AS AGAPANTHUS finish flowering, prune the flower heads off so the seeds cannot spread into local bushland areas, parks and nature strips.
Lightly de-head other perennials, such as penstemon, and they will bloom again.
Fuchsias and hydrangeas need plenty of water to keep them flowering well. Add a wetting agent if you haven't already, mulch the soil to within a few centimetres of the trunk and, on extremely hot days, cover with some shadecloth to give extra protection.
Let the children garden
WHILE children are on holidays, get them into gardening with one of the many starter kits on the market.
These include herb, salad, strawberry and sunflower kits that provide a container, potting mix and the seed all in one easy-to-use package. These are great for kids to get into gardening and also make a great gift idea for both children and beginner gardeners.
Children can also help with picking and preserving beans.
Beans need to be picked while young and tender, before they get woody. Blanch them in boiling water and package into serving quantities and put in the freezer for use when all the fresh beans have finished.
Peas can also be frozen for use later on.
Turn the excess into success
IF YOU have an excess of zucchini - as we often do - and it is hard to use them all at once, try using the zucchini flowers in recipes before you even get to the fruiting stage.
There are many recipes around for these, such as stuffing them with rice and frying. So do some homework and avoid the zucchini glut.
You can't beet it for taste
BEETROOT can be picked and preserved for eating later on. Simply chop off the foliage and boil whole in the skin.
When cooked and cooled, peel off the skin and cut off the remains of the leaf bases, slice thinly and preserve in a sterilised jar in a mix of malt vinegar, water, sugar and cloves. Delicious!
A whole lot of freezing
IF YOU have excess tomatoes and have already made sauces and chutneys, a simple way of keeping these for use in winter is to freeze them whole.
Wash and dry and put them in a plastic container and place in the freezer. This way you can pull out a few tomatoes as needed for pasta sauces in winter.
