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It won't be long before one of my favorite dieback shrubs begins its long reign of color in my garden. I'm talking about the hibiscus that thrives in our gardens but dies back to the ground each winter.

Last season they started blooming in early August and kept going until late September or early October. Granted, last year was very rainy and that helped. Also I confess that in my enthusiasm I may have occasionally deadheaded the spent blooms as they started to form seed heads. I won't swear to that, but that would help extend the bloom season, too.

Its very large flowers are often said to match the size of your dinner plates. That may be a stretch, but they get close. Colors generally cover white and red and a multitude of shades in between. Lately there seems to be a lot of activity in producing new cultivars of this plant.

Many years ago, in another state, I slammed on my brakes and wheeled into a rest stop when I spotted a huge planting of hibiscus. I swear they had a yellow one. That started a search. Success came this spring when I found a yellow one. I haven't seen it bloom yet but the anticipation is high.

The first thing to know if you try to grow this plant is that it emerges from the ground very late. Usually they emerge in mid May but do not schedule any funerals until the second week of June. I have seen them come up and thrive at that late date. For this reason I always let the dead stems stand until I see new growth before I hunt the shears.

This year I was so slow that I just got there last week. I found the old stems so fragile that I could easily snap off at the ground with my hand. That's another note in my handbook for lazy gardeners.Once they emerge, they grow like gangbusters. The small ones will stop just past your waist and the tall ones will reach head high. The first year in the garden I started with a single stem. I had two to five stems the second year and this year up to ten or a dozen stems.

The shorter varieties seem to produce larger clumps more quickly. The tall ones may sprawl a bit if left un-staked. My solution to that problem is to pinch the tops when they are about two feet tall. That gives a stiffer stalk and promotes branching. That works with a lot of tall perennials.

This group of hibiscus has several insect problems. This spring something was shredding the first leaves. My observation is that it was the same flea beetle that is active in our vegetable gardens in early spring. Damp conditions also favor this small black beetle.

By the time I started to worry about this, the lightning fast growth of the plant had overshadowed the beetle damage. Japanese beetles also can be a problem. If it is a bad Japanese beetle year or if you live in an area prone to them, you may want to think about an insecticide. There is no insect that I know that is easier to kill than Japanese beetles.

I seldom spray, but I may be a bit more tolerant of damage, or lazy, or have too big a garden to get there. I just enjoy the natural shows that the garden produces. My hibiscus always produces one of the best ones.

This week we experience the longest day (sunrise to sunset) of the year. That of course signals the first day of summer and for those of us who grow vegetables, it forces us to think about the fall garden.

It always seems ironic to me that the sun starts marching away from us at the start of summer when we experience our hottest weather and begins approaching at the beginning of winter when we are thinking about shivering.

We still have a few days to get some of the spring planted favorites into the garden. Planting a tomato plant now gives us a fresh supply as the season wanes in the fall. Often by that time our spring planted ones are starting to get tired.

I would consider doing the same with peppers, eggplants and melons if you haven't enough in the garden already. These are a bit dicey as the former two take a rather long season and the latter will experience flavor and fungus problems with a cold September.

Yesterday I talked to a friend in front of a seed store, and he was looking for a particular variety of sweet corn seed. If it was one of the 80-day or so varieties, which is what most of the good ones are he will probably be ok.

I have planted sweet corn as late as July 14 with success. It sure tastes good in late September or early October. In that season it either needs to be sprayed well or you can just spit out the worms. My wife says you could cut them out if you wish.

String beans take just over 50 days to mature so you still have time to make another planting or two. I fear you might be a bit late for lima beans, but who can be sure.

The fall garden is built around the leafy crops. Actually, the cabbage family is best grown as a fall crop. I would plant cabbage starting about July 10 and conclude about August 10. Plant Brussels sprouts during the beginning of that period. Broccoli and cauliflower generally work for me if I have it in by August 20.

Cabbage worms will be a problem but using a natural Bt product on a weekly basis will give you a worm free crop. Begin when you plant. If you wait until you see the worms, control will require chemicals.

Lettuce, spinach, turnips and other greens can be planted in August. My thoughts again focus on the August 20 date.

Root crops like carrots, radishes and beets are also strong candidates. It seems the fall temperatures produce a better texture and a superior taste with these crops.

Last year I planted peas around August 20. We ate some peas but I will advance my planting date a week or so when I try it again.

A good tip if you are thinking about fall vegetable gardening is to look at the number of days to maturity. That can offer a clue about your chances of success. It's just a clue, because the plants race during the hot summer days and slow down with the autumn coolness.

I recently read a quote that life is about trying things to see if they work. That idea is surely reflected in all our gardens and is most true for those of us that grow vegetables in the fall.

At this time of year I occasionally escape the greenhouse for a car, van or truck ride. Usually I drive like I'm on a mission but never so fast that I can't gawk at the landscapes of the yards I pass.

Almost always I am amazed by the love, pride and the stress relief that is built into every yard. Some are high budget, but most are created with modest spending. Regardless of the budget you can get satisfying results.

On a recent afternoon I passed a yard just in time to see the owner wield a hedge trimmer in a slashing circular arc starting at the top and ending near the trunk of some unsuspecting shrub. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. At my age that seems to be where most of my hair resides.

I'll admit that I think hedge trimmers are mankind's worst invention. As I'm sure you suspect, you won't find topiaries and hedges in my garden. Hedge trimmers may be ok if they are left on the garage shelf with limited visitation rights to a hedge some place.

If your garden calls for a hedge, select a plant that responds well to constant pruning. The first thing that comes to mind is yews followed in the distance by boxwoods and privet. The key to growing a successful hedge is to keep it noticeably wider at the bottom than it is at the top. You want light to reach the lower branches. The alternative is to watch the lower branches die.

The yew is also a great choice for topiary. Other neat topiaries result from letting ivy grow over a prepared frame.

Flowering shrubs should never fall victim to the hedge trimmers. Most grow in a rather random fashion and constant pruning to prevent otherwise is sure to limit bloom, which is why we planted it in the first place.

If you want a ball in the garden, there are many options to select from. The key point is to find a shrub that fits the space first and then gives you the form that you wish. That is not as difficult as it may seem. Seek help from a professional, Penn State's Master Gardener's Hotline at 717-394-6851 or from the personnel at your favorite nursery.

I saw another bad practice on my recent travels. Someone had piled mulch around a pair of maple trees that were maybe 20 feet tall. It looked at least a foot deep in a 25-mile per hour zone.

Mulch under trees is a good idea if it is held back from the trunk. When the lower tree trunk never dries because of its mulching, it is holding a welcome mat for disease and insects. Keep mulch back far enough that the air will keep the bark dry except immediately after a rain event.

To close I will confess that I own a hedge trimmer. I could lead you to it. I'm sure it won't start because it hasn't been used in nearly 20 years.

My pruning comes from a collection of shears or a small saw used to remove dead wood, winter dieback and an occasional unruly branch. My favorite shrub is one that I never touch. My garden is full of them.

Several days ago I got a tip that may solve a problem that has plagued my garden for most of my life. Why doesn't my wisteria bloom? Why does it just grow like a weed with no hint of blooms? That is a frequent question I receive and, unfortunately, I had to admit that I didn't know.

The tip came from a horticultural professional in Delaware who traced the tip to a conversation with one of the gardeners at Longwood Gardens. The solution is to prune like crazy and keep a high pH level. In other words, add lime.

My experience with wisteria includes one in the yard during my childhood that bloomed heavily regularly. When I grew up my parents left home and mother took a cutting to her new house some 35 years ago. It puts on a show each spring.

However, when a parking lot was extended at my childhood home the old wisteria was destroyed. I claimed a cutting and planted it on a nearby bank. The result was a runaway vine that seldom, and maybe never, flowered.

The other part of the tip was to prune vigorously. That work should be done in the two months after bloom. That would imply anytime from late May until mid July.

With that said, let me review a few other tips about plants and higher pH. The Amish claim that the only way to grow a nice clematis is to add a cup of lime when you plant it and a half a cup annually thereafter.

Since I heard that one, I have tried it and am about to become a true believer.

Another friend struggled with the perennial baptistia for a time before he found a tip that said baptistia likes high lime. With further thought I guess that makes sense. Baptistia is one of those perennials that are native to the American prairie and that area boasts alkaline soils. Alkaline is the other way of saying high pH.

Of course we all know there is a long list of plants that like a low pH. We know that the color of many hydrangeas is determined by the soil pH.We also know that wooded sites are often low in pH and that the typical old farm field will have a higher pH. We also know that Lancaster County is known for its limestone or high pH soils.

I frequently bash the use of excessive fertilizer in our gardens, especially our flower gardens, but am beginning to think that soil pH, which governs the exchange of nutrients in the soil, might be an area we should pay more attention to.

Perhaps in the near future I will revisit soil pH and try to explain some of the science and garden implications of pH in terms that you and I can understand.

It is difficult to talk excitedly about petunias without quickly shifting the conversation to the series of wave or spreading petunias. It all started with the introduction of purple wave about 10 years ago, that wonderful low growing spreader that needed at least a bushel basket sized space in the garden.

The story of the waves started with the search for a better beer. It seems that a large Japanese brewer sent their top hops breeder to South America looking for new genetics or breeding material in the quest for better hops and thus better beer.

While there he found an interesting native spreading petunia which he brought home with him. He then crossed it with the existing grandifloras and was very impressed with the results. When he took his find to his bosses he was reminded that they were a beer company, not a flower company.

He then showed it to the two largest seed companies in Japan. Both of these are well known names in the industry and do extensive business outside of Japan, including the United States. They too showed a decided lack of enthusiasm. There are other stories that show the difference in tastes between the Japanese and Americans when selecting plants.

Finally, the plant found its way to Chicago and the Ball Seed Company. Many millions of dollars of profit later, the saga of the wave petunias continues.

The wave petunia series has now expanded to include the colors purple, rose, pink, blue and misty lilac. All are massive spreaders and low growing. Most do not hug the ground to the extent that the original purple one does.

Interestingly, the color white is still missing. We visited the "behind the barn" trials in Chicago some five years ago when our daughter worked there and saw what I thought were some worthy white flowering plants. To date none of these have made it to the marketplace.

This past season Ball has introduced a double wave series including the colors purple, blue vein, pink, rose, white, lavender and misty lilac. These too look like they will be a hit. While the single waves will fill a large bushel basket I would expect the doubles to require only a small bushel basket.

Over the years competing companies have tried to join the bandwagon of spreading petunias. Most efforts have fallen short of the original.

One competitor introduced blanket petunias this year. They may find a place in the market. They are more diminutive and will fill no more than half the space of the waves. The also have a flower the size of the popular million bells which look like petunias, but really aren't. This year's introductions included purple and white.

Ten years ago in our greenhouse we would make five plantings of a dozen or more colors of the grandiflora petunias. Today we grow lesser amounts of fewer colors in market packs and make three plantings during the season. It seems that the waves are the winners.

You don't have to enjoy beer to enjoy the petunia revolution but you should be glad that somebody did a decade or so ago.