Gardening

For dedicated gardeners, here are suggestions from the California Assn. of Nurserymen:

Bedding begonias can give you immediate color in the late summer or fall garden and can be counted on for a repeat performance next spring.

When cutting flowers to fill indoor vases, make clean cuts with sharp clippers or a knife; these cuts will heal faster than ragged edges.

Take inventory of the garden: Snip off infected leaves, dead flowers and awkward shoots; you’ll get better, more continuous blooms by keeping faded blooms trimmed.

Don’t fertilize your lawn just before leaving on vacation. Tender new growth could suffer if there’s a heat wave while you’re gone.