IT'S TIME TO CLEAN OUT SHED, PREPARING GARDEN FOR WINTER

This was a week of cleaning up at our house. The Ladybug's garden shed received a thorough going over, with much pitching of pot shards, unused sand and gravel, broken hanging baskets, gleaning of clay pots, removal of old and weathered cardboard boxes, and rehanging of garden tools on pegboard. Why, you can even walk into the place now.

On the other side, the vegetable gardener removed the pole beans from their support, took up the plastic that had underlaid the unproductive squash, pulled up the bitter mustard from last spring's planting and got ready for the winter mulching. The tomatoes and the peppers were left intact. Both are producing, the tomatoes less than at peak and the peppers, dormant during the hot, dry summer days, producing as if to make up for lost time. You just gotta move in the fall to button up for winter.

This is the time of year between summer's heat and winter's bitter cold, when it is a pleasure to be outside as the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold. There is much tidying up in the garden in preparation for the long, dull and dreary winter months ahead.

House plants should be also getting ready for their winter inside. With the shorter days, they are slowing down on growth and less feeding is required. For those that have summered outside, it is time to move them to a more sheltered spot where they are sprayed thoroughly with an insecticide. Our potted plants are dipped into a solution of chlorox water to kill any insects nestling on the pots.

It is often difficult to weed out poor plants. Because of limited space inside, many gardeners have difficulty letting go of plants that have not produced well or are too old. It is often better to start new ones from cuttings, such as geraniums, begonias, coleus and lantana. Also, it is a good idea to try something new inside this year.

Christmas cactus should be left out in an area where temperatures are between 50 and 55 degrees at night. During the daytime they appreciate good light. Plants will gradually form flower buds and will begin to flower starting around Thanksgiving (often before), or some varieties nearer to Christmas, depending on the variety.

Christmas or Thanksgiving cactus to set their buds, should be in an area where it does not get additional light after dusk. It is not necessary to put them into a darkened area or to cover them at night for flowering unless they are being grown in an area where additional light is on for long periods in the evening.

Tender bulbs, such as gladiolus, tuberose, Peruvian daffodil, dahlia and cladium, should be dug after the first frost. Cut back two to three inches above the soil line. Remove them to where it is cool and dry, and allow them to dry off for several days. Then remove excess soil for the final storage. Dust them with a bit of sulfure to prevent mildew or rot from forming. Store in a cool, dry place.

Fall is an excellent time to plant new trees and shrubs as a good supply of new material is available on the market. Plant at proper depth, or if drainage is questionable, plant several inches higher, amending the soil with organic matter and superphosphate. No fertilizer should be used at planting time.

Cover heavily with five to six inches of mulch to conserve moisture and control soil temperature. Trees planted now will continue to make excellent root growth, and will become better established than spring planted trees and shrubs.

On October 8 the rich, elegant beauty of the African violent was captured on a new 29-cent Postage stamp, issued by the Postal Service during the African Violent Society of America's annual meeting in Beaumont, Texas. This flower, introduced here in 1894, has become a favorite house plant throughout the world.