Early morning now hints of Indian summer. The pace is slower, days cooler, and gardeners find it easier to pull themselves away from the air conditioner and look over their landscape.

Take time now to walk out near the street and take a good look at your home. See it from the perspective of a potential buyer, should you someday put it on the market.

Does is have curb appeal?

For now, it is your castle, and you hope to stay awhile.

Vision a new or improved landscape.

Now would be a good time to spring into action and make any needed changes. The trend is recent years is to have a colorful landscape. Flowering plants have come from behind high fences in the back garden and now bloom for all to see in the front yards. The changing style is great. If you were not happy with your foundation planting, now would be a good time to change all that.

The balmy days of lingering summer are perfect to stay indoors and create your special landscape.

With container-grown shrubs and trees, planting can continue except during a few days in the dead of winter when the soil is frozen. There is nothing like a cool breeze to put a spring in your step and a spading fork in your hand.

We now have a much wider range of plant material available for creative landscapes, both for shade and full sun plantings.

The trend now is to use plants that will not quickly outgrow the space provided for them. Dwarf plants of old favorites are now available, and low maintenance is now a vital factor in selection.

It is popular now to have color surrounding the home all during the growing season.

Consider the exposure to sunlight in selecting your plant material. A home facing the north can be as attractive as one facing the south. For foundation plantings facing the north, consider such plants as the Japanese Yew, Holly, Mahonia and many more.

Choose plant material from broadleaf or needle evergreens. These will add a touch of green during the usually dull winter landscape.

Easy-to-grow and interesting perennial plants to use in the front of shrubs in shaded areas include the large family of Hosta. There are now over 100 to choose from. Growth of the colorful foliage will begin in early spring and remain attractive until frost. Foliage colors include yellow, blue, green and variegated. Some varieties have heavily textured foliage. With such a planting, include the annual impatiens, in many colors, which will bloom from the time it is set out until frost.

All of these plants prefer a soil slightly acid, which is easily achieved with the addition of spaghnum peat moss. Azaleas also do well in such a setting.

A colorful planting begins with the jewels of spring-- the Dutch bulbs that will be arriving in the garden centers later this month. These include crocus, hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, anemones and the minor bulbs.

Plant crocus and anemones as soon as you locate them, as they bloom on the first warm day of fading winter.

Select an area on the lawn, scatter crocus bulbs and plant where they roll. This will give a natural look. No need to disturb the turf. Take a large screwdriver and push the turf sideways. Work the crocus bulb down about four inches. Firm down turf, water well and wait for the first warm day in February for blooms to appear. Be sure the plant the bulb top side up, or the bloom will become disoriented. Yellow crocus bloom two week before the other colors.

The anemone that blooms best in our area is the DeCaen, one with large single or semi-double blooms. These are ideal for borders or in front of evergreens in full sunlight. The secret of getting these ugly dried-up bulbs to germinate is to soak overnight in water. Foliage will often appear in mid-winter, but will not freeze out if the soil is kept moist. Provide a deep organic soil, and they will readily naturalize.

Daffodils will do well in areas where tulips will not grow. And they will bloom well in full sun or partial shade. Tulips should have perfect drainage. They do best in full sun. Daffodil varieties that do well in our area include such favorites as Professor Einstein, Ice Follies, Duke of Windsor, Fortune, Canby, Unsurpassable, and the largest of all, Fortissimo. For a really spectacular double, in pink and white, try Petit Four.

Pansies are classed as a hardy annual in our area. They do best and last longer if planted between November 15th and December 10th. Several local nurseries will stock plants which have been grown for fall planting. These plants will have been "hardened off" and will be small, stocky, and even have a few buds.

Before planting, prepare soil well in advance with the addition of organic material such as cattle manure, compost or peat moss.

During winter months, never allow the soil to remain dry. A hard freeze in bone dry soil will often result in losing plants.

Have a mulching material on hand should the weatherman warn of sub-freezing temperatures. Dried grass clippings will work well. When temperatures warm again, pull mulch away from plants.

Fall-planted pansies will put down a deep root system and bloom many weeks longer. The Majestic strain of pansies has a wide range of colors and very large blooms and do well in our area.

Among the most dependable of the tulips are the lily-flowered. These bloom mid-season and do not grow as tall as most. This is a plus factor, as we can expect a wild, wild wind on the day they open.

The Darwin hybrids are among the most stately, with the classic tulip form. For a spectacular display, a planting of the flamboyant parrot tulips will be a conversation piece in any garden. These are huge and floppy and in no way resemble the classic tulip.

Be first in line to get the best bulbs and those in short supply.

[Reprinted from The Daily Oklahoman and Sooner State Iris News, October - November 1990]