I hope Jack Frost hasn't visited your garden yet. In my area, he came very near the night of Sept. 11. Luckily, the warmer weather returned the next day ... for how long is anybody's guess. Things could certainly change for the worse by the time this hits print. Speaking of frost, there is a difference between it and a freeze.

Frost: When temperature drops down to the 33 to 36 degree range and stay there for several hours. Freeze: When temperatures fall to 32 or below for several hours. Hard freeze: When the temperature falls below 28 degrees.

The most common fall perennials are chrysanthemums and asters. Mums can be a bit tricky to grow here as they are only borderline hardy. To help them survive, they should be planted early. Those planted in fall often don't survive their first winter. Also, don't cut mums back in late fall. Wait to prune in spring.

Two seldom seen perennials are hardy hibiscus and autumn crocus. Both are worth growing as they are easy and have fabulous blossoms.

The hardy hibiscus looks just like the ones grown hundreds of miles south of our location. The main difference is that this one lives up to it's name and is hardy. It doesn't come up early in the spring, but waits until the ground warms up a bit. However, once it starts to grow, stand back. This plant rivals Jack's beanstalk as it shoots up to six feet tall in short order. The flowers don't open until early Sept-ember, but they are worth the wait; as each blossom measures about eight inches across.

Autumn crocus have an unusual growth habit. They come up in the spring with foliage only. This dies down completely and there is nothing until September. Then the flower buds shoot out of the ground, soon to open into spectacular flowers. These are big; nothing like the tiny blossomed spring crocus.

If you've put off that tree trimming, don't wait any longer. The experts tell us that trees should not be trimmed when the leaves are either opening in spring or falling in autumn. Procrastination does have one advantage however. Waiting until after the trees are bare makes it easier to see what you are doing.

Another job to do now is to apply that last dose of lawn fertilizer. Some call it winterizing. This is said to be the most important of the lawn fertilizer applications.

For those of us interested in growing native plants, our sister garden club in Sandpoint has produced a book on the subject. If you are interested, contact Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society, Inc. / PO Box 1092 Sandpoint, ID. 83864.

Be sure to bring any houseplants back inside as the nights are too cold for them now. Hopefully you're picking lots of ripe tomatoes despite the short season.

Even if "your" hummingbirds have disappeared, leave those feeders up a while longer. You may see some hummers moving through from farther north. We wish the little guys, "bon voyage" on their long journey south and will be looking forward to their return in the spring. Kind of like our friends, the "snowbirds."

Elaine Cerny has gardened most of her life, starting 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.