On the coast, early blossom trees are coming out. Magnolias are about to bloom and daffodils are popping up everywhere. Inland gardeners may have to wait a little longer, but there are jobs we can all do to prepare for the growth and blooms to come.

The main task this month is to plant, water and feed spring flowering annuals to ensure a spectacular display over the next few months. Keep beds well weeded or mulched, and ensure adequate water is given during this vital growing period.

August is also a good month to work on your soil. Hydrangeas indicate lime content: very pink means high lime. Another sign is yellow foliage, especially tips. In alkaline soil salt content is high and trace elements low. Sulphur or aluminium sulphate plus iron chelates help reduce alkalinity.

Plants which like acid conditions (like azaleas, camellias and heaths (ericas) do not grow well in alkaline soils, whereas lime-loving plants will adapt to acid.

Tropical zones:

• This is the hardest period in northern-most Australia to maintain a garden in good condition because of dusty south-easterly winds and complete lack of rain. The long-term answer is to establish windbreaks and have a continuing mulching program.
• Many plant varieties native to the north survive with minimum water or, if well-established, do not require irrigation. However, varieties introduced from more temperate areas require regular thorough soakings - especially fruit crops, as drying out causes fruit and flower drop.
• August may be seen as the start of spring but do not plant tender shrubs too soon. The end of the month, if mild, may be safe for citrus trees. Meyer lemon is frost resistant and late Valencia orange will also withstand low temperatures well.

Tip: Seasons differ a little from year to year and the wise gardener will make allowance for that.

• Change the varieties of vegetables sown to those more suited to summer. Root vegetables can adapt more easily to the change from winter to summer.
• Spray your glasshouse for fungi.
• Paint the glass with whitewash ready for summer, lubricate vents and louvres, and test reticulation and timing mechanisms.
• Repot plants with roots showing.
• Mist with liquid fertiliser to help alleviate transplant shock.
• Lay snailbaits at access points to the glasshouse and spray stored pots to kill breeding redback spiders.

Cold zones

• August can be wet, changeable, and often treacherous; although spring is in the air, winter may return. Do not plant tender seedlings the first sunny day; wait for soil to warm a little.
• Prepare the ground for new plantings and control weeds. Gain long-term weed control by adding compost to garden beds to improve soil condition and stifle weed seedlings.
• Prepare soil in readiness for summer growing lawn grasses. A lush patch of green looks cool and inviting in summer. However, increasing water restrictions may limit watering. Sown grass seeds are far more resilient and hardy in hot, dry conditions. The bent grasses, fescue, Kentucky blue and perennial rye, form lush, dense lawns when sown thickly, but do need plenty of water in warm weather. Couch grasses, buffalo, kikuyu and Queensland blue couch, thrive in warm climates and suit sandy soils.
• Repot container plants now before their growth period.
• Apply complete fertiliser garden-wide. Use a pellet form if you have lots of groundcovers and seedlings to help prevent leaf scorch.
• Clean pots and seed trays for next month's sowing; clean and check the mower.

Flowers

Apply soluble fertiliser to blooming winter annuals such as cineraria, primroses, polyanthus, stock and poppies to get every last flower. Remove faded flowers regularly too for more bloom.

Feed developing spring annuals and pinch out growing tips to force side growth. Divide any overgrown perennial plants. Work plenty of compost, decayed manure and a little complete fertiliser into planting area. Lime a carnation bed, one handful per square metre. Build up the soil next month.

In cold zones, Chrysanthemums will be in vigorous growth shortly; strike from cuttings now and plant out in beds in September-October.

Roses

In cold zones, prune roses until month's end then spray with fungicide to help control black spot and other fungal diseases. Burn all rose prunings to kill disease spores and pests. Stake and tie young standard roses and test that climbing roses' supports are adequate. Work in topdressing of well-composted manure around all roses.

Shrubs and trees

Main tasks are feeding and pruning. Give camellias a complete fertiliser after flowering.

Feed hydrangeas a blueing compound or 120g of aluminium in water every three weeks until flowering buds appear. Pink hydrangeas are a sign of lime in the soil.

Feed fuchsias fortnightly and trim back by two-thirds of previous season's growth even though losing flower buds. Close pruning can lead to dieback so cut 6 mm above nodes. Remove any dead or weak growth. Use some prunings as cuttings.

Pick daphne blooms freely to prune. New shoots develop from bare wood. Feed with a special fertiliser for acid-loving plants and mulch as for camellias. Prune heliotrope, hypericum, lasiandra, oleander and poinsettia after flowering. Do not prune frost-damaged plants until severe cold has passed.

Water azaleas regularly as spring blooms appear. Water at roots; wet flowers spread petal blight. Prune fragrant, pink, winter flowering evergreen luculia as soon as blooms fade. Trim back beloperone (drejerella).

In tropical zones, loosen topsoil and fertilise gardenias. Prune any dead wood and they should flower November-December. If blossom drop is seen, apply magnesium sulphate. Shape native plants after flowering, removing old dead wood. Lightly scatter granulated lawn fertiliser around them at six-weekly intervals.

In cold zones, Azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias need a topdressing of peat, leaf-mould and pea-straw. Do not damage their sur-face roots while digging.

Bulbs

Fertilise all bulbs no longer flowering.

In cold zones, many spring flowering bulbs will be blooming or showing through soil and need a light dressing of potash to strengthen flower stems. Iris often look bedraggled now. Remove dead foliage and apply superphosphate plus a little potash.

Lawns

Prepare for the coming lawn growing and mowing season. Dig over new areas to be sown with grass to a depth of 15 cm. Remove any rubble and roots of perennial weeds. Into heavy or highly acid soils, rake lime, one cup per square metre. Leave for weeds to germinate; hoe them off. This brings the surface to fine tilth in six weeks.

Eradicate that enemy of bare feet, bindii, before month's end when it sets its prickly seed. Spread lawn food to get grass off to best possible start.

In tropical zones, set mower height at 8-9mm to cope with spring growth. Apply fertiliser lightly to lawns, mixing it 50-50 with dry sand for even spreading.

In cold zones, lawns with little or no clover need sulphate of ammonia or calcium ammonium nitrate to heighten colour and suppress weeds. Leave frost-damaged lawns of couch, buffalo or kikuyu until spring growth appears.

Growing Fruit

Feed all types of citrus with packaged citrus food or complete plant food. Water before and after feeding. Follow dosage rates strictly and don't scatter fertiliser over soil: drill holes about 15 cm deep into the ground under foliage canopy in concentric rings and fill with fertiliser (a dozen holes for a mature tree). Water steadily for several hours.

Citrus in tubs should be treated in the same way except that four or five holes are sufficient; no more than half a cup of fertiliser should be used. Potted citrus also require trace elements as these are washed out by frequent watering.

Tip: scarred citrus fruit is caused by wind rubbing, so provide a windbreak; dry-looking branches and leaves show it needs a good deep soaking at least 500L weekly. Do not let fertilisers touch trunk or bud union, don't apply on dry ground; add magnesium (epsom salts) for yellowing leaves; if skins are thick, reduce stable manure and sulphate of ammonia.

Fertilise strawberries with liquid fertiliser every two weeks. Water daily and pick daily, checking for signs of grey mould and discarding any infected fruit in the rubbish bin. After the initial crop cut all tops right back leaving only one or two leaves - you will get a second crop of fruit. When melons begin to set, cut back watering to only 1-2 days a week to stop rot and splitting.

In cold zones, prune grapes later this month. Burn prunings if you suspect disease.

Growing Vegetables

Start preparing the vegetable garden. Dig in well-rotted animal manure, composted organic material and blood and bone. The more time spent preparing the soil,
the better the results.

Rotate vegetable crops. Divide crops into three groups: one with manure only, one with manure and compost and another with lime or dolomite and compost. Rotate yearly for best results.

Old clumps of herbs may be lifted, divided and replanted. Check new shoots of bulbs when weeding, and put snailbait around young seedlings and bulbs.

Garden watch

1. Spray azalea petal blight. Keep azaleas well watered from now until end of flowering but do not water foliage; this spreads petal blight.

2. Peaches and nectarines get leaf-curl disease which blisters and distorts leaves. Spray with copper oxychloride as soon as flower buds swell. Once buds have reached `pink bud' stage it is too late. Spray all stone fruit at 'pink bud' stage against brown rot, freckle and shot hole.

3. Eradicate moss from lawns by treating each square metre with 30g of sulphate of iron dissolved in 4.5 litres of water. After 10 days rake off dead moss. Repeat if necessary. Spiking the lawn with a garden fork for aeration; improved drainage; regular fertilising and removal of over-hanging branches all help keep lawns moss-free.

4. Oxalis, 'pretty' little yellow flowers, seem almost indestructible. Learn to love them or use a selective weedicide. Spray or paint on (with extreme caution) on a still day when flowers are full. Keep it away from other plants.

5. Protect new rose growth from aphids. Snails and slugs are very active in the agapanthus, saxifraga, Iris stylosa and clivea. Spray cinerarias and marguerites for leaf miner. Remove snails and slugs on vegetables by hand.

In tropical zones

1. Watch for leaf miner and gall wasp on citrus. Drastic treatment will rid garden of gall wasp. Eggs are laid in pencil-thick, young wood, and grubs eat their way inside. The first sign is thickening stem wood. As grub enlarges his dwelling-place, the gall grows large, until wasp is ready to emerge, usually between mid-September until end of October. Cut off the twig containing gall or destroy immature galls by gently scraping side of sappy gall so that air can enter. Gall will very soon dry off.

2. Increased scale activity comes from warmer weather. Hibiscus may become distorted at growing points if scale is not controlled. Use white oil. Watch unopened gardenia buds for hawk moth caterpillars.

Source:Successful Gardening Month by Month (Murdoch Books)