TIME TO START THINKING COOL IN THE GARDEN.

Byline: JANE GATES Gardening

It's time to make sure beds are prepared for seeding cool-season vegetables and flowers.

You can start seeding cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, Chinese greens and leeks. Do not plant tomatoes, corn, peppers, cucumbers, squashes, eggplant or other tender vegetables. Even if you plant gallon- sized plants they will not have time to bloom and set fruit fully before the cool weather sets in.

Although we are in the middle of summer heat and it may be difficult to imagine that cooler days will soon be here, the plants know what is coming and are gearing up for the future change.

You can still plant tender flowers and bushes, however, since they only need to establish root systems and do not have to let fruit mature before they are productive. Trees can be planted with care, but if you can wait a few months until the sap begins to slow, planted and transplanted trees will bleed less and suffer less of a setback.

Pruning and serious trimming of trees will also be less stressful if you wait until later in the season.

Annuals that are starting to look worn out can be clipped or sheared and will often expend their last energies trying to replace seed heads with a late-season bloom. As beds of annuals fade, you can start replacing them with cooler-season flowers as the nurseries and home stores begin to get them in.

Since the weather is likely to remain warm for some time to come, you can still put in summer annuals like lobelia and petunias and they will probably make good headway right into the winter.

If you have a compost heap, make sure it doesn't dry out. This warm weather will convert the waste into compost quickly so long as air and water are available. So don't forget to fork it over now and then as well.

Pond and water gardens need regular maintenance. In the sun, algae will be growing so it needs to be kept clean. Be vigilant about mosquitoes if you have no fish in your water feature to eat those dreadful mosquito eggs and larvae. And pull dying foliage and flowers before they fall into the water and rot creating excessive acid and muck that will unbalance the pond.

If you can, try to take a little time from all these chores to sit in your garden and enjoy the results of your efforts. In the cool mornings or breezy evenings, the air quality is better and a moment of relaxation in your garden will do you a world of good. Try not to be critical or spend your time cataloging all the things that need to be done. There's plenty of time for that. Instead, give yourself and your garden a reward.