WEEK 1

Regularly clip faded flowers from black-eyed Susan, coneflower and Shasta daisy to get repeat blooms.

Jill Pastrick (ENLARGE)

Plant cucumbers for fall.

RELATED LINKS: Female ginkgo seeds can have rancid odor  Beautyberry safe to plant anywhere  Fern shares Boston name, but not the cold  Trim odd growth; weed killer likely cause  Wick waterer keeps plants hydrated  Get more Home & Garden news Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on NewsTalk 750 WSB-AM from 6 to 10. Call 404-872-0750 to ask questions. His Web site, walterreeves.com, contains thousands of answers to lawn and landscape questions. Watch "Gardening in Georgia" each week on GPB. Details at gardeningingeorgia.com.

Shade the containers where you're growing patio tomatoes. Hot soil causes poor growth.

Don't be scared of large wasps that dig small holes in your lawn. These are harmless cicada killers. Stingless males hover above the holes.

Last chance to prune azaleas. Waiting any longer will diminish the number of flowers you get in spring.

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WEEK 2

You can plant snap beans, Irish potato, cucumber and squash now and get a good harvest by late fall. Details at http://xrl.us/GARDENPUBS.

Enjoy the peeling bark of crapemyrtle trees. The soft gray or cinnamon underbark is very attractive.

Remove seed pods and faded flowers from lilies. When frost kills the upper part of the plant in November, it can be cut to the ground.

Water figs now as they begin to ripen. Harvest every morning, before the birds visit and have breakfast at your expense.

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WEEK 3

Thoroughly spade up an area to plant a crabapple in September."Donald Wyman," "Profusion" or "Prairifire" are excellent varieties.

Don't let rain go down the spout — capture and use it instead. Details at http://xrl.us/RAINBARREL.

The soil in outdoor clay pots dries out quickly. Poke holes in it with a pencil to make sure water saturates the soil when you tend your plants.

Look on the ground around your blackberry and raspberry plants. The canes snaking across the ground should be tied back onto their wire arbor.

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WEEK 4

Cut back outdoor bougainvillea, Boston fern and tropical hibiscus to a manageable size now so you can bring them indoors in November.

Examine crapemyrtles for black, oily leaves. This is caused by crapemyrtle aphids, which can be controlled by a blast of water and predatory insects like yellowjackets and wasps.

Plant asparagus. Look for "Jersey Giant," "Jersey Knight," or "Jersey Prince." They produce three times as much as older varieties.