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Take note

of standing water after downpours. Don't worry about lawns, but if such pools in flowerbeds don't drain promptly, be aware that the same situation will occur with heavy winter precipitation - and poor winter drainage can be quite bad for many perennials and shrubs. Mitigation may be in order.

Cool off by perusing the bulb catalogs. Place orders immediately for such fall-bloomers as colchicum, fall crocus, lycoris. They need to get into the ground very soon, and supplies run out early.

Continue deadheading annuals and cut down the spent parts of perennials as they become tatty. But if you wish to save seeds to grow next year, the following are good candidates for leaving some seeds heads to ripen for collection: cosmos, tithonia, bachelor's buttons, bells of Ireland, Salvia coccinea, poppies (let poppy seed self-sow). Don't bother with marigolds, which, being highly hybridized, will not come true.

Deadhead phlox the smart way. Many cultivars of P. paniculata rebloom from the same flower cluster. When the first flush of flowers has finished, wait to let the second set come into bloom. But immediately remove the entire cluster after the second bloom is over, for the seeds of the first will be ripening, and seedlings of even pure white varieties can result in that sadness known as magenta.

Limit fertilizing to the vegetable garden and annuals you have cut back for a second flush of bloom.

Sow fall vegetables, planting seed a bit deeper than in spring. Include herbs that went to seed early, such as dill, cilantro, and chervil. Lettuce and spinach can wait.

Have a friend harvest the vegetable garden while you're away - so that when you return more will be ripening for you.

Know the difference between a good tomato hornworm and a bad one. The bad ones are smooth, vibrant green caterpillars with a little hook of a tail. Remove from the plant and send it to the great garden in the sky. The good ones look as if they have meticulously arranged rice kernels on their backs. These are the eggs of parasitic braconid wasps, friends to gardeners. Let the hatching wasp larvae do the job of killing the hornworm, and they'll turn into more wasps to do it all again next season. The tobacco hornworm looks similar, likewise chomps tomato plants; same drill.

Hold off pruning shrubs till late November. Late-summer and early-autumn pruning induces new growth that may not have time to harden off for surviving winter.

Prepare to redo or create a lawn. The end of August is the best time for growing grass from seed. Have the soil tested beforehand to determine how much lime you will need. Remove weeds and loosen compacted soil. Unless the lawn will receive heavy use, fine fescues are recommended over Kentucky bluegrass.

Combat powdery mildew, the gray discoloration on leaves of phlox, monarda, sunflowers, deciduous azaleas, and so much more. Prepare this recipe for spraying the plants: 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil mixed well in 1 cup of warm water, then diluted in 1 gallon of water. But overlooking powdery mildew is OK; though unsightly, it usually doesn't affect plants severely. To lessen recurrence, give plants more space next year to improve air circulation.

Be on the lookout for phytophthora on rhododendrons. The first sign is wilting of the newest leaves at the tip of a branch. Next come a blackening of those leaves and wilt farther down the stem. Cut the stem at least an inch below the lowest sign of wilt or discoloration. If the cross-section of the cut stem is solid white-green, do no more. But if there is any darkness in the cross-section, wipe the pruning blades with rubbing alcohol and prune lower. Repeat until the cut reveals no disease. All trimmings as well as all leaves the rhododendron has already shed belong in the trash. If left untreated, the plant will die and others may be infected. Dead and severely infected plants and the soil they were growing in also go in the trash.

Be prepared to practice summer triage. Some perennials and woodies were walloped by the June dry spell; if they haven't revived by now, removal may be in order (providing space for the fall planting season).

- Michael Martin Mills