Things to do in the garden:
One of summer’s least welcome critters are houseflies, which can spread dreadful diseases. Rotting fruit, uncovered cooked food and dirty dishes in the kitchen will attract hordes of them. So will overflowing garbage bins with lids that don’t close tightly. Keep your kitchen clean and wash all fresh produce properly before eating it. Empty garbage bins regularly, and wash them every time with a strong disinfectant to kill off lurking maggots.
Keep roses foliated as densely as you can to keep the plants cool and shaded by spraying regularly and preventatively against rust, mildew and red spider mites.
Water tree ferns daily and feed occasionally with a foliage fertiliser.
Mist-spray houseplants like ferns and orchids on hot days to provide extra humidity.
Refresh herb pots with chives, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage and coriander.
Remember to plant your first crop of seed potatoes for an early winter harvest.
Use prunings of aromatic herbs like catmint, lavender and rosemary as an insect-repellent mulch around plants.
Continue feeding the lawn and water well after applying fertiliser. Don’t mow too short as it will expose the roots to hot sun and cause a patchy effect. Feed herbs in pots with a water-soluble fertiliser every two weeks.
Pest control: Remove fallen fruit to discourage pests from breeding in them. Spray apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums against fruit fly. Spray apples, pears and quinces against coddling moth. Treat grapevines against downy mildew.
From now until April is a perfect time to plant new trees, as they will have ample time to establish a good root system before winter.
Make cuttings of fuchsias, geraniums and daisy bushes.
Feed all shrubs and climbers that will flower in late winter and early spring, such as spiraea, banksia roses and jasmines, with a fertiliser for flowering plants.
Continue mulching all plants to suppress weeds, improve the soil condition
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