered just how well peonies respond to a cool climate with real winter chill and frost. The corals, especially ‘Coral Charm’ and ‘Coral Supreme’, became particular herbaceous peony favourites. Their colour is not static. It shifts and softens as the blooms age, moving through tones that feel almost impossible to describe properly unless you have lived with them day by day.

I also loved the contrast between herbaceous peonies and tree peonies. Herbaceous peonies disappear completely and return with fresh energy each year. Tree peonies hold more of a woody presence and bring a different kind of structure. Both are worth growing.

Peonies ask for patience. They are not instant plants. But that is part of their beauty too. They remind us that some things in a garden are worth waiting for.

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Sweet peas

Sweet peas are pure joy.

There is really no other way to say it.

They are one of the plants I most strongly associate with the kind of abundance I wanted to experience at Oak & Monkey Puzzle. Not abundance in the sense of excess, but in the sense of being able to cut huge fragrant bunches, carry them inside, press them into someone’s arms, and fill a room with their scent.

Once you have grown and picked sweet peas yourself, it is very hard to feel the same way about buying them.

Their flowers are delicate, but their generosity is immense. They climb, they flower, they perfume the air, and they give that unmistakable feeling of the season being fully alive. They are one of those plants that engage memory so quickly. A smell, a bunch in a child’s hands, a vase on the table, and the whole time of year comes flooding back.

If you are thinking about sweet peas now, this is the time to plant seed. And if you have never grown them before, I would encourage you to begin. They ask for a little care, but they return it in spades.

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Why these five?

All five of these plants hold something different for me, but they are united by one thing. They helped make Oak & Monkey Puzzle feel like the garden I had always dreamed of.

Hydrangea paniculata gave me longevity and seasonal depth.

The roses gave me fragrance and armfuls.

Hellebores gave me late winter lift.

Peonies gave me beauty for beauty’s sake.

Sweet peas gave me scent, abundance and sheer delight.

Together, they tell a story about the kind of garden I was creating there. A garden where plants were chosen not only because they looked good in one moment, but because they contributed to the life of the place. Because they carried the season. Because they gave me something to cut, notice, remember, or revere.

And because, in one way or another, they helped shape the experience of living there.

Subscribe to the newsletter and download the full Oak & Monkey Puzzle plant list

As part of my April month of milestones, I’ve created a beautiful free eBook for newsletter subscribers featuring the full Oak & Monkey Puzzle plant list, organised garden precinct by garden precinct.

It is a detailed record of the planting across the property, built over nine years of living and gardening on five acres, and I hope it offers both inspiration and practical ideas for your own garden, whatever scale you’re working at.

You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

Join a workshop

If you love plants that work hard and give more than one thing back, my Medicinal Garden workshop is a natural next step. We’ll explore some of the most useful and beautiful plants to grow, and how they can enrich both your garden and your daily life.

Explore current workshops in the shop.

If you are building your garden from home right now, my e books on Wicking Bed Gardens and Introduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping offer practical step by step guidance that pairs well with the workshops.

Stay connected

Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Gardenstead, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube, visit the website and subscribe to the Newsletter for seasonal updates.

And stay tuned. There is a major announcement coming very soon, and I cannot wait to share it with you.

Thanks so much for following along.

Natasha xx

You may want to check out my related content below:
Hydrangea Paniculata: A Year-Round Beauty in the Garden – this is a plant that never fails to bring joy

April garden tasks for Australian climates & adding interest for winter – The first week of the month of milestones.

Autumn Gardening Jobs - A Gentle Approach for a Bountiful Season

The Medicinal Garden Workshop with Caroline Parker & Natasha Morgan — Step into the magic of nature

Stay connected for more seasonal inspiration:
Instagram | Facebook | Gardenstead | LinkedIn | Pinterest | YouTube | Website | Newsletter

April garden tasks for Australian climates & adding interest for winter

April brings a sense of settling to the garden.

The rush of high summer has passed. Light softens, mornings cool, and the garden begins to shift from heat and speed into a more measured autumn rhythm. This is the month to tidy with restraint, prepare beds carefully, and make the most of the soil warmth that still lingers.

In many parts of Australia, April is one of the best planting windows of the year. The pressure is off. Moisture begins to hold a little longer. New sowings establish more steadily. It is also a good time to pay close attention to what the garden has taught you over summer. Which crops performed well? Which beds struggled in heat or wind? Where did water move, sit or disappear too quickly?

I always think of April as a month for resetting. Not by stripping everything back, but by observing first, then acting with a bit more clarity.

Shared tasks for all climates

These are the April tasks I keep as my base checklist:

• Clear out spent summer crops, but only where they are truly finished.

• Top-dress productive beds with compost or well-rotted manure.

• Refresh mulch to around 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 inches), keeping it clear of stems and trunks.

• Sow in succession rather than all at once, especially for leafy greens and quick crops.

• Save seed from healthy, productive plants.

• Weed early while the ground is softer and before winter growth slows things down.

• Check supports, trellises and ties before autumn winds strengthen.

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Seeds and seedlings by climate

Here are the April highlights by climate.

Temperate

This is one of the most generous planting windows of the year. Soil still holds warmth, but the fierceness has gone out of the season.
Try: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, beetroot, carrots, radish, silverbeet, lettuce, rocket, spinach, peas, broad beans, spring onions, leeks, parsley, coriander and dill.

This is also a good time to:

• feed and mulch fruit trees

• plant strawberries in cooler temperate districts

• keep harvesting lingering tomatoes, basil and late zucchini while nights remain mild

• sow little and often so the garden stays productive rather than peaking all at once

Cool and alpine

April is a serious month in cool gardens. Growth slows, frosts begin to return in some districts, and timing matters.

Try sowing or planting: broad beans, peas, beetroot, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, lettuce, silverbeet, spinach, spring onions, leeks and garlic.

This is also a good time to:

• tidy out the last of the summer crops

• sow a green manure crop in any bed you will rest over winter

• prune back herbaceous perennials as flowering finishes

• protect young seedlings from sudden cold snaps

• choose fast-maturing varieties where the growing window is short

Subtropical

April often brings a welcome easing. There is still warmth in the soil, but conditions are usually more workable and less relentless.

Try sowing or planting: lettuce, Asian greens, silverbeet, beetroot, carrots, radish, spring onions, coriander, parsley, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, leeks, celery, ginger and turmeric in suitable districts.

This is also a good time to:

• turn compost heaps and accelerate them with nitrogen-rich inputs

• lift, divide and replant rhizomatous crops such as ginger, turmeric and horseradish

• weed thoroughly, then mulch before winter weeds take hold

• give citrus its final feed before spring growth

• store chill-requiring bulbs in the crisper if your winters are mild

Tropical

April is a transition month between the wet season and the dry in many tropical areas. The work now is about harvesting what is finishing, reducing weed pressure, and preparing beds properly for the next round of sowing.

Try sowing or planting: beans, beetroot, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, celery, coriander, cucumber, eggplant, kale, basil, corn and chilli.

This is also a good time to:

• harvest the last of the wet-season crops

• weed regularly and mulch heavily

• prepare beds with compost and well-rotted manure

• apply trace elements to help renew the soil ahead of the dry season

• keep a close watch on snails, slugs, aphids and citrus leafminer

Arid

In arid regions, April is a valuable reset point. Days can still be warm, but this is the moment to capture the gentler conditions before winter slows everything too sharply.

Try sowing or planting: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, beetroot, carrots, radish, turnip, swede, lettuce, silverbeet, spring onions, beans and herbs such as coriander and parsley.

This is also a good time to:

• harvest pumpkins and the last melons

• prune and feed citrus and other evergreen fruit trees

• top up mulch to suppress weeds and reduce moisture loss

• protect brassicas early from caterpillars

• keep watering deeply but less often, rather than little and often

Plants to think about in April for winter colour and interest

April is a beautiful moment to plant shrubs, bulbs and perennials that will carry the garden visually through winter.

Winter gardens often rely on three subtle elements:
• Fragrance that carries through cold air
• Flowers appearing on bare branches
• Plants with beautiful stems, bark or evergreen form

These quieter moments are what give winter gardens their depth. Plants like winter sweet, daphne, hellebores and witch hazel are not loud performers, but they hold the garden beautifully through the coldest months.

One of my favourite winter flowering shrubs is Chimonanthus praecox, winter sweet. It is a quiet plant for much of the year, but in the depths of winter it suddenly comes into its own. Small waxy flowers appear along the bare branches, releasing a warm, spicy fragrance that carries through the cold air. Often you smell it before you see it. In a cool climate garden it is one of those plants that quietly holds the garden through winter and reminds you that the seasons are already beginning to shift.

Cool climate gardens

These gardens benefit from plants that bring fragrance, early flowers, bark and structure through winter.

Fragrant winter shrubs
• Chimonanthus praecox, winter sweet
• Daphne odora, incredibly fragrant late winter flowers

Winter flowering perennials and bulbs
• Hellebores, often flowering through the coldest months
• Snowdrops, Galanthus, delicate white winter flowers
• Cyclamen coum, jewel like ground layer colour
• Early narcissus, bringing brightness to the late winter garden

Plants that provide structure or seasonal beauty
• Hamamelis, witch hazel, sculptural winter flowers
• Cornus, dogwoods, colourful winter stems
• Sarcococca, sweet box, subtle fragrance in deep winter

Temperate climates

Milder winters allow a mix of evergreen structure and seasonal flowers.

Winter flowering shrubs
• Camellia sasanqua, early winter colour
• Camellia japonica, mid to late winter flowers
• Correa, wonderful winter nectar for birds
• Grevillea, many varieties flower through winter

Perennials and bulbs for colour
• Hellebores
• Pansies and violas
• Freesia and anemone
• Ranunculus

Warmer climates

Northern NSW, Queensland, subtropical regions

Winter is gentler, so colour and structure come from different plants.

Winter flowering plants
• Aloe species, dramatic winter flowers
• Salvias, many varieties flower through winter
• Plectranthus, soft purple winter blooms
• Hibiscus, providing colour through mild winters

How I work with April

I see April as a month of adjustment. Not retreat, and not quite rest either. More a recalibration.

It is the time I start reading the garden differently. The angle of light changes. The air sits differently in the morning. Growth is no longer racing, which means there is a chance to intervene with a bit more intelligence. Beds can be improved. Crop choices can become more strategic. Mistakes made in summer can be noticed and resolved before winter really settles in.

This is also when I am thinking about continuity. I do not want a productive garden to operate in feast and famine. I want something always moving forward. A tray of seedlings under cover. A gap replanted before it becomes empty for too long. Compost maturing in the background. Mulch protecting what is already in place.

April rewards that kind of steady thinking.

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Quick checklist

1. Clear tired summer crops.

2. Top-dress beds with compost.

3. Refresh mulch.

4. Sow leafy greens and roots in succession.

5. Plant brassicas suited to your climate.

6. Watch for early frost in cooler districts.

7. Weed, edge and tidy lightly.

8. Take note of what summer taught you.

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Continue your gardening journey with me

If you enjoy this kind of content, my workshops offer more detail and guidance on design, productivity and seasonal care. April is also the month to sign up to my newsletter if you do not already subscribe. To celebrate my birthday each week of April I will be sharing via the newsletter free resources to help you in your garden journey.

If you are building your garden from home right now, my ebooks on Wicking Bed Gardens and Introduction to Backyard Chicken Keeping offer practical step by step guidance that pairs well with the workshops.

You may want to check out my related content below:

When the world feels uncertain, grow one thing – are you thinking what I am thinking?

Romanesco: fractal beauty from the brassica bed – I harvested the first Romanesco heads this week and had to stop and stare.

The Medicinal Garden Workshop with Caroline Parker & Natasha Morgan — Step into the magic of nature

Stay connected for more seasonal inspiration:
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Thanks so much for following along.
Natasha xx

Caring for Ornamental Grasses – When (and Whether) to Cut Back

As we head toward winter here in the southern hemisphere, it’s the time of year when I’m often asked: Should I be cutting back my grasses now?

My answer, more often than not, is not yet.

For many of us, ornamental grasses are still holding strong—bleached, upright, architectural. They continue to offer form, movement, and quiet seasonal interest right through the cooler months. Cutting them back too early removes not just their visual contribution, but also the habitats they offer to insects and birds.

So if you’re unsure what to do right now in late May, my suggestion is this: observe closely, and wait if you can. Let the garden keep offering what it still has to give.

Below, I’ve shared what I do in my own garden at this time of year—including when (and whether) to cut back each type of grass, how to divide them, and how to support them through the seasons.

Why I return to grasses, again and again

I return to grasses time and time again. They’re a favourite go-to in my garden design toolkit—they offer structure and softness, but also bring a kind of seasonal rhythm that anchors the garden and that just keeps on giving.

They catch the light, respond to the breeze, and shift with the seasons—moving from verdant to architectural, continuing to anchor the space even through winter.

That’s why I leave mine standing for as long as I can.

Here at Little Cottage on a Hill, the 27-metre long northern planting—filled with Miscanthus, Calamagrostis, Panicum, Molinia and others—does so much of the heavy lifting during the cooler months. It softens the boundary, offers a sense of enclosure, and holds a rhythm at the garden’s edge.

But eventually, they do need cutting back. And each one has its own rhythm.

When to cut back – species by species

Miscanthus (e.g. ‘Eileen Quinn’, ‘Kleine Fontaine’, ‘Yakushima Dwarf’)
Leave standing through winter. Cut back in late winter to early spring, just before new shoots emerge. Trim to around 10–20cm (4–8").

Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’
Often pushes fresh growth early. Cut back in late winter, just before the green blades return. Trim to around 10–15cm (4–6").

Panicum (e.g. ‘Blue Steel’, ‘Iron Maiden’)
Hold their form well into winter. Cut back in late winter or early spring, down to 10–15cm (4–6").

Andropogon scoparius ‘Blaze’
Cut back just before new growth appears in late winter.

Molinia arundinacea
Cut back in late winter. These often flatten with heavy rain or frost, but their form is still beautiful when caught in low light or mist.

And once they’re cut? Don’t be too quick to compost what’s left behind.

Spent grasses make beautiful materials for vases, loose seasonal arrangements, or even twisted into wreaths. Their fine structure, bleached tones, and natural curves bring a quiet, sculptural quality indoors. I often gather armfuls of Miscanthus or Calamagrostis to use around the house—nothing too styled, just simply arranged in a jug or laid across a shelf.

Why not cut grasses back in autumn?

It’s a question I’m asked often—and I understand why. For years, autumn clean-up was the default. But I’ve found that grasses give so much more when left in place:

• They provide visual structure and softness when everything else is pared back

• They shelter overwintering insects and offer food for birds

• They create contrast against bare branches, frosts, and low winter light

• They add sound to the garden—seedheads rattling softly in the breeze

Unless the plant has collapsed or rotted at the base, I always choose to leave it be.

Can they be divided? What about in winter?

If a grass is thinning in the centre or starting to dominate a space, division is a simple way to rejuvenate it or create new plantings.

But winter isn’t the ideal time to divide. Most ornamental grasses are dormant through the colder months, and disturbing them too early can lead to stress, rot, or poor re-establishment.

Instead, wait until early spring—just as new growth begins to show. That’s when the crown is active, and divisions settle in more easily. I usually look for the first signs of green shoots before lifting and splitting a clump.

Use a sharp spade to divide the clump cleanly, replant or pot up the divisions, and water them in well. With the full growing season ahead, they’ll re-establish quickly.

Do they need feeding or mulching?

Most ornamental grasses are fairly low maintenance. I do mulch lightly with compost or aged mulch in early spring after cutting back—not to push excessive growth, but to support soil health and give the plants a good start for the season.

Are all grasses safe to leave through winter?

In wetter climates or heavy soils, some grasses can be prone to rotting at the crown if left standing too long. If a grass has flopped or shows signs of decay, it’s perfectly fine to cut it back a little earlier. As always: observe the plant, and respond accordingly.

Can I grow ornamental grasses in pots or small spaces?

Absolutely. Grasses can thrive in containers and smaller gardens—especially those with upright, clump-forming habits. Some of my favourites include:

• Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ – strong vertical structure that holds its shape beautifully

• Panicum ‘Blue Steel’ – upright with soft, airy flowering plumes through late summer

• Miscanthus ‘Eileen Quinn’ – compact and elegant, ideal for pots or tight borders

The key is choosing varieties that are more restrained in size, and matching their mature height to the scale and depth of the container. A tall grass in a shallow pot will never thrive—so I always make sure the root zone has room to stretch, and the proportions are balanced.

A favourite pairing: grasses, Echinops and Echinacea pallida

One of the things I’ve observed this past year is how well Echinops works structurally in combination with grasses—particularly Calamagrostis. Where I’d planted Echinops ritro just in front of a drift of Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, the tall, rigid stems of the Echinops acted almost like a scaffold—quietly holding the grasses upright and preventing them from flopping in the wind.

It’s a small detail, but it’s shifted how I think about layering structure in the 27-metre north-facing verge bed. This winter, I’m propagating more Echinops from saved seed so I can carry that rhythm further through the planting. Grasses and Echinops have become one of my favourite combinations—offering contrast, resilience, and structure that carries through the seasons.

I love the way Echinops brings both edge and softness: thistle-like, globe-shaped flowers in mid-summer, followed by intricate seedheads that hold their form through winter. Their upright stems catch the light and hold their line long after flowering is finished—adding texture and subtle architecture to the garden in its quieter months.

Similarly, I’ve long admired the way Echinacea pallida moves with some of the finer, shorter grasses. There’s something so quietly graceful in the pairing—the fine, reflexed petals of the pallida drooping elegantly around a cone of dusky seed, mirrored by the movement of surrounding grasses. Miscanthus ‘Eileen Quinn’ works especially well here—tightly clumped, upright, and modest in scale without losing presence.

Other compact grasses I return to for these kinds of pairings include:

• Panicum ‘Blue Steel’ – fine-textured with gentle autumn tones

• Miscanthus ‘Kleine Fontaine’ – with a lovely upright form

I like to plant in drifts of four or five—a rhythm that brings coherence without feeling too uniform. It’s a tip shared with me by my dear friend Lily Langham, and it’s one I return to often. Whether it’s grasses, Echinacea, or Echinops, that repetition adds a softness and strength to the planting—giving enough body to hold space while still allowing for movement and light.

These combinations bring layered interest, seasonal movement, and a gentle wildness to planting—anchoring the space, yet always shifting with light and breeze.

Where I source my grasses

If you’re looking to introduce more ornamental grasses into your own garden, I’m often asked where I source mine from. These are nurseries I’ve personally used and return to again and again—for their quality, range, and thoughtful curation of plants suited to Australian conditions:

• Antique Perennials – in King Lake, with a beautiful range of grasses and perennials that work beautifully in seasonal planting

• Lambley Nursery and Gardens – in Ascot, known for their dry-climate plant palette and strong garden performance

• The Diggers Club – online and their wonderful three Victoria locations, especially good for accessible, well-labelled plants and beginner-friendly information

If you know of any other specialist nursery you trust, I’d love to hear.

Wherever you source your plants, make sure to check the mature size, form, and growth habit—it makes all the difference when selecting grasses for the right rhythm, scale, and movement in your space. I’ve made mistakes in the past, assuming that Miscanthus ‘Yukashima Dwarf’ was in fact a dwarf, and I can guarantee you it certainly is not! (I’ll be shifting a clump of it this winter away from the front of a bed!!)

Some things I’ve learnt over time

• Leave grasses standing through winter if they’re still holding well

• Cut back in late winter to early spring, just before new growth appears

• Divide in early spring—not winter—when growth begins

• Mulch lightly after cutting back

• Observe your climate and plant condition before acting

• Use spent grass stems for sculptural arrangements or natural wreaths

You may want to check out my related content below:

My Top 3 Grasses For All Seasons Gardens – Discover the best ornamental grasses that bring year-round beauty and structure to your garden.

Curious about ornamental grasses?

If you’re exploring how to bring beauty, softness, and structure into your garden—whether through boundary planting, small courtyard moments, or grasses that catch the light just so—I share more in my e-books. They offer guidance on planting design, seasonal care, and combinations that bring function and beauty together.

→ Browse the e-books for more insight into thoughtful planting and garden layering.
→ Share this post with friends who love grasses as much as you do.
→ Sign up for the newsletter to receive seasonal tips, workshop updates, and more from Little Cottage on a Hill.

Thanks so much for following along.
Natasha xx

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