It is a deciduous shrub, not to be confused with the evergreen Mexican orange blossom, which also has flowers like orange blossom.

There are many varieties of mock orange.

Philadelphus coronarius is the common one and an old garden favourite.

Philadelphus virginalis is also widely found. It has a great display of large, semi-double flowers in late spring or early summer.

Philadelphus mexicanus is the evergreen Mexican mock orange, with very fragrant flowers.

It can be grown as a shrub or treated like a vine and trained against a wall or fence.

Philadelphus lemoinei is a popular hybrid growing up to two metres high. Its attractive clusters are probably the most fragrant of all mock orange blooms.

Philadelphus cymosus is a hybrid with particularly large blossoms, about six or seven centimetres across.

If you happen to be one of the few people who don’t like the fragrance of mock orange, try philadelphus inodorus, which has no scent.

Mock orange thrives in a sandy loam into which compost has been mixed.

Like Mexican orange blossom, it should be pruned immediately after flowering has finished. The new wood produced during summer will carry the flowering wood for next summer.

If the shrub is not pruned until autumn or winter there will be few, if any, flowers for the flowering shoots will have been cut off.

Pruning keeps the plant compact and bushy.

Geraniums can bring a marvellous variety of colour to the garden, both with their flowers and their foliage.

Now is the time to look around for different specimens. Cuttings can be taken at any time but preferably in mild weather.

Use firm stem cuttings of the current year’s growth, about 10 to 12 centimetres long. Cut just below a node, or leaf joint. Remove lower leaves but retain the top ones.

Put them in a mixture of three parts sand and one part peat moss and keep moist.

Many gardeners successfully put cuttings straight into the ground where they are to grow.

Agapanthus, or lily of the Nile, is a useful plant because it will grow in difficult or semi-shaded places and it is good as a container plant on verandah, steps or patios.

There’s also a demand for the cut flowers in floral art.

Agapanthus is a gross feeder, so the ground should be thoroughly prepared for the bulbs.

Dig deeply and incorporate plenty of manure, compost or leaf mould.

It needs plenty of water during the growing season so a damp spot in the garden is suitable.

Late autumn or early winter is best time for planting the big bulbs, although, with care, they can be established at other times.They should be planted with the upper half of the bulb out of the ground, firming down the soil around it so that it will not move.

About 45 centimetres apart is a good planting distance, as the bulbs increase rapidly.

Once planted, the clump should not be disturbed for years, or until it becomes so overcrowded that the the flowers deteriorate.

For an average garden two or three clumps are enough.

Ants normally won’t do any damage to a plant but they are a sign that there are scale insects on the undersides off leaves.

Small raised dots contain sap-sucking aphids producing a sticky substance called sooty mould on the upper surfaces of leaves.

Spray the undersides of leaves with white oil with a little malathion added.