After enduring a long period of very heavy rain in the past few months in Australia, your garden can look a little worse for wear - but it's not all bad news! Materials in the Raw’s wide range of landscaping supplies and gardening products  will help you get your garden back to pristine condition for winter in no time.

Materials in the Raw specialises in the supply of hard landscape materials such as soil blends, decorative pebbles, sleepers and masonry products for landscaping, building and gardening.

Whether your garden restoration and preparation project is large or small, we have over twenty five years experience, meaning we can supply the perfect landscaping materials and solutions for your landscape projects Sydney wide.

Materials In The Raw has been serving Sydney businesses for over 25 years.

How to restore your garden after heavy rain

Your garden will bounce back after the terrible weather with a little bit of effort. Materials in the Raw provides a guide on what you can do to support them as your garden and plants recover.

Provide Support

The good news is that healthy plants should bounce back in the next week or so after heavy rain. Many may have bent under the force of the rain and look somewhat flattened, but as long as they haven’t snapped they will prop themselves back up in due time. If your smaller trees are a little unstable, you can stake them for a period of time until their root system re-establishes itself back into the ground.

Trim Things Back a Little

Plants that haven’t been put into position for the correct amount of sunlight, don’t have access to the nutrition they require or have poor drainage might be struggling after all this wild weather. This is because they wouldn't have developed the strong root systems as a foundation to handle extreme weather. Give rain-damaged plants the best opportunity to recover by removing any snapped branches cleanly with secateurs to avoid them dying off and rotting on the plant. This will encourage new growth and avoid attracting a disease.

Restore Your Soil

Sometimes wet weather can lead to the movement of soil around your garden - even into your neighbours yards. If too much soil has banked up around your plants, remove it as required. You may also need to top up your soil if too much displacement has occurred - you'll know you need to do this if any roots have become exposed. Only top up soil to its original level - plants can rot as a consequence of topping it up any higher.

Chances are your soil is appearing to be on the soggy side right now, so hold off on watering for a while (even when the soil surface appears dry, it could still be quite wet underneath). Once it's dried out a bit, you should water on a seaweed solution. Seaweed solutions work as health tonics for your plants, assisting in fortifying them and mitigating some of the effects of stress and shock that your plants might have fallen victim to. Repeat weekly for six weeks and you should start to see some great improvements in your plants. If you have a clay soil, you might also want to attempt using a liquid clay breaker to help improve your soil long-term and minimise water logging for when the wild weather hits in the future.

You should also take this opportunity to feed your plants with a complete fertiliser as the weather has occurred during the Autumn active growth period. Torrential and prolonged periods of rain can result in "leaching", where trace elements and essential nutrients are effectively washed out of the soil. A complete but gentle organic fertiliser will help restore these nutrients so that your plants can thrive.

Diseases, Pests & Fungal Issues

Within the coming days and weeks, you're likely to see a cornucopia of garden nasties, as wet weather tends to attract them out of hiding.

Aphids are likely to be the most active pest in your garden post wet weather. They present as little black, brown or green dots on your plant, and because they suck the sap out of your plant, sometimes new growth may appear stunted or distorted. If you see ants or ladybugs on your plant, chances are they're there because you have an aphid infestation!

If you notice blackening or yellowing foliage or that plants are drooping, root rot may have set in as a result of the soil being too wet for an extended period of time.

Whack Those Weeds

Following rain, you're likely to see an increased velocity of weed activity in your garden. This is because weed seeds can be spread through flood waters and rain which make their way through your garden - plus moist soil is the most ideal germinating environment. Not only are weeds unsightly in your garden, as they develop they compete with the roots of your plants for water and nutrients. Pluck weeds out by hand as you see them, and once the soil has dried a little, add a layer of mulch to help stop them from emerging. Another solution is adding a weed mat. Weed mats are designed to inhibit the growth of weeds, while still allowing water and air flow for healthy soil and plants. Shop weed mats here.

Clean The Gutters

Now that it has stopped raining it’s never too late to clean the gutters. Overflowing gutters can result in damaging gardens and undermine the footings of your house. When you’re up a ladder either doing the gutters or any other job in the garden, it is recommended you have a second person with you - an extra set of hands to hold the ladder, pass you tools and to spot potential problems. It makes the process a lot more efficient and much more safe.

It’s a hard time to garden after heavy rain, but let’s be thankful for it and pray that we can enjoy the long-term benefits of having moisture deep down in our soil.

Why choose Materials In The Raw?

At Materials In The Raw, we value our customers enormously. It is our business goal and mission to assist you to build the best with our wide range of products and commitment to amazing service. Our experienced and passionate team of staff will work with you to ensure you get the job done correctly. All Materials In The Raw employees are trained regularly so they are up to date with the latest products, tips and trends. We are determined to be the benchmark in the industry and we go beyond building materials. Materials In The Raw has a genuine commitment to supporting local communities to maintain their cleanliness and strength.

Materials in the Raw is a well established business that specialises in the supply of landscaping and building materials from multiple locations in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. We care so much about providing quality service to our customers, so please reach out if you want to know more about us or our services! You can do so by simply clicking on this and filling out a contact form. We look forward to hearing from you!