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Although the blooming sunflowers, asters and zinnias may still be providing some color in your yard, September is a good month to finish up the summer season and get a good start on fall. With the yellow bus at the corner, you might remember those first days of school.

Here are some suggestions for your garden chores based on the alphabet:

A: Add cool weather annuals such as pansies, colorful Osteospermum (African daisy) and ornamental kale, as well as cool weather garden crops.

 If you want fresh veggies this fall, sow chard, radishes, carrots, kale, spinach, turnips, beets and lettuce. With salad greens, sow small amounts every 10 days for continual harvesting. Direct sow one more row of bush beans and another crop of peas right now for fall harvest (and freezing).

Believe it or not, some hardy annual flower seeds can be planted in the garden for blooms in the following spring and summer. Lisa Mason Ziegler of The Gardener’s Workshop in Newport News has written a book entitled Cool Flowers. In it she explains that the seeds of several flowers, such as bupleurum (Bupleurum griffithii) and larkspur (Delphinium consolida), can be planted directly in the garden six to eight weeks before the first frost in fall (October 21 in the metro Richmond area). They will overwinter as young plants and grow rapidly in the spring.

Aerate, fertilize and overseed established cool season lawns. Warm days and cool nights provide ideal conditions for seed germination and establishment of tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, fine-leaf fescues, and perennial ryegrass. Mid-August to mid-September is the prime time for lawn-renovation, planting and reseeding.

B: Bring houseplants, such as begonia, coleus, geranium and ivy, indoors and repot if necessary. Start the transition by moving them in at night when the temperature drops below 60°F.

Always check for pests before bringing pots inside. Most houseplants prefer a sunny window location where there is good airflow.

Begin a gardening journal. Note what performed well and what did not. You could include photos of the locations of perennials that fade over the winter. You don’t want to plant something new, only to realize that it is too close to another plant. Your journal can include a wish list of plants to include in the spring and any other changes to the garden.

Buy spring-blooming bulbs for planting later in the fall. Remember that bigger is better when selecting bulbs.

C: Clean up plants as they fade. Cut back perennials when the foliage has turned yellow on daylilies, iris, peonies and bee balm, for example. However, leave rudbeckia, echinacea, sedum, grasses and clematis to provide habitat and food for birds over the winter months.

Stop deadheading in September if you want annuals to self-seed. Zinnias and sunflowers will drop their seeds and probably return next year.

Compost spent foliage from healthy plants in a compost pile or bin. Ideally, you should keep mulched grass clippings on the lawn to return nitrogen to the soil. If you must, add them to the compost pile. Keep the compost pile moist and turn it periodically to hasten decomposition. Add “cooked” compost to vegetable and garden soil to improve its tilth and fertility.

Control weeds. Spend a few hours each week to keep up with weeding in your garden. Diligent weeding helps prevent weeds from going to seed and also reduces disease in next season’s garden. If you have too many weeds in a particular area, smother them with corrugated cardboard, then lay a thick topping of mulch on top.

Catch water in a rain barrel for later use. Make sure that any trees or shrubs less than one year in the ground are thoroughly watered. Keep your vegetable and flower gardens watered while they house growing plants.

Don’t waste water on lawns until you have sown grass seed to germinate. Cool season fescue lawns will bounce back from browning when cooler, moister days return.

Contact your local office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension if you have garden or lawn questions.

Lela Martin is a Master Gardener with the Chesterfield County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension.