IN THE GARDEN WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT FOR FALL.

Byline: JOSHUA SISKIN

In the gardening world, the new year begins in the fall. Fall is the best time to plant trees, shrubs, flowering perennials and, of course, bulbs. Since the opening of the fall season is less than a week away, it is worth noting new trends and features in garden design, as offered by Mary Pat McClatchey of the Garden Media Group. These trends will show themselves in the selection of plants and products you will be seeing in your neighborhood nursery and garden center during the coming year.

Pastels out, bold colors in. This gardening trend, like several others, is a reflection of trends in the world of fashion and design at large. Houses on your street, or at least their trim, are being painted in bright rainbow colors. Furniture and fabrics are also getting brighter. So flower gardens will follow suit, with red, orange and yellow blooms replacing lavender, pale pink and salmon.

Traditional lawn care out; organic in. Lawns are the last bastion of nonorganic garden care. Yet consumers are finally recognizing that an organically based lawn-care program is more cost effective, in the long run, than a traditional, more chemically oriented one. A thin layer of compost, no more than a halnch thick, spread monthly over a lawn is the best way to prevent weeds and diseases and will help aerate and decompact the soil in the process. Organic products that will solve a variety of lawn problems are in the pipeline.

Sloppy out; high fashion in. Apparently we are quickly losing interest in the ``dumb and baggy'' hip-hop style and will soon reject body piercings, tattoos and the exhibition of flabby midriffs. A return to fashion basics will be accompanied by a return to gardening design basics, with strong lines and a keen awareness of how design features fit and function together as parts of an harmonious whole. The feng shui influence on design will be strongly felt in the garden.

If it moves, it's in. Wind chimes, whirligigs and twirling art pieces of all kinds, as well as high-concept fountains, are finding their way into more and more gardens. The most popular moving feature in recent years is the garden train, which holds a fascination for every age group. For more information on this growing pastime, visit the Web site at www.gardentrains.org. Incidentally, the Fairplex Garden Railroad, covering nearly an acre at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, is the largest garden railroad in the world.

Plain pots out; novel containers in. Container gardening is a fast-growing trend. This is not only because of an increasing array of plants - such as bacopa, million bells, tapien verbena and trailing impatiens - that have seemingly been developed for the specific purpose of spilling over the sides of pots. The pots themselves are now becoming the center of attention. Colorful glazed, metallic and antique finishes are showing up on both indoor and outdoor plant containers.

No color is out; four seasons of color are in. It used to be that people would fill gaps in their gardens with junipers or holly. This is no longer the case. To be worthy of a garden spot, a plant must show flowers, preferably for two seasons or longer. Shrub and floribunda roses are the rage. A disease-resistant shrub rose called ``Knock Out'' with cherry red petals is the newest sensation. It blooms for nine months and has quickly sold out all over the country. It may soon rival the ``Iceberg'' rose in popularity, although Knock Out is a smaller variety, with a height and spread of 3 to 4 feet.

Dirt out; preformulated mixes in. People have neither the knowledge nor the time to mix all necessary amendments, minerals and fertilizers into their soil. As a result, highly sophisticated soil mixes are being developed so that, by incorporating them into the ground prior to planting, gardening success is all but assured. Smaller, more easily handled bags of soil mix are being manufactured for the customer's convenience. Micorrhiza and other biological activators will be added to the mix, leading to healthier plants with fewer disease problems.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Now is the time to prune avocado and citrus trees to keep them at a manageable height. Remove all vertically growing branches above the desired height, which can be as low as 8 or 10 feet tall. It does not do you any good to have lots of fruit that you will never pick because it is out of reach.