If you blinked, you missed it!

I'm sure you know what I meant with the headline. If not, I'm referring to our summer. Kind of like Mickey Rooney... very short! Pretty sad when you have to put away the tank tops and sandals in August and get out the sweatshirts and socks.

If you want to save seeds from any of your flowering plants, don't wait any longer. Some of my favorites that are good producers include larkspur, cleome and cosmos. I've saved seeds from these same plants for years. Other good ones are nasturtiums, dahlberg daisies and snapdragons. Be sure your seeds have completely dried, then store each variety in it's own envelope with the name written on it as many kinds look similar. I keep mine in the refrigerator over winter.

Now is the time to buy your spring bulbs. Most stores that carry plants have a good variety in stock by now. They can go into the ground this month or next. Actually, any time this fall until the ground freezes. Find a nice sunny spot with good drainage. If you have some bulb fertilizer, dig some of that into the soil at the bottom of the hole. Don't let it touch the bulbs. Then, be sure to water them in well. Nothing is easier to grow than a bulb as they already have the tiny flower beginning to form within. You will be so tickled you made the effort when they pop up and bloom next spring.

Have your resident hummingbirds flown the coop already? Even so, keep your feeders up for a bit longer. This ensures food for hummers moving through from their summer homes in Canada. Don't believe the old wives' tale about hummers not knowing when to migrate if there are still feeders around. They know when to go; daylight length tells them.

If you have an amaryllis bulb or two that you've been growing since last spring, now is the time to stop watering and put it in a nice cool, dark place like a closet for about six weeks. They need this rest in order to bloom. Don't worry if the leaves die. They're supposed to.

Now is the time to feed your lawn for the last time. Use a "winterizer" blend. It feeds the roots and will bring your grass through the winter in fine shape to take right off in the spring.

I'm so tickled to see lots of my tomatoes turning ripe... finally. Cutting the tops off the plants did the trick. If they don't all make it, here's an interesting ripening trick to try. Take the largest black trash bag you can find. Cut off the bottom, then pull the whole thing over your plant. During the day, drop it down around the bottom of the plant and pull it up in the evenings. Fasten it at the top. This holds the heat it which is what they need in order to ripen.

Now, here's the newest twist. Take several apples and place them around the stem at the bottom of the plant. These will produce ethylene gas. A trick many of us have used to ripen green fruit such as bananas. Hopefully this will work and save us from a steady diet of fried green tomatoes!

I hate to bring this up, but the first day of autumn is Sept. 23. I keep hoping we'll be blessed with a nice long fall as our summer wasn't ever two months long this year. I noticed in my journal that on June 21, the first day of summer, we were 20 degrees below normal. We were also below normal at the end of August with a 39-degree morning in Coeur d'Alene. We normally have 20 days of 90 degrees or more here. This year we only got 13.

Since we are in September, I'll mention a few stats. There is something called the "fall freeze occurrence." For our area it means a 10 percent probability of 28 degrees or lower between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1.

There are three types of freezes:

Light freeze: 29 to 32 degrees. It causes little destructive effects on most plants, but small, young or tender ones can be killed.

Moderate freeze: 25 to 28 degrees. Widespread destruction of crops with damage to blossoms, (important in spring), fruit and semi hardy plants.

Severe freeze: Below 24 degrees. Will produce heavy damage to most plants, especially if the ground freezes solid - depending on the moisture in the soil.

What all this boils down to is that we are getting close to frosts and freezes. The only weapon we have for fighting back is awareness. Watch the weather forecasts daily. If they say we may get an overnight freeze, don't assume they're wrong. Go out and cover your vulnerable plants with a sheet, etc. You'll be glad you did, especially when your neighbors are lamenting about how they didn't cover theirs and their favorite plants are black.

Just don't break your arm patting yourself on the back. You will need it later on for shoveling snow!

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting as a kid in 4-H. Since then, she has always kept a garden of some sort, growing everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and house plants. She has belonged to garden clubs in three states and is an active member of the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls.