However, planting of selected shrubs that feature colourful foliage can ensure there is colour in the garden all year round.

Agonis flexuosa ‘Jervis Bay After Dark’ is a compact form of the native willow myrtle and features dark reddish purple foliage. Flushes of new growth are the colour of red wine. Clusters of tiny white flowers appear on the ends of the branches from spring into early summer.

Agonis flexuosa Jervis Bay Jedda’s Dream is another compact form with very dark foliage.

Westringias are tough natives, tolerant of many conditions including sea spray. Westringia ‘Sea Mist’ is a variegated form, having bright yellow leaf margins. Plants are suitable for use as low growing hedges.

Hypocalymma cordifolia ‘Golden Veil’ is a small shrubby member of the myrtle family. Plants grow to about a metre in height. The white and green foliage is tipped with new pink growth. It grows ver well in a medium sized container.

Many lilly pillies have colourful new growth. Acmena ‘Allyn Magic’is an outstanding example with bronze coloured tips through the warmer months. It was bred by Noel Jupp on his Riverdene nursery at East Gresford.

It is excellent for a small hedge in full sun or part shade and grows to around half a metre in height and width.

Melaleuca ‘Revolution Gold’ has been available for many years. It has lemon yellow fine foliage borne on a small tree and can adapt to moist as well as drier soil conditions

Peas are generally an easy vegetable to grow. Growing peas is also a good way in which to get children interested in gardening as they can eat the results raw from the plant, as well as having them cooked.

If varieties Such as Greenfeast and Earlicrop Massey are selected, they will be wilt resistant. Both are dwarf varieties.

If only a narrow garden space is available, then Telephone climbing peas would be a good choice. Although they take longer to reach maturity, they will continue to produce pods for an extended period.

A sunny position is preferable for good flower and pod formation. Planting the seeds into damp soil will aid in seed germination.

If seeds of taller growing varieties have been selected then a trellis or fencing should be placed into position at planting time so that the tendrils of the young plants can attach themselves to the wire when they emerge from the soil.

Nitrogen-based fertilisers will not be required as peas, being members of the legume family, will fix their own nitrogen into the soil. Once pods have formed, regular harvesting will ensure a longer and more regular production time.

At times plants appear in gardens without the gardener remembering actually planting them. Often they are quite healthy, strong-growing plants that soon outgrow other plants and seem to multiply without any effort on the part of the gardener.

These are often introduced species, introduced by birds dropping the seeds of plants they have digested.

Ochna serrulata is one of the stronger plants and is spread by bird droppings. Commonly known as the Mickey Mouse plant, because the red sepals and black berries resemble Mickey Mouse’s face, Ochna originates from South Africa and was once a popular garden subject.

Plants grow to two metres in height and have shiny, strong leaves. Flowers are produced on single stalks and are yellow in colour, appearing between spring and summer.

The root system is very strong and wiry, usually with a tap root, making eradication more difficult.

Mother-of-Millions, Kalanchoe tubiflora is a native of Madagascar. It is commonly seen in colonies along roadsides and vacant land.

The flowers appear as flat-topped clusters with a drooping, bell-shaped form in colours that range from orange- red to scarlet. The flowers mainly appear between winter and spring. Leaves are notched, succulent and fleshy.

Asparagus fern is an aggressive weed of urban bush land. It spreads by fibrous rhizomes and roots that are produced close to the surface and spread quickly through the soil, and, berries that form from flowers. The berries are green and turn black.

The spiny stems of the asparagus fern can be many metres long, with sprays of leaves that are very fine.

Many plants appear in bush areas where they have been dumped as part of garden waste. Removal requires digging out the growing points from under the ground.

Fishbone fern is a native of South-eastern Queensland. It is a ground cover and produces arching fronds up to one metre in length. Many water tubers are attached to the dense rhizome network which spreads just under the surface of the soil.

Because of its effective root system, fishbone ferns can seal off the surface of the soil, reducing the ability of water to reach the soil. Fishbone fern plants can sometimes become a weed in the garden. They are reasonably easily removed by pulling the plant away from the soil near the base of the plant.