• Watering  While days are still very hot, try to water early, so the roots can absorb the moisture before the hot sun dries it out.  Water newer plantings, such as trees and shrubs, frequently, so they can develop a good root system before winter.
  
  
• Annuals  Continued deadheading and pruning of your annual bedding plants, along with adequate water, will keep most of them blooming until frost.  Cuttings can be taken from some, such as begonias, coleus, and impatiens.  Root the cuttings in small pots in a sunny window over the winter, for setting out next spring.
  
  
• Perennials  Allow the plants to die back naturally, and cut them back when they are completely finished.  If you want to mark where your dormant perennials are, colored golf tees work great.  
  
  
• Gather some seed!  Now is a great time to let some of your favorite flowers produce seed.  Simply slack off of the deadheading, allowing the flower heads to mature, and gather the seeds to save for next year.  Many annuals and perennials are excellent for this, as long as they are self-pollinating, non-hybrids.  Some examples are Blackeyed Susan, Marigolds, Chrysanthemums, Morning Glory, and Four o'clocks.  Some of these will also self-sow, if the seeds are left to fall.
  
  
• Vegetables  Once plants have stopped bearing fruit, take them out of the garden, as they are simply harbors for disease and insects.  For the others, water often, and harvest vegetables frequently, to extend their production time.
  
  
• Herbs  Plan on potting up some of your favorite herbs, and bring them in to survive over the winter.  Some, such as dill, can be allowed to seed.  The seeds can be saved for next year, but if left to scatter around the plant, they will come up as volunteers next spring!
  
  
• Planting  Perennials for next year can be started from seed in September.  Scatter the seeds in open beds, and the seedlings will emerge in the spring.  This is also a good time to plant trees and shrubs.  Fall planting encourages good root development and gives the plants a chance to get established before the growing season next year.
  
  
• Reading for the dog days  Relax in the shade with something cold and get lost in a beautiful book on gardening.  Some good ones to look for:
  "Garden Retreats: Creating an Outdoor Sanctuary" by Barbara Blossom Ashmun
   (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA)
  "Paradise Found: Gardening in Unlikely Spaces" by Rebecca Cole
   (Clarkson Potter Publishers, New York)
  "Designing with Plants" by Piet Oudolf with Noel Kingsbury
   (Timber Press, Portland, Oregon)
  "House Beautiful: Gardens"  (Hearst Books-New York)
  
  
• The birds  Don't forget our feathered friends ... keep the water in the bird bath clean, and fresh humming bird mixture out for those hummers.  Hummingbird feeders can be left out until the end of September.  Contrary to popular belief, there is no danger of keeping them around too late ... instinct will let them know when it's time to head south.
  

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