May your garden be a place of rest and tranquility. With the surge of new growth — and of a floriferous nature — it is advisable to keep it at that level.

That means observing the growth, not only the flowers but also the foliage, for that is the telltale observation for pest and disease problems.

Pentas, for example, can be in full leaf and blooming habit only to be literally cut down by voracious caterpillars.

This is also the case with many “soft” foliage, which is a dining delight for insects. Aphids, caterpillars, slugs, snails, spider mites, mealy bugs and scale are all awaiting their invitation to join the early bird dine around.

Regular inspection will alert you to possible problems and give you time to act before such creepy crawlies take hold and munch their way through your garden.

If you are not sure what the invader is, take it to a local nursery for identification and control measures.

Fungal problems are usually visual at early stages with lesions of the soft leaf tissue; “halos” are also an indicator on foliage, especially on very soft foliage.

Sometimes one needs to look on the underside of the leaf to see damage. This can be for both pest problems, such as scale and mealy bug, and pustules, which are indicative of disease problems.

If you still have gaps to fill and want colour, then I unreservedly recommend lantanas, which come in a wide range of colours and, to a degree, heights — from low spreading to upright to 24 inches.

The secret with lantana is to prune back once flowers are over and prune hard back if plants are older than a couple of years to encourage new vigorous growth and flowering.

Both lantanas and pentas can be looked upon as having an expiry date of four to five years before replacement.

Other front-of-bed flowering types include several of the salvias, including salvia greggii, salvia leucantha and salvia leucophylla. Again, prune hard back after flowering.

Euryops pectinatus has a daisy-like flower and is also attractive if treated in the same manner. Some examples of long-term flowering shrubs include cryptostegia madagascariensis (rubber vine), though actually best grown as a rambling shrub, with shiny foliage and purple tubular flowers giving a bold statement in any part of the garden.

Leucophyllum frutescens (Texas sage) is another visual impact plant, with grey foliage and purple flowers that make a bold statement against the grey foliage.

Thysanolaena maxima (tiger grass) adds a new dimension to the border.

It is a tallish grass, seven to ten feet, with numerous flower spikes; as it matures it is easily divided and kept under control.

As a ground cover or rambling vine, consider Senecio confusus (Mexican flame vine), which flowers for a good part of the year in protected areas. It has bright orange flowers that intermingle with and through neighbouring plants, creating a carpet effect and is thus a good plant for weed control.

Lawn growth should be consistent by now as temperatures are fairly stable in the 60s-plus both day and night, however, until there is a temperature fix above 65F, growth will not be overly active.

Thatch, the brown dead matter found at the base of the green leaf blade, should be raked out to encourage new active growth which, with fertilisation, will fill in quickly.

A good coated fertiliser with a high nitrogen content and which contains minor/trace elements should be the best choice; more importantly, read the instructions for the application rate as they are there for a reason.

Do not apply if soil is on the dry side, best to wait until we have rain before and again after application.