Many different varieties are now available at garden centres and nurseries.

Some trees are available as bare-rooted specimens, meaning they have been dug out of the ground at the wholesale nursery. The roots have then been covered with wet sacking or sawdust. Other trees will have been planted into pots.

For modern, smaller gardens, many varieties are available in dwarf forms.

This means they have been grafted onto stock that will only reach a limited height while still producing a good crop.

Trees that have multiple varieties of the one type of fruit grafted onto the one base stock will produce different fruits.

This will mean that the gardener can enjoy different fruits in a more confined space.

For the smaller garden, espaliered trees that have been trained and pruned to longer, thinner, flatter shapes are ideal as they require less space. Espaliered trees can be grown quite successfully against walls and fences.

Fruit trees should be planted into soil that has been enriched with compost. The addition of water-saving crystals will help to ensure a good water supply during summer months.

Fruit trees that belong to the Prunus genus, including peaches, nectarines and almonds can display evidence of peach leaf curl disease during the spring and summer months. This disease appears as raised light green lumps and red patches on the leaves. The leaves become misshapen and curl up. The leaves then become more easily attacked by other pests such as aphids. Repeated attacks of the disease will eventually weaken the tree,   resulting in a reduced fruit yield. However, once there is evidence of the disease, it is too late to treat the symptoms or control the disease.

A treatment program must be carried out during the months of mid to late winter for effective control. Weekly sprays using copper based substances such as copper oxychloride will be a preventative measure. The spray should be applied so that it covers the flower buds as they are beginning to swell and show some colour. Once the buds have opened it is too late to apply the spray. Periods of rain will wash the spray from the buds, necessitating a re-application.

It is not necessary to add fertiliser to trees that have been planted out during the winter months as the plants are dormant at this time. This means that their systems cannot absorb the nutrients. However, established trees should have a yearly application of fertiliser, such as composted animal manures, applied during late winter.

Geraniums (pelargoniums) should be cut back now so that they will have time to make new shoots, which will lead to good flowering periods later in the year. Remove any dead or older wood by cutting it off at the base of the plant.

Newer, green stems should be shortened by about half their length to just above a leaf junction. Pieces cut from the plant make ideal material to use as cuttings if extra plants are desired. Shorten the plant piece, allow the base to dry out for several days and then place it into a pot containing a mixture of soil and sharp sand. The plant will benefit from a feed of fertiliser suitable for pot and tub plants.

Geranium leaves need watching for the possible development of rust, which shows as yellow spots on the upper surface of the leaf.

These spots then turn black, with a brown appearance on the underside of the leaf. Diseased leaves should be removed.

The plant can then be sprayed with a fungicide spray.

During the winter months, it is still possible to have salad vegetables by planting out fast-growing cress.

If planted from seed, some varieties of cress can be ready for harvest in four or five weeks from seed planting time.

Children enjoy growing cress on cotton wool, or as the “hair” on creatures made by placing sphagnum moss or soil into a stocking.

In order to have cress available for kitchen use, seeds can be sown into pots that have been filled with a pre-moistened seed raising mixture. After sowing, the pot should be watered gently and then drained. Placing the pot on a sunny window ledge will ensure a good light source.

As the plants emerge from the soil, the pot should be turned regularly to ensure straight-growing plants. Harvest the plants when they are less than 5cm in height by cutting the stems at their base, using a pair of scissors.

Cress contains minerals such as iron and potassium, as well as Vitamins A, B and C. Plants that have been grown in a good light source will be a healthy green colour and have a higher nutritional value.

The harvested cress can be used in salads, sandwiches, and as a garnish, as well as egg dishes.

With the preferences of many gardeners to consider more drought-tolerant plants, varieties of cacti and succulents are popular.

New plants can be established by breaking off side shoots or using small plantlets that often form.

These should be placed into containers of specially prepared cacti and succulent soil mixes, or, good quality potting mixes to which an almost equal quantity of sharp sand has been added.