Poppies should be planted in gardens that have been fertilised with poultry manure with lime added to the surface and lightly turned over at least one week beforehand.

Cultivation of a good lawn has certainly been difficult this year - the prolonged summer has produced ideal conditions for continual attack by army grub and even black beetles.

Don't stop treating lawns until the grass begins to look healthy, otherwise the root system will be decimated and the lawn won't get through winter.

Apply lawn top dressing to brown patches, running slightly into grass that is still green to encourage the healthy lawn to fill the gaps.

Apply Seasol or Green Flourish regularly to stimulate root growth.

The nights are cooling as indicated by the deciduous trees leaf fall, which are a valuable source of mulch.

If you don't wish to compost, I'd suggest leaving these autumn leaves beneath the tree they fall from.

How could I almost forget winter grass, the bane of a gardener's life at this time of year.

Those pretty little green tufts of grass beginning to flourish in lawns aren't to be overlooked or welcomed as they multiply each year taking over the lawn.

It is important to apply Winter Grass Killer now before seeds grow and scatter throughout the grass.

April is an ideal month to purchase a selection of bulbs to be planted out in May.

Buying now allows time to store tulips and hyacinths in the fridge crisper for several weeks to trick them into responding to a cold winter.

If you've planted annuals such as pansies and violas, keep a watchful eye out for aphids and spray with Malathon.

Rust on calendulars can be treated with copper oxychloride.

Apply Flourish each week to encourage mid-season annuals to flower quickly before winter.

Cyclamen are available in some beautiful colours - if you have one for colour inside, remember to water under the foliage and give these lovely cold loving plants a spell out in the night air, particularly once heating is needed during winter.