Plant spinach, lettuce, kale, silverbeet, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, garlic and asparagus. Also tulips, hyacinths, anemones, ranunculi, liliums, tuberoses, lily-of-the-valley, freesias, stocks, Sweet Williams, carnations and pansies.
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If you cross-cut the surface area of a cabbage stem after harvesting it will often produce smaller cabbages.
Plant some colourful daisies to brighten up the winter garden and plan protection measures for cold- and frost-sensitive plants.
Gather autumn leaves and compost.
triple treat
Viola tricolor, affectionately known as Johnny Jump Ups, heartsease or wild pansies are cheeky little plants that self-seed freely and love popping up in the most unexpected places.
Ideal positions are borders, rockeries, alpine gardens and containers.
The tiny pansy flower faces come in shades of purple, yellow, blue and white and retain their colour remarkably well making them ideal subjects for pressed flower pictures and cards.
For best results pick the flowers early in the morning as soon as the dew has dried.
Blooming ideas
Don't be tempted to prune lilacs in winter because this is when the flower buds are developing on the tips of last season's growth.
Prune immediately after flowering has finished by cutting back each of the strong shoots by a third and remove all weak growth from inside the plant.
Fuschia magic
Fuchsias, given the right conditions, will bloom consistently year after year producing masses of single or double flowers.
For this reason they are ideal to use as hedges to create 'rooms' within a garden, making attractive internal barriers that break up levels and enclose smaller specialised garden areas.
Choose the correct variety for this purpose.
Pest plantings
One of the best ways to reduce pest problems in the garden is to grow plants that have natural pest-repelling properties.
French marigolds repel pests including spider mites, whiteflies, cabbage butterflies and root knot nematodes.
May moves
May is the ideal time to move evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs while the soil still holds some warmth.
Moved to a new position, these plants will quickly take hold in readiness for spring.
If a shrub has only to be moved a short distance, dig it up with a good ball of soil and transport it from the old site to the new one in a wheelbarrow.
If you are unable to replant immediately, wrap the rootball in hessian sacking or shadecloth so the roots don't dry out although it's best to allow sufficient time to complete the task once started.