MAY

Feast on autumn harvests: pumpkins, persimmons, hard cooking pears, Lady Williams apples, pineapplescented quinces and Jerusalem artichokes.

Fill baskets with winter bloomers. Flowers may not bloom as freely in cold weather, but they last longer. Pots or punnets bought today will give you months of colour. Place 60cm hydrangea or hibiscus cuttings 30cm deep in moist sand for masses of new bushes next year.

Go for a walk to find the best trees and shrubs in your area for autumn colour. Place pots of zygocactus along a sunny windowsill for flowers all winter.