In the heyday of the Roman Empire, cuts, scrapes and burns were common hazards to soldiers. After all, burning and pillaging could get a little rough. The ERs of antiquity tended to these minor wounds by applying the juice of the healing aloe. Yes, that weird, star-shaped, cactuslike, floppy plant seen in dozens of garden shops is ancient, with a long and speckled past.

Autumn is the time of leaves, leaves and more leaves. But rather than raking them and banishing them to the street curb for eventual trash pickup, make use of such organic abundance by creating a compost pile. A compost pile is easy to make, especially if leaves form the core of the heap. But why even bother?

So Cinderella's coach turned into a pumpkin after midnight, but what happens to pumpkins after Halloween? While most are the centers of attention before Halloween, they wind up in the centers of garbage cans the week after. However, don't forget those pumpkins are edible. If you toss yours away, you could also be chucking a real treat.

It's time to begin preparing beds for fall bulbs, and as any garden expert will tell you, to get the best out of these beauties, adding plenty of phosphorus is the key to promote strong root development. This has been a tried-and-true fact in the garden for ages, but other nutrients are also critical for proper bulb development. Potassium is another member of the famous N-P-K Gang, along with nitrogen and phosphorus. It promotes vigor and all-around good health in spring-blooming bulbs. A deficiency of this nutrient is rare because bulbs are very efficient at retaining an internal supply. Also, potassium is very slow to leach from the soil, so some is usually available for bulbs when they need it.

Have you noticed an extra zing in your meals lately? A little too much parsley, marjoram, thyme, mint or some other natural flavoring straight out of the backyard garden?

The fiery brilliance of ripening berries of the pyracantha bush is hard to miss in the fall garden. The thorns are hard to miss, too. (Hence the nickname "firethorn.") But, in spite of the stickers, and unlike most showy ornamentals with "here today, gone tomorrow" blooms, pyracanthas sustain their beauty well into the winter when the landscape is predominated with stark browns and dull grays. And while pyracanthas might be hard to hug, they are easy to grow.

Now is a great time to plant flowering perennials for backyard color next spring and summer. And if you are looking for an old favorite to grow, try the peony. Peonies are members of the buttercup family, and many are native to the northern and western states of this country. However, some of the finest peonies came from Asia, where they had been cultivated for thousands of years. See what I mean about an old favorite?

The wet summer has encouraged grasses to grow, but it has also opened the door for lawn diseases.