1. Now is the time to schedule a fall aeration for your lawn. Summer's foot traffic and weekly lawn mowing has contributed to soil compaction so there's less ability for water to soak deeply. Make sure the aeration method removes three-inch cores so the thatch layer is penetrated and the lawn will be revitalized. Root growth will increase and your lawn will thicken up. The holes left from aeration are ideal areas for grass seed to lodge when over-seeding early in the fall.

2. If your perennial flower garden has become crowded, begin dividing and transplanting some of the overgrown plants. Cut back the ripening foliage to the ground and lift the entire clump with a spading fork. Wash soil away and pry apart the divisions from the outer edges. Discard the old center portion. Plant the new divisions in soil prepared with compost and water them in thoroughly. They will grow some new foliage before heavy freezing stops growth. Protect these new transplants with a layer of evergreen boughs around mid-December.

3. Bring in house plants that have been summering outdoors. To prevent the immigration of pests indoors, fill a plastic tub with a solution of soapy water for dipping the foliage of each plant for five minutes. Use two to three teaspoons of liquid hand soap per gallon of water. This procedure will suffocate or eliminate potential insect pests that hitchhike on house plants for a winter stay in your home. Allow the plants to dry, out of direct sunlight, then rinse them off with clear warm water.

4. Take cuttings from some of your annual flowers including impatiens, geraniums and colorful coleus. These can be easily rooted in perlite or moist sand and grown indoors over the winter. Once rooted, transplant in a good potting soil and place in a sunny kitchen window to provide colorful blooms and brilliant colored foliage from your coleus.

Tune in to the JOHN & JERI SHOW on 630 KHOW Saturday morning from 7 to 9 for more Gardening in the Rockies Tips. And if you have questions for John, submit them to Ask the Gardener, which is featured every weekend on Channel 7.