Ready? Your garden's magic will soon reveal itself

Some time back in the '60s there was an international gardeners' frenzy over an elderly Japanese market gardener who grew enormous vegetables with no feeding or watering for over 50 years. Finally, some scientists investigated. They decided he was truthful. They also discovered his market garden was just down the hill from a large chicken farm, and the surplus water plus manure slowly seeped into his garden, giving it all it needed.

Never waste an area below a chook house with its lushness and free fertiliser, and camellias are the perfect plant to take advantage of the free tucker.

Camellias are possibly the dullest bush you can find, except for those glorious months when they are blooming while the deciduous trees above them are bare. This is the time for plants that have been dull or have disappeared all year to show their magic.

I've come to love acanthus not just for their white spires from late winter till early summer, but because their glossy green leaves, like a series of spear points, spring up and stay richly green all through the barrenness of winter. I'm slowly putting in new beds of them, on the theory that beds of acanthus and agapanthus never need to be mown or weeded, as no weed can creep up between them. Proteas and hellebores also look deeply dull until they begin blooming, then suddenly you have a winter of beauty.

The true Cinderellas at this time of year are chrysanthemums, often shortened to "mums". They too are boring for nine months of the year, then for three months they're stunning, and just in time for Mother's Day. Just dash into the local supermarket or garden centre on the way to take mum out for a damn good lunch, and there will be pots and pots of them, or bunch after bunch. Buy the pots rather than the bunches, as that way your mum can plant her gift when they have stopped flowering for the year, and thus have an ever expanding chrysanthemum garden, with a new colour - or the same colour, if that is what she prefers - year after year.

Chrysanthemums have been garden plants for at least 2500 years, and possibly more in China and Japan, with edible varieties as well as medicinal ones. They are also a symbol of health, happiness and longevity, which is also a good gift to present to mum every year. When I was a kid they came in yellow, yellow, and more yellow, with only specialist nurseries having any other colour. These days you have a magnificent choice of 'mums in a deep almost-red pink, pale pink, purple, mauve, rich burgundy, or bright lime green, which sounds dull, but is a totally different colour from the leaves and so bright they seem to have a small light hidden in the base of their foliage, as well as a pure white one I adore, that fades to green in the centre and others that are multicolored in various combinations, too.

Chrysanthemums come in a marvelous variety of shapes, too, single and semi-double; incurved; quill; spoon; pompon; anemone; spider; decorative; brush or thistle categories and more. There are dwarf varieties to grow in pots permanently - the variety in the pot of chrysanthemums you buy your mum may never grow very tall.

A bunch of chrysanthemums will look good in a vase for about three weeks, as long as they get fresh water, and even longer if the soggy stems are trimmed every few days so they can take up water better.

Keep potted chrysanthemums in a well-lighted spot, pick off dead blooms and water only when dry. Diluted plant food like a dose of Seasol will keep them blooming longer. After that, plant in a well-drained spot in the garden where they won't be blown over by the wind. Pick out the growing tips when the plants ate about 20 cm tall and you will encourage more flower bearing stems to grow.

You can even turn your single plant into 20 by taking cuttings close to the base of the stem. Strip off the lower leaves, insert into potting mix, keep moist and wait. Don't plant out till the new bush looks sturdy.

Sadly it's easy to let chrysanthemums get covered with weeds, or flattened by wind and rot away on the ground in between flowering seasons. Grow lots - and give your mum lots - and they're less like to be forgotten before they come into autumn glory.