Heather is easy to grow in the garden, needs little attention and by choosing different varieties we can have colour all the year round.

One thing not to do is have a level bed of it. The natural habitat of heather is undulating moorland.

We can duplicate this be using a gentle slope or rockery.

A heather garden doesn’t necessarily mean heather alone, Small groups of miniature conifers blend in well and enhance the display.

Broom, too, mixes well with heather.

Like the heathers, brooms (cytisus) grow well in sunny spots and are drought resistant.

But they need vigorous cutting back so that they don’t swamp the heathers..

All heathers prefer an acid soil, although one species, winter or spring heather (erica carnea) doesn’t mind a little lime.

These bear brilliant red flowers in winter. Some forms of this are rose pink and reddish purple. They like a light, sandy soil. In nature they grow even in gravel.

Dill is a mineral-rich, aromatic and versatile herb that adds flavour to many dishes. Its soft, feathery leaves have a delicious mild aniseed flavour and fragrance.

It’s a hardy annual that prefers a sheltered, full sun position in either garden beds or pots. The seeds are quite small and only need to be sown a millimetre deep. Sow directly where they are to grow, as they don’t like to be transplanted.

Seeds take 10 to 12 days to germinate and reach maturity in eight weeks. Protect vulnerable young seedlings from snails and slugs.

Dill’s attractive foliage will also suit a mixed flower border. Plant it towards the back of the bed, as it can grow almost a metre tall. If left to flower, dill will encourage beneficial predatory insects into the garden.

Citrus trees are producing their spring foliage flush, growing lots of lush looking leaves.

Tender young foliage is susceptible to attack from citrus leaf miner, which causes silvery trails in the leaves and results in leaf curling and distortion.

It ruins the look of a tree and in severe cases affects plant health by reducing the potential for photosynthesis (capturing energy from the sun).

Yates have an antidote in their citrus and ornamental spray. It deters the leaf miner moth from laying her eggs on the foliage (which hatch into the larvae that tunnel into the leaves).

Another cause of leaf curling and distortion is sap-sucking aphids. You will see them congregating along the stems and underneath new leaves. You might also notice ants in the foliage, which are farming the aphids for the sticky sweet honeydew that excrete. Use the same spray against aphids.

Tasmanian conditions are ideal for growing crisp, succulent cucumbers. However these, like pumpkins, are frost tender, so you could wait another week or two.

The soil needs to be above 15 degrees for the seed to germinate. And you’ll be picking delicious cucumbers from 50 to 80 days later.

Cucumbers can adapt to a wide variety of soil conditions, but thorough soil preparation is necessary.

Dig in plenty of compost or rotted animal manure first. They love to grow where peas or beans were the year before.

Regular watering, at least twice a week, will be needed during hot weather, but they won’t tolerate water lying around their roots.

Cucumbers have shallow roots, so it pays to avoid hoeing close to them, Mulches are the best way of suppressing weed growth.

Cucumbers for salads should be picked as soon as they are big. If left on the vine they will become over-mature and pithy.