"If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer." — St. John Chrysostom

Summertime, when sparrows gorge themselves on mulberries, goldfinches flit through branches and sway on tall grasses, that's when your garden is the best place to be — a rewarding retreat, where a sense of peace, calm and beauty awaits you. Or not? Have you already encountered the Great Infiltrators, who are immensely resourceful in finding ways into your garden, like honeysuckle, morning glory, grapevines and poison ivy? Their impervious progress has been subtle, but now you are confronted with a sizeable onslaught.

Don't wait until later — eradicate now or you will need a GPS to find your way through the thicket. Although I am a great believer in organic gardening, sometimes it is necessary to bring in the heavy guns. One of them is Roundup Poison Ivy Plus Brush Killer, easy pump action, ready mixed, sprays only where you want it to go, kills roots and shows visible results within 24 hours.

Sift through the clutter in your garden shed! Clean your tools, brush away spider webs and use the fertilizers, supplements and other goodies you bought in an orgy of retail therapy. They are to be applied, not put aside and forgotten.

Size matters when choosing perennials in your garden, regardless if your garden paradise is a tiny patch or several acres. You need to include some really tall architectural plants. If not, it's going to look a little wimpy. A great native tall plant is eupatoreum maculatum, Joe Pye Weed, a late bloomer. It says "goodbye to summer" with tall spikes of mauve. Butterflies and birds love it. This plant needs full sun.

A favorite of mine, acanthus mollis, Bear's Breeches, has dramatically tall stalks and is a big and bold plant with one of the finest foliage in the plant kingdom. The 3-foot-tall spikes are very ornamental, sun-loving and bloom midsummer to fall.A

great shrub is hypericum, St. John's Wort, "Sunny Boulevard," noted for its long bloom time from July through September. Rich yellow flowers, small but numerous, deer resistant, native, drought tolerant —what more could you ask for? Look for it in your garden center. You will not be disappointed in its performance.

A little bit about heirloom tomatoes. You can save the seeds from ripe tomatoes and grow identical plants next year. Seeds saved from hybrids will not produce plants that are the same as the parent plant. To grow terrific tomatoes, follow these suggestions:

• Reduce the number of side branches to allow more light to reach the fruit as it

matures.

• Do not cut the tops of the main stem, but carefully remove the weaker side stems.

• An all-purpose fertilizer designed for vegetables and flowers does work well.

• Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen, they stimulate stem and leaf growth.

• Use a bloom-boosting fertilizer with a higher amount of phosphorus.

• Keep your tomato plants well watered during this heavy production period.

The ever-present to-do list:

Continue deadheading and removing spent stalks.

Remove dried leaves and blossoms from daylilies.

Harvest herbs, dry or freeze them for later use.

Collect seeds for next year.

Fertilize late summer and fall flowers.

Sow lettuce, radishes and spinach for cool weather crop.

Pick off Japanese beetles from your roses.

Happy summer!

Gotti Kelley, past president of the Navesink Garden Club, also serves on the Board of The Garden Club of New Jersey.