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Daily gardening tip · Southern hemisphere · Tuesday 29 September 2026 · early spring

Check Your Hose and Nozzle Connections

Checking your hose connections now prevents wasted water and low water pressure before your spring watering schedule begins.

Check Your Hose and Nozzle Connections
10 minuteseasywatering
  1. Unscrew your hose from the outdoor tap and remove any spray nozzles or attachments.
  2. Look inside the female ends of the hose and nozzles to inspect the rubber washers for cracks or stiffness.
  3. Pry out any damaged or dry washers and press a new rubber washer flat into the connection.
  4. Wrap a small strip of thread seal tape clockwise around the male threads of the tap and hose ends.
  5. Screw all the connections back together firmly by hand.
  6. Turn on the tap and spray the hose to ensure there are no drips or sprays at the joints.
A garden in early spring

Why it works

Worn rubber washers shrink and crack over winter, which allows water to escape under pressure. Replacing these cheap seals and using thread tape ensures all the water goes directly to your plants instead of pooling uselessly at the tap.

Bird's-nest Fern

Plant of the day

Bird's-nest Fern

Asplenium australasicum

An impressive epiphytic or lithophytic fern forming a large, bowl-shaped rosette of glossy, undivided light green fronds. A strong central midrib gives structure to the arching fronds, which naturally collect falling organic matter to nourish the root system

Read about it →

Gardening news

Gardening news

Jane Lawler appointed HTA President

The Horticultural Trades Association has chosen Jane Lawler as its new president, Neil Grant as vice president, and three new board members to help run the group.

The Dirt · 2026-09-28
New research

Tropical Trees Breathe at Night to Survive Drought

Scientists found that certain tropical trees open their pores at night to collect carbon dioxide. This unusual strategy helps the trees conserve precious water during dry weather. The discovery shows how plants adapted over millions of years to survive harsh climates.

sciencedaily.com
On this day

Opening of the National Garden in Washington, D.C.

On 29 September 2006, the National Garden officially opened next to the United States Botanic Garden Conservatory. The three-acre public space features a rose garden, a butterfly habitat, and native regional plants. It was created entirely through private donations to showcase plant diversity.

straitstimes.com · 2026-09-25

Written for the southern hemisphere. Gardening north of the equator? See the northern edition

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