Home cultivation of strawberries also means that you know if any chemicals have been used to treat the plants and berries.

Strawberry plants should be grown in soil that has been well-enriched with compost and animal manures. Growing strawberry plants in baskets or self-watering may make it easier to control diseases such as fungal problems because of the movement of air around the plants.

Maximum fruit production will result from the use of a good organic fertiliser that has high levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, dug well into the soil.

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A wide variety of strawberries is now available for the home gardener. Newer varieties have been developed to produce sweeter fruits.

Red Gauntlet produces a large crop of shiny, light red berries over an extended period. It is suitable for cooler areas.

An extremely sweet flavour is a feature of the variety Sweetest. Fruits are produced early in the season. Sweetheart variety can be grown from seeds and produces a prolific crop of small, sweet fruit. These are most suitable for use with desserts, snacks and garnishes. Plants mature in 4 to 5 months.

Tioga plants fruit in Spring, with attractive firm fruits being produced. It grows well in most areas.

Warmer areas suit plants of the Torrey variety. Plants are strong and upright in growth, producing fruits in spring and early summer. The fruit, which is firm and attractive, has a lighter colouring.

Some newer varieties produce pink flowers, rather than the traditional white ones. These include Sweetie, which is a heavy cropper, and Nellie Kellie. The latter variety flowers from late Autumn through to Summer. The fruit is large and sweet.

Fruits on plants of the Lowanna variety are perfectly shaped with a red flesh. They often have a very small white tip when they are at their best flavour. The fruits are produced on compact open plants, allowing for closer plantings.

People who have an intolerance for acidic foods, which can include a number of varieties of strawberries, might consider two varieties that have been bred specially to produce low-acidic or acid-free fruits. Hokowasi is a Japanese variety, producing fruit that can be of an unusual shape. Adina has exceptionally large fruits that have a bright red skin, a high aroma and an intense flavour.

Citrus trees should be checked regularly for attacks by citrus gall wasp. The wasp lays eggs in the new, soft shoots during spring. A lumpy shape on the stems will indicate that the larvae have tunnelled through the stems.

There are a several methods of control. One is to cut off any stems where the galls are present. The cut should be made just behind where the lumpy growth has appeared.

Secondly, a vegetable peeler may be used to shave off the top of the swelling, exposing and therefore killing the eggs underneath. This should not be done completely around the stem as this may ringbark it.

Sticky traps placed around the tree may be successful in attracting adult wasps as they fly around the tree. If the swelling has holes visible, and has turned brown, this means that the wasps have hatched. Treatment will have to wait until the following season.

Lemon trees that have resorted to the common lemon stock will be badly affected and this will make control in other varieties more difficult.

City streetscapes and park areas will soon be brighter and more colourful, as a result of two flowering trees coming into bloom.

Jacarandas will display their glorious purple colours in many areas around our city. Because of their abundance, many people consider the jacaranda to be a native of Australia. However, they originate from the high plains of Brazil and Argentina.

Growing to between 10 and 15 metres high, they have lacy green foliage that turns yellow before falling in early Spring. As the leaves reappear in late spring the tree becomes covered in the characteristic mauve-blue flowers that eventually cover the ground underneath.

As trees are grown from seed, flower colour can vary in its intensity.

Jacarandas prefer to grow in a sunny position, in rich, well-drained soil. Protection from wind and frosts during the early years will help the tree to become better established. They require little maintenance. In fact, pruning, which is usually used to shape a tree, can be detrimental to the shape of a jacaranda. Instead of producing thicker foliage, long, thin, vertical branches are often produced.

Another tree that displays a glorious show of colour at this time is the Illawarra flame tree. This tree is a member of the brachychiton genus, an Australian native. The best known tree of this group would be the kurrajong.

The Illawarra flame tree produces large, leathery green leaves, maple-like in shape. The flowers are produced in masses of bright scarlet bells. However, flowering is often variable, without any discernable reason. Some seasons only half the tree may be in flower, while other years may have little or no flowers.

It grows best in a sunny position.