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Pick roses with long stems and bring them indoors to enjoy their fragrance and colour, and to encourage further blooming

Check the mulch levels on your garden beds and pots, and top up any areas that have thinned out

Sprinkle a light dusting of sulfate of iron around NSW Christmas bush to help deepen the colour of its bracts

Prune proteas by cutting back the spent flower stems by about one third

Keep compost heaps just damp by watering them regularly and covering them with old carpet

Plant low-growing fan flowers (Scaevola spp.) in large containers where they’ll drape beautifully over the sides of the pot (below)

Complete as much planting as you can before the summer heat arrives

Cut back honeysuckle and jasmine after their main flowering has finished

Watch out for aphids, particularly on roses, citrus and brassicas

Trim any remaining brown leaves from your spring bulbs once they have completely died down