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Sept. 7-13: In the garden, it’s time to…

This is the time when the yellows have their day—black-eyed Susans and sunflowers of all shapes and sizes adorn the landscape.

Sunflowers aren't the only yellow roadside attraction…
Sunflowers aren't the only yellow roadside attraction…Read moreClem Murray / FOR THE INQUIRER

Enjoy the roadside flowers. This is the time when the yellows have their day — black-eyed Susans and sunflowers of all shapes and sizes adorn the landscape. Some are remarkably tall, so it's a good thing they're growing along the highway where they have the space to strut their stuff. One of my favorite yellow roadside attractions, though, is the oft-maligned goldenrod. Although many people mistakenly blame these flowers for the spike in allergies and hay fever symptoms that happens at the same time we see its bloom, it's actually the pollen of the nearly invisible, simultaneously blooming ragweed that sets our tear ducts and sinuses aflame. Goldenrod in its many varieties is a great asset to the fall garden. Aside from being just plain beautiful, it is a major food source for pollinators as they begin to stock up for the coming winter.

Find apples. Fruit trees in our area seem to have already lost a lot of their leaves, not to mention dropping their fruit onto lawns and into the street. Stuff that's in the gutters and on the sidewalk is fair game, but ask first before you assume that windfalls in yards are up for grabs. Also be careful of yellow jackets in the fallen fruit; I like to nudge fruit first with my foot to make there's not a previous claim.

Keep vegetables well picked, and evaluate past peak performance. Somebody has to go to make room for the fall vegetables. Transplants are available in local nurseries for cabbage family crops, and there's still plenty of time to get fall seeds in the ground, like turnips, mustard, spinach, beets, carrots, lettuce and arugula.

Sally McCabe is associate director of community education at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (phsonline.org) and a co-owner of Cobblestone Krautery (www.cobblestonekrautery.com).