Sabrina Hahn: Autumn gardening guide including the best veggies to plant in autumn and the best native trees

Western Australia experienced a varied range of weather conditions this past summer. The northern region, particularly the Kimberley, has seen good rainfall, while in the Pilbara it has been an absolute stinker. The Wheatbelt has experienced very high temperatures and unusual rain events while the South West dealt with a drier and hotter summer. Perth has recorded temperatures that are two degrees warmer than the summer of 2024-2025 and following on from last autumn we are still experiencing summertime temperatures. Climate change seems to be condensing our traditional four seasons into just two: winter and summer. The only noticeable changes are some cooler early mornings and the fact that daylight hours are becoming shorter. The start of March brought extremely high temperatures to the Perth region, reaching the high 30s and 40s, which certainly doesn’t feel like autumn. While gardening magazines and bulb catalogues from the Eastern States discuss autumn planting, this is not suitable for WA. I strongly urge gardeners to wait until April before considering any autumn planting. The Indigenous weather calendar is far more suitable for Australia than the one we have inherited from the Northern Hemisphere. Aboriginal people were able to observe the subtle changes in plants, animal behaviour and marine life, understanding the interconnectedness of each element. Each region has their own seasonal calendar; in the Noongar calendar we are now in Bunuru season. Bunuru is the season when white flowers bloom; you will notice jarrah, marri and beautiful ghost gums covered in blossoms. Following Bunuru, the break in the hot season for the Noongar people is known as Djeran, which lasts from April to May. This period is marked by the appearance of vibrant red flowers. Autumn veggies Garlic The most anticipated vegetable to grow in autumn is garlic, however, wait until April to plant it, because it needs both the soil temperature and daylight hours to decrease to start its growth. Garlic thrives in full sun and requires good soil so adding compost, manure, rock dust and trace minerals will help develop large juicy bulbs. In WA it’s a good idea to store your cloves in the bottom crisper of your refrigerator for two weeks before planting. When planting, place the cloves 2-5cm deep with the pointy end facing up, and space them 10cm apart. Be sure to add a layer of mulch on top. If it rains in winter there is no need to water but during long dry spells, water once a week. The best garlic varieties for WA include Australian White, Glenlarge, Melbourne Market, Australian Purple and Tasmanian Purple. Most garlic takes around nine months to produce a bulb. In the initial months, you may notice little growth, as the plant focuses its energy on developing roots and leaves. As the days grow longer and the weather warms after the winter solstice, the garlic will begin to develop its bulb. Greens Broccoli, broad beans, spinach, silverbeet, rainbow chard, lettuce, cabbage, kale and peas are the best veggies to plant from April onwards. All these veggies prefer cooler soil and shorter daylight hours without the extremes of hot temperatures and easterly winds. Green veggies require a well-balanced fertilising regime with more than just nitrogen. Trace minerals such as potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, boron, iron and zinc will ensure you don’t just end up with healthy leaves with no broccoli, beans or cabbage forming. Always add manure and compost at least two weeks before planting out your veggies. Rock dust, liquid kelp and biochar are a great additive and help plants uptake nutrients and resist disease. Native trees for autumn blossoms Pincushion hakea (Hakea laurina) A favourite in many native gardens and suitable for smaller gardens as it grows to only 4m-high and 2m-wide. The flowers resemble a pincushion, changing from cream to deep pink as the stamens open. A much-loved tree for pollinators and honeyeaters alike. It’s best to prune it when it’s a young sapling so it doesn’t get too top heavy and fall over in strong winds. Red flowering paperbark (Melaleuca viridiflora) One of my favourites and the first feature tree I planted on my verge to support habitat and increase biodiversity options. It’s a paperbark from up in the Kimberley, growing to 6m-high and 4m-wide in Perth. The bottlebrush-like flowers can be bright red or green/cream with white stamens and cream-grey papery bark. It flowers twice a year in autumn and again in spring, providing nectar for birds and a haven for insects. Bell-fruited mallee (Eucalyptus preissiana) This small mallee is a wonderful tree for small gardens, growing to only 3m and it can be pruned to be a shrub. It has huge yellow flowers in autumn and green leathery leaves attracting honey possums, birds and native bees. A great choice for seaside gardens and courtyards. Acorn banksia (Banksia prionotes) A stunning banksia for coastal gardens, you will see the acorn banksia in flower all around Perth growing in the poorest sandy soils in blazing hot sun. It can be pruned as a shrub or grown as a 5m tree and is also ideal for growing in a large pot. It is an outstanding ornamental species and very popular in the cut flower production due to its bright terminal flowers. This banksia needs free-draining, nutrient poor, sandy soil and does not tolerate humidity. Ivory curl tree (Buckinghamia celsissima) If you are lucky enough to have this tree in your garden, you will see so many insects and birds coming in for a feast of nectar. It is one of the most stunning ornamental native trees with dark glossy leaves and abundant long white grevillea-like scented flower spikes which cascade downward. In WA it is best grown in afternoon shade and can reach a height of 8m. I planted mine 10 years ago on the east side of the house that only gets sun until midday, and it is magnificent. Compost and manure is applied twice a year and it has a huge display of flowers every autumn. Tip of the week Keep your tomatoes growing until they die down. The best seed to save are from varieties that have shown disease resistance and lasted until the cold weather sets in. Save the seed from the healthiest and ripest fruit to resow again next October. Remove the pulp, place in a jar of water and shake until the seeds sink to the bottom, then pour onto paper towels to dry and store in a clean glass jar. Do you have a question for Sabrina? To submit a question to Green With Envy, inside Saturday’s The West Australian, write to Ask Sabrina, GPO Box D162, Perth, 6001 or email home@wanews.com.au. Please include your full name and suburb. Due to the volume of questions, not all of them will be answered.