I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but according to the calendar, the first day of autumn is almost here ... Sept. 22.

Knowing that, most of us have a slew of things that need to be taken care of before the cold weather hits.

* Apply fall (winterizing) fertilizer to the lawn

* Purchase or order tulips and other bulbs

* Divide spring blooming perennials

* Plant trees

* Water existing trees

You get the idea ... and these are just for starters. If it will make you feel any better, all this work is actually good for you. Gardening is a healthy hobby.

For those of you who feed the hummingbirds, remember to continue well into October. The individual birds you've fed all summer may be heading south, but there are other hummers who have summered far to the north of us. These will be coming through and will be looking for a short stay at your "Bed & Breakfast."

As the nights cool off, you'll probably want to give a little extra TLC to your tomato plants. These need heat to ripen, so here's an easy way to do that. Find a large black heavy duty trash bag. Cut the bottom off, then pull the bag down over your plant. (You may have to slice it vertically. If so, pin it back together once it's in place.) Pull it down around the bottom of the plant during the day, then in the afternoon/early evening, before it cools off, pull it back up and pin the top closed. This will help to hold in the heat overnight. Repeat daily.

Here's another chore I forgot to add to the earlier list. If you want to save seeds, this is a good time to do so. Some plants produce great seeds that will come "true" when we plant them next year. Others, being hybrids, cannot be counted on as their seeds will only grow into something undesirable ... nothing like the parent plant.

Some of the best and most reliable types to save seeds from are: cosmos, cleome, annual poppies, love lies bleeding, larkspur and love in a mist. Carefully cut the seed heads off the plant once they have started to turn brown. Lay on a pie plate or something similar, having sides. This way you won't lose the seeds if they pop out of their capsule. Then put them into a Ziploc bag or jar. Mark what they are and store in the refrigerator until early next spring. Then either start them indoors or broadcast them where you want them to grow and bloom.

I recently saw a few interesting Idaho state laws. Believe it or not, these are actually on the books:

* Dirt may not be swept from one's house into the street.

* Bicycles are not allowed in tennis courts.

And my favorite:

* Residents may not fish from a giraffe's back.

Who knew?

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 currently secretary for the River City Gardeners Club in Post Falls.