It has been a tough summer with lots of hot days and way too much rain in August. The cicadas have visited, the mosquitoes are attacking in record numbers and itch mites are dropping from the trees on to unsuspecting gardeners. It makes you want to go inside and escape from nature.

It's really too early to give up. We could still be gardening for at least another six to eight weeks. Late summer and fall are good times to install new landscape plants. Even though the air temperatures will soon cool off, the soil temperatures don't. That allows for good rooting, so think about planting trees, shrubs and perennials now (wait until spring to plant evergreens and roses).

Wake up the garden with some color from mums, pansies and flowering cabbage, all available at local garden centers. These plants will help freshen up the look of our late season gardens.

This is also the time to plant spring flowering bulbs (see Aug 30 entry). Gardeners will always plant bulbs with the knowledge that spring brings a new gardening season!

Even if you don't plan to install any new plants right now, you can still spruce up the garden by deadheading annuals, getting rid of weeds and cutting back perennials that look less than sensational. Even these regular maintenance items can make a big difference in the look of the garden.

So spray on the repellant and head back outside. The pleasure of gardening awaits you.