For example, pansies and violas for winter and petunias for summer, repeated year after year at considerable cost.

Perennials are the way to go – plant them now for flowers for all seasons for years to come. The big plus is they provide hundreds of extra plants at no cost.

For example, I planted three standard 150mm pots of different salvias last spring, which provided brilliant late summer and autumn colour. In late autumn they were cut to ground level and divided.

Each of the original 150mm pots, after dividing, yielded at least 10 extra plants or a total of 30 more plants.

At the end of the coming autumn I can divide each plant again to yield several hundred more plants. More than enough for my garden plus potting up for church or school plant stalls.

Perennial plants provide colour without continual replanting. As one variety finishes flowering, the next is springing into action. Some die down after flowering and others stay evergreen.

For suggestions by season go to cedricbryant.com click on Cedfacts and scroll down to “Perennials for year round colour and effect”.

EXPERIENCED gardeners know that weed mat can kill plants because water doesn’t penetrate the mat.

In a garden I was redesigning recently I noticed that weed mat had been used extensively and, despite the regular rain of the last few months, the ground under the weed mat was rock solid and bone dry. Not a worm in sight – and no worms means no plant growth. Although it may sound ridiculous, weeds generally don’t come from under the ground, but on top, spread by birds, wind etcetera. With a foot of concrete under the mulch, weeds will still appear. Where weed mat is used, plant roots grow just under the mat and fine roots tangle through it.

TEMPERATURES need to be consistently over 20C, not just sudden short bursts of warmth, to release the fertiliser used in slow-release resin pellets.

This means that besides not being organic, plants will not be fertilised just when you want, which is now.

If shrubs die in this type of container it is almost impossible to get the dead plant out of the pot.

Think about a selection of plants to give continuity of colour over a long period. Preferably plants that flower at different times.

Use the best premium grade organic potting mix and water in with Maxicrop Seaweed plant nutrient to establish strong roots. Plus raise the container off the ground.

Jottings…

• Cut back penstemons almost to ground level.
• Re-pot house plants into the next size pot using premium-grade potting mix.
• Plant gladioli a few at a time over a few weeks for continuous flowering over a longer period.
• Core lawns and apply Multicrop liquid Groundbreaker for improved water penetration. Call Paul Howard Lawn Coring on 0412 483846.
• Cut back and divide agapanthus. It’s not easy and I use a tomahawk, which doesn’t seem to worry them.