A – Cut back perennials lo oking a bit tatty and tidy roses and hedge plants as the garden moves into autumn. B – Chrysanthemum Snowlands is a miniature white daisy with a yellow centre. Low-growing, these plants make excellent pot fillers or can be grown along a garden border where their clean white petals will provide a contrast. C – Autumn is the ideal season to plan and plant a herb pot or garden bed. Parsley is slow to germinate but can last for a couple of years once established. Try putting the seed in the refrigerator for a few days before sowing to hasten and improve germination. Harvesting parsley leaves as often as possible seems to prolong the life of the plant.

Once summer’s heat has faded, gardening becomes a pleasurable activity. And, as plant growth slows down, there’s less pressure to rush. But some garden tasks need to be completed within the next few months and one is to make compost. Leaves fall in great abundance in autumn so it is the ideal season to make a compost heap. Successful compost balances ingredients termed greens with those called browns. Greens are fresh leafy components such as lawn clippings and vegetable scraps. Browns are the dry materials such as fallen leaves and shredded newspaper.

Stack these ingredients in layers, always remembering that smaller pieces compost more rapidly. Make sure the compost heap is in contact with the soil and that oxygen can get into it. This may mean turning it regularly or, at the very least, inserting some pipes to serve as chimneys that will carry air into the centre. While the compost is brewing, sprinkle the heap with some Yates Dynamic Lifter organic pellets and some Yates Garden Lime or Dolomite. This will encourage the breakdown of the materials. Another important task for autumn is to get the lawn into the best shape before winter. Army worms are most active in autumn so, if you see large areas of lawn being eaten overnight, these grubs should be your first suspects. Place some damp cardboard or hessian on the lawn and lift to check each morning for grubs taking shelter. If you see them, treat the lawn with Yates Baythroid Lawn Grub & Garden Insecticide. This low toxic control will also flush out any grass-damaging black beetles. Feed the lawn in early autumn with a specially formulated Yates Lush lawn fertiliser (look for Yates Lush Lawn Master, a true slow release that continues supplying nutrients for months).

Autumn for daisy planting: Easter is a great time to sow daisy varieties. Yellow Paper Daisy is a tough Australian native that can be sown into a sunny, well-drained bed. Seeds need to be close to the surface to germinate successfully, so it’s best to simply sprinkle them on to the surface and lightly rake them over. Keep moist while the plants are establishing and they’ll eventually reward you with bright yellow, papery flowers that dry well and can last for months indoors. Yates red, white and pink Everlasting Daisy Mixed Hybrids pack contains some improved forms of paper daisies. The packet instructions recommend sowing these seeds either straight into the garden or into pots of Yates Seed Raising Mix. Starting them in pots means it’s easier to keep the seeds moist through germination, but they do have to be handled very gently when they’re being transplanted. For children there’s the Diddly Squat Mixed Daisies packet, which is included in the Yates Finding Nemo packet seed range.

Pest watch: White fly looks like a tiny white moth and is attracted to plants with aromatic leaves such as geraniums (pelargoniums), tomatoes and salvias. The small insects hide beneath leaves and fly away if disturbed. White flies are sap suckers that can weaken plants so it’s best to try to get rid of them or, at least, reduce their numbers. Confidor will help protect some vegetables and, because it gets into the plant’s system, it eventually breaks the insect’s lifecycle. PestOil gives good contact control but it must be applied directly to the flies.

Search is on for enterprise and innovation: BBC World is joining with Shell and Newsweek to search for, highlight and reward individuals or groups showing enterprise and innovation to benefit communities.

Those with initiatives to tell about are being invited to enter The World Challenge, a competition launched following the success of the Hands On strand within BBC World’s Earth Report. This highlighted noteworthy projects undertaken by firms, communities and enterprising individuals. A panel of judges, including representatives from BBC World, Shell and Newsweek, will shortlist 12 entries considered the best examples of community-based business, development or environmental projects. BBC World will produce 15-minute programs on each nominee to be broadcast to BBC World’s global audience in August and September, 2005, and viewers will be invited to vote online for the most commendable and inspirational project. The winner of The World Challenge will be announced in November, 2005, and receive a $US20,000 grant from Shell to benefit the project. Full details: http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk

Help the fight against diabetes: Diabetes Australia is calling for hosts to register for its annual national fund raising event, The

Great Australian Bite. Hosting is simple. Register to host a Bite any time during April, 2005, then invite workmates, friends or family to share a bite to eat and thirdly ask them for a donation to help the fight against diabetes. The Bite can involve any meal any time during April as a coffee break, a breakfast or lunch, a barbecue, picnic, video night, party or even Friday night drinks and nibbles. Money raised goes to diabetes awareness, research, education programs and advocacy services. Register as a host by calling 1300 136 588 or go to www.diabetesaustralia.com.au