IT'S TIME TO PLANT TREES AND SHRUBS.

Byline: JANE GATES

SANTA CLARITA - Autumn has begun and it's the season to get back into gardening again.

Autumn is the best time to plant bare root trees and shrubs, roses and California natives.

Many seeds do well planted in the autumn, and you can grow a whole garden of winter vegetables to keep you healthy and well fed during the winter months when the rest of the country is shivering under snow.

It's still a bit early in the season for all that planting, but this is certainly the time to start planning and preparing soil. Vegetables can be seeded or bought in six-packs to go in now. You can keep cropping your summer vegetables, and enjoy the flowers that grace gardens at the end of summer.

Pull annuals that are dying back and prune back browning perennials.

The ``winter'' annuals are now in stock at retail centers, so you can brighten up the flower gardens with color. Dig compost into bare spots. Herbs should be bountiful now, though it's OK to snip pieces as needed throughout the year. Morning is the best time to harvest herbs, when the essential oils are most concentrated in the leaves.

And you can even give a last feed to your gardens before they start slowing down growth next month. Avoid feeding the more tender plants, though, as you do not want to encourage soft new growth at this time of the year.

Check out your compost heap. It should have ``cooked'' nicely during the summer heat. Now's a good time to dig it out, sift out the large pieces by straining the compost through hardware cloth or fine chicken wire. The compost will make excellent mulch for the winter while adding nutrients into the soil each time you water it.

If you leave dried growth from summer material in place it will harbor insects over the winter. It will serve you better used as the base for a new compost heap. Do not compost diseased plant material. Most insects, however, should perish in the heat of the compost as it ``cooks.''

And, while gathering up the brown stuff, don't forget to collect seed of your favorite annuals and perennials. You can start them inside during the winter or try sprinkling them where you want them to grow in the early spring. Even if you only get a few plants, it's exciting to watch them grow, the price is irresistible, and you might even discover you've grown an unusual cross-pollinated surprise.

Check out those spring plant and seed catalogs and flip through the new autumn releases for ideas. Take a tour of the nurseries and gardening centers. We have an extra season to plant coming up.

Though few people think of it, autumn and winter are excellent times to do a lot of planting in Santa Clarita. Check with nurseries or gardening consultants for advice. It's also a good time to consider redesigning or hardscaping so you will be ready to plant in these coming months or, at least, by spring.

Winter is the time many landscapers and masonry people are freed up to take on home clients. Make sure you know what you want these folks to do for you or you will end up with generic solutions that may not be right for you.