Their foliage is glossy and handsome all the year round, and of course, their flowers are exquisite.

Depending on the variety, these can appear in autumn, winter or early spring.

By choosing from each species you can have camellias blooming continuously for six months.

Like azaleas, camellias are shallow-rooted and require similar culture.

They need well-drained, acid soil enriched with leaf mould and peat moss.

All love some shade and almost all varieties need shade in the afternoon on hot, sunny days.

They dislike direct morning sun in winter.

Although camellia sasanqua and some of the camellia japonica species will grow and bloom well in sunny positions in a cool climate, it is best not to expose them to the full force of the summer sun.

The fibrous roots of the camellia will drown if there is excess water so make sure the drainage is good.

Although camellias are fairly tolerant of soil they much prefer a pH of not more than 6.

Don’t plant them in heavy clay.

Apart from leaf mould and peat moss, you can improve the soil by digging in compost (lime-free) and cow manure.

Mulching the surface with these materials too will protect surface roots and keep your plants healthy.

Don’t plant your new camellia bushes deeply.

Make sure the top of the root ball is level with the garden bed.

Celery is quite easy to grow if you follow a few simple rules.

For best results celery seeds should be started in seed trays for eight to 10 weeks before planting out.

The seed bed should consist of two-thirds mature compost and one-third coarse sand.

Cover the seed with a layer of fine sand and keep moist.

Watering is best done from the bottom, by immersing the container in a container of water.

The seedlings are ready for transplanting when they are about 15 centimetres tall.

Celery is a heavy feeder that needs a steady and fast growth and constant moisture.

Plenty of compost or well-rotted manure should be dug in first. It’s almost impossible to make the soil too rich for celery.

There’s no need to harvest an entire plant. Just remove as many of the outer sticks as you want, leaving the rest to grow on.

Celery is a member of the carrot family, umbelliferae.

In its native state it is a marsh plant, which is why it must have constant moisture to grow well.

It’s time to prune currants and raspberries.

With black currants, remove all the old, dark-coloured wood, almost to the ground, leaving the young green canes.

Next season’s fruit will be produced on these.

Red and white currants also have the fruit on the old wood.

If your plants are bushy and well-established, cut back last season’s new growth to about five centimetres.

If bushes are neglected and straggly, cut half each bush to about 15 centimetres of the main trunk.

Do the other half the following year. This will produce lots of new shoots.

Each winter thereafter cut each shoot back to about five centimetres.

Keep the centre of the bushes open. Between eight and 10 branches is enough.

Raspberries need to have all the canes that bore fruit cut off to the ground and the remaining young canes tied loosely together.

Grub out all the suckers that appear nearby. If left they will eventually take over the whole garden.

Mulch your raspberry bed with old hay or straw, or even dried grass clippings.