They have bell-shaped flowers in a range of pretty colours including bright and  delicate pink, orange, pale green and white. Correa ‘Catie Bec’, named after a granddaughter, from Canberra’s Bywong Nursery has pink bell flowers blooming for many months from autumn to spring.

A hardy shrub that grows to around 1m x 1.5m, it grows in a wide range of soil types – in both coastal and inland climes. Plant in a sunny or partially shaded well-drained spot where it will attract nectar feeding birds.

Trim back lightly after flowering and feed with slow release native plant food in spring and autumn.                

THE popularity of pomegranates increases as more of them are used in salads and desserts. Hardy deciduous shrubs, depending upon the variety, they produce attractive orange flowers followed by tennis ball-sized autumn fruit. The plants thrive in hot, dry summers and make a decorative edible hedge as well as in pots, growing in all but the coldest regions.

Prune away dead stems and keep tidy over winter,  feeding from spring to autumn to promote healthy growth.         

Autumn is the ideal time to plant your own garlic. It takes a while to grow - about eight months - so allow a sunny garden spot or a large container.

Buy fresh cloves from a garden centre rather than the supermarket, where they may have been sprayed with an inhibitor and might not grow.