Longer and warmer days during spring means it's the perfect time to head out into the garden. But just before you pull on your gardening gloves, there's a few key tasks to add to your 'must do' list, horticulturist Jackie Warburton said. "Be on the lookout for pest and disease issues with the amount of wet weather we've had, especially in eastern Australia," she said. Ms Warburton, who runs Canberra horticulturalist company Terra Solarus, said weeds also love the warmer weather. "Pull out weeds before they set seed, it's the most important thing," she said. "There's an old saying - one year of weeds is seven years of seeds." September 1 is also National Wattle Day, and bright yellow bursts of colour can now be spotted across the country. "There's over 1000 wattles in Australia, and around one third of them flower in winter time," Ms Warburton said. IN OTHER NEWS There's a wide range of other natives that burst to life during spring, including tea trees, rice flowers, paper daisies, mint bush, grevilleas, bottle brush, hakea, and the unforgettable NSW waratah. Flowering natives help to attract birds into your garden. "Flowering gums are really putting on a show because of all the wet weather we've had," Ms Warburton said. Spring is a great time to mulch and using organic mulch will not only keep the moisture in the ground, but help fertilise your soil too. ACM garden writer John Gabriele said all manner of organisms make the most of spring. "Insects such as wasps, beetles and native bees are ready to render their services to the highest bidder with nectar being the currency of choice," he said.