New dawn is a magical time | In Fiona's Garden

Daylight saving ends this weekend, giving us a lovely extra hour of light in the morning. It's especially welcome now that nights are cooler. I love the extra hour on summer evenings - few things beat dinner on the verandah as the sun goes down - but I don't enjoy getting up in the dark on a chilly autumn morning.

My biggest April project is planting bulbs for spring. Last year I dug up and saved some species gladioli, crocuses and tulips and together with all the new bulbs I naturally couldn't resist buying, I now have more than I need.

Never mind, you can't have too many spring bulbs. I'll plant the smaller ones among my winter pansies and pot up the surplus to share with friends.

Another urgent April task is to move my pots of tender plants under cover before we have our first frost, normally around Anzac Day. They include culinary herbs, lemon grass Cymbopogon citratus) and Vietnamese mint (Persicaria odorata) that spend winter on the kitchen bench before being divided and replanted in spring.

I found a gorgeous native ginger in Mount Annan Botanic Garden plant nursery. Alpinia caerulea 'Redback' from the Atherton Tablelands has dark green leaves, similar to a canna's but glossy with a deep red reverse.

It's spectacular in our covered garden room but as it's frost tender I can't risk leaving it there. Still on the absorbing topic of pots, the hot, dry March delayed my planting plans and I have lots of new plants to go in.

Luckily we've had several welcome showers. As the soil is still warm, I'm hoping that if I dig deep holes and break up the bases, and water the new treasures every day, they should settle in by winter.

My compost heap is full so I can add lots of humus when planting.

Warm weather has kept my vegies going and I'm harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis. I'm overjoyed with an eggplant I planted as an experiment. I had no great expectation of success - I couldn't believe I could actually grow something that looks so exotic - but it has done brilliantly.

It grew into a spreading, knee high bush with big, matt green, oak shaped leaves and starry mauve flowers and the shiny purple fruit started ripening in early March. Nothing beats the joy of eating something you've grown and apart from regular watering during March's heatwave, it could not have been easier.

Early flowering, evergreen perennials can be split and replanted now. I'm tackling a long flowering catmint 'Six Hills Giant' with upright stems that I plan to put beside a sunny path, also a favourite small cinquefoil, Potentilla recta with soft yellow flowers, and bright purple, low growing Salvia nemerosa Caradonna to plant nearby.

I'll keep everything watered and spread lucerne mulch next month when evaporation will have eased.