It's not as celebrated as a street of blossoming trees, but a line of cars queuing up at the green waste dump is one of the sure signs of an early spring in Canberra.
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As warm weather lures gardeners outside, the inevitable chore of clearing neglected garden beds and pruning trees is on in earnest.
At Canberra Sand and Gravel's Mitchell green waste dump, the typical weekend traffic of 70 to 80 cars has more than doubled with queues running right out onto the road.
The challenge then for gardeners when they get back home is what to do with all that clear space?
On Friday, TAMS Minister Shane Rattenbury launched what he hopes will be a feature of gardens throughout Canberra, a commemorative plant in celebration of the Yarralumla Nursery's centenary.
The 'Centenary Carpet', a variation of the Creeping Boobialla (Myoporum parvifolium), is a hardy and fast-growing evergreen ground cover, which produces white, star-like flowers in spring. It will be sold in nurseries and garden centres across Canberra from Friday.
"It was propagated to survive Canberra's hot dry summers and severe winter frosts and has become one of the top selling species grown by the Nursery," Mr Rattenbury said.
Yarralumla Nursery's Tinus Ehlers said the reason Canberrans enjoyed gardening so much was so that they could enjoy the flowering of plants nearly all year round.
He mentioned Australia's rich selection of native plants, while also singling out the Hardenbergia violacea and its "deep purple flush of colour," which flowers during late winter.
Heritage Nursery's Michelle Penders said Canberrans "like to make their immediate surrounds beautiful."
"They're also becoming more and more aware of the planet, sustainability, and where their food comes from," she said.
"I think the Slow Movement had a big effect on that—now if they can grow some themselves, they will."
As winter finishes and the warmth slowly arrives, Penders said now is the time most people start getting their gardens and soil ready for planting.
Bunnings' National Garden Care Buyer David Hardie said spring was an ideal time to plant vegetables to ensure "a bountiful crop for your summer salads".
Hardie encouraged gardeners to prune fruit trees in early spring before new fruit develops to encourage healthy growth and help minimise pests and disease.
For people whose lawn is their garden pride and joy, Hardie recommended aerating the soil to allow the lawn to breathe and also "tackling weeds early and sprinkling fertiliser over the soil".
