Noticing when the first leaf turns red is akin to hearing the first cricket sing on a summer evening. When the harvest season is peaking, gardeners have a singular focus: the fruits of their labor.

I have just harvested lemon cucumbers from my garden again, 23 beautiful fruits from only six healthy, vigorous vines that show no signs of summer stress. Rich, fertile soil and a deep mulch of decomposing straw have ensured a steady supply of cucumbers for weeks. I have already made two batches of bread-and-butter pickles (yes, from lemon cucumbers), and shared lots with friends.

Nearby in the vegetable garden, the French fillet bush beans that were sown two full moons ago are just beginning to produce. They will do quite well in the somewhat cooler days of September. Where the earlier bush beans are now producing seed, I will soon cut them at ground-level, spread turkey compost, and plant my garlic.

But what I really wanted to write about this week is my hops vine (Humulus lupulus). Growing on the garden fence next to the sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata), which is now in bloom with an abundance of fragrant white flowers, the hops vine is also loaded with flowers again this year.

In the late 1800s, the Sonntags grew this vigorous vine, and probably made very good use of the flowers for beer.

Its history was shared with me many years ago by a Sonntag granddaughter, Ann Blum. Ann described the vine as covering a "refrigerator unit" that consisted of a tank leaking water onto flannel strips at its base. Under the tank was a "cage" (her words) that was used to store eggs and butter.

This is a perennial plant that grows from the ground each season with amazing vigor. The deer have never touched it, even when the young shoots are first emerging in spring.

In my garden, the spent stalks are left each season as a support system. At least that's what I tell myself when I never seem to get that bit of garden cleanup done!

But as much as I know about this beautiful vine, including a bit of its history, I have never been able to identify the particular cultivar. I can only assume that it originally came from Germany when the Sonntags came to America. Many years ago, a hops collector from Sacramento was very excited to see it when he was visiting my nursery.

However, he and a fellow collector were unable to identify it. Recently I learned that in the late 1800s there were only about 10 cultivars of hops in the United States.

All these late harvest musings remind me that we are at last beginning the best planting season: FALL!

For the next several weeks, foothill soils will remain warm. A warm soil stimulates seed germination for late vegetables such as lettuce, kale and arugula, and for many perennials. If you are seeding a new lawn, now is a perfect time. And sod installed in the next few weeks will establish more quickly when there is no stress from summer heat.

Landscapes are best installed in fall. Plants are slowing their growth, and roots will establish more quickly in the warm soils than they do in the cooler spring soil. Now is the time to visit a local nursery to select the trees and ornamental shrubs you want to add in the weeks ahead.

Next time I will focus on the most important and exciting gardening season of the year: FALL!

ooo

Carolyn will be interviewed by Bob Tanem, known as "America's Happiest Gardener" on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 a.m., KSFO 560 AM. His program, "Bob Tanem in the Garden" is from 7:30-10 every Sunday. Her book, "Deer Resistant Plants and Subshrubs" is available locally at bookstores and nurseries.