What to plant

Flowers
All zones: African marigold, Arctotis, aster, balsam, carnation, gazania, honesty, tuberous begonia, nasturtium and rudbeckia.
Zones 2-5: Delphinium, dianthus, nasturtium and statice.

Zones 6-8: Ageratum, amaranthus, bedding begonia, Californian poppy, celosia, chrysanthemum, coleus, cosmos, dahlia, gerbera, impatiens, lupin, marigold, petunia, phlox, portulaca, salvia, snapdragon, sunflower, verbena and zinnia.

Vegetables
All zones: Beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, mustard, onion, parsnip, peas and silver beet.
Zones 2-5: Artichoke suckers, broad beans, Chinese cabbage, cress, kohlrabi, potato and rhubarb crowns.

Zones 6-8: Beans, capsicum, carrot, choko, cucumber, eggplant, marrow, melon, okra, potato, pumpkin, radish, rhubarb crowns, squash, sweet corn and tomato.

In your garden

To prepare for spring, treat your garden to a late-winter pep-up. Dig in plenty of organic matter, such as compost and manure.

- Want a tree with stunning blooms the size of your hand? The New Zealand-bred Jury magnolia, ‘Felix’ has hot pink flowers up to 30cm wide and mass-blooms in early spring. Growing to 5m, it’s ideal for smaller gardens and needs little pruning. From Anthony Tesselaar Plants.

- Choose a winter blooming grevillea to brighten up a sunny corner. Good bushy varieties include the long-flowering red, yellow and orange ‘Superb’ and the deep red flowered ‘Robyn Gordon’.

- Set up a display for summer with mass plantings of liliums, gladiolus, hippeastrums, daylilies and vallotta.

- For a blaze of golden yellow foliage, check out the new Zelkova serrata ‘Goldenflame’ tree from Fleming’s Nurseries. An excellent shade tree (to about 10m) at its peak in spring with leaves darkening through summer to a light green. Can’t find it? Your local nursery will order it.

- In those bare shady spots, try Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’. Spreading 60cm wide with showy spikes of lavender flowers from late summer through into autumn, it boasts deep green leaves with wine purple undersides. Unlike many other plectranthus, it doesn’t spread wildly. From Plant Growers Australia.

- For a bumper crop, fertilise passionfruit and cut vines back by about a third.

- Check trees for borer infestations, often indicated by a sawdust-like substance around holes in the trunk. Push a length of wire into hole, work it around to kill borers, then inject some insecticide.

- Check azaleas for petal blight, indicated by transparent or mushy brown flowers. If present, spray plant with a fungicide and remember to always water at the plant’s base, never over them. Add a curry leaf tree (Murraya koenigii) to your kitchen garden for its aromatic leaves that lift home-cooked curries.

- Check for citrus gall wasp (swellings on stems) on lemon trees. Cut off galls with a sharp knife before the end of August, or risk a

new generation.

- Divide perennials such as delphiniums, chrysanthemums, asters and astilbes.

You might also like:
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At the nursery

With large soft yellow double blooms and a beguiling citrus perfume, Mother and Daughter Rose is hardy, disease tolerant and repeat-flowering, from late October to late May. Its long, sturdy stems also make it an excellent cut flower. From Rankins Roses, it’s been released in conjunction with TV gardener Melissa King to honour her mother, who died from Motor Neurone Disease last year (a portion of each sale is going to research). From Bunnings and good garden centres, or visit www.rankinsroses.com.au to order, or for other outlet details.

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