To do this month

CONTINUE maintaining your lawns as the summer rains have not finished. Cut weekly and feed one last time before winter with 5.1.5 granular fertiliser.

Enjoy the group of Plectranthus plants, in particular P ecklonii , zuluensis and ciliatus which are in full bloom. If you drive through Durban, the large shrub ecklonii stands out with its

Pthree colour forms of pink, white and purple. It is a rewarding shrub that flowers in March for about three to four weeks and requires little maintenance, except that after it has finished flowering you need to cut it back. Its common name is the large spur flower.

Plant a ground cover that will do well in winter and shade. Examples are Crassula multicarva, Plectranthus ciliatus, Chlorophytum comosum, Asystasia gangetica and Aristida junciformis.

All flower in late autumn and early winter. Try to plant them in huge sweeps as they give a dramatic display when in numbers.

Keep an eye out for shrubs that are in spike and will flower in winter. These plants can become top heavy and break if we have strong winds or lots of rain. Stake them to prevent them from breaking. Do not prune until they have finished flowering. Examples would be Leonotis leonorus, Hypoestes aristata, Plectranthus ecklonii, Strelitzia reginae and Plumbago auriculata. Some aloes will produce flower spikes in the next few months so look forward to the winter show.

There are other shrubs that would have flowered in summer and need to be pruned before winter.

We have had lovely rain these past few months which has boosted growth, especially weeds. Best to remove them if they are growing among other plants or spray them in paving. Don’t let these plants go to seed. Mulch your garden either with bark chippings or compost to prevent the weeds growing out of control.

It's a great time to do some late summer planting for flowering in winter. Most shrubs and ground covers planted now will flower in winter.