Daphne likes it shady
Grow ornamentals
Plant daphne in a cool spot in light shade with good drainage and always hold back on pruning, fertiliser and water. A mulch of compost every few years is usually all the shrub will need. Most daphne problems stem from being in too warm a position.
When picking daphne for the vase, think small: that is, pick sprigs rather than branches, else the shrub will suffer.
Plant summer-flowering bulbs, such as calla lilies, crinum, dahlias, gladioli and tuberoses.
Plant perennials, and divide and re-plant existing ones, should they be looking a tad tired or too big for their space.
Deadhead daffodils but let the leaves die back naturally.
Plant edibles
Until the weather is more settled, lettuce seeds will germinate faster when sown under cover, then transplanted out.
Or sow some seeds direct in the garden and plant a punnet of seedlings nearby, or in a container, so you have fresh greens while they germinate.
Bought seed-raising mix is more expensive than homemade (of course) but it is sterile and will lack weed seeds, both of which are hard to achieve at home, and without which the success of your seedlings may be compromised.
Spread compost
Those with enough foresight, keenness, and/or space to have a compost heap can spread a good layer of the compost matter over the garden now. Very few plants will not benefit from it.
Ideally, the heap should consist of layers of green materials, such as grass clippings, annual weeds, kitchen waste or manure, and woody brown matter, such as paper (cardboard even), dead leaves, woodchips or straw in a ratio that can happily range from 25 to 50 per cent green.
For ratio purposes, horse or cow manure and seaweed can be considered green materials.
Organised composters will stack material beside the heap ready to apportion correctly. For example, each time you throw in the kitchen scraps or after a weeding session, an appropriate layer of straw or autumn leaves may be added.
Feed citrus trees
Either give them citrus fertiliser every six weeks from now until March, or mulch the trees (being careful not to touch the trunk) with layers of pea straw, grass clippings, horse manure and a sprinkling of blood and bone or bone meal.
Clear weeds away from bases of all fruit trees and apply a layer of mulch to suppress weeds and retain soil moisture.