What is it about the light this time of year? Mornings and evenings alike, it's low and slanting and seems drenched in yellow and gold. It makes everything look like a memory.
Walking through my garden, this gorgeous sunlight, playing off the rich yellow perennial sunflowers and russet-tinted mums just beginning to flower, it makes me even more sad that this is my landscape's swan song. I'm exhausted by my garden, to be sure. It's hard work! Can I possibly harvest (or eat) one more cucumber without just pitching the whole damn plant into the compost heap? And as usual this time of year, the weeds have gotten out of control and diseases and critters have left most of the plants in tatters.
But soon enough we'll be fretting about frost and tearing up the remains of summer's glory. So weeds and slugs and all, I'm trying to soak up the last of summer's beauty and light. Just like the tomatoes I'm freezing and the plum sauce I'm canning, the pleasures of my garden will sustain me in chilly winter months to come.
Yours in bittersweet gardening,
 Veronica Lorson Fowler
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Too Many Tomatoes
 My three 'San Marzano' paste-type tomato plants are producing their hearts out. When I have lots of tomatoes, I love slow-roasting them. (Paste-type are best, but just about any tomato will do.) Just wash and remove any stems. Cut into 1-inch or so chunks. Spread out on a rimmed cookie sheet (or 2) and toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and the dried herbs of your choice. Put in a 250 oven for 3 or 4 or more hours, turning every hour or so and smashing them a bit in the last hour or two of their cooking. They make a great sauce, as is, for pasta. (Save some of the pasta cooking water to add at the last minute to make this sauce a little juicier.) Or freeze for fabulous concentrated tomatoes this winter to use in more pasta, soups, stews, or any dish that calls for canned tomatoes.
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Shorter Sedum 
I adore sedum 'Autumn Joy,' but don't adore its tendency to flop. So this time of year I'm really appreciating the upright types of sedum that are a bit more compact. 'Rosy Glow' sedums grow just 6 to 9 inches high (compared to 3 1/2 feet for 'Autumn Joy') and spread well, making them the perfect choice for this problem spot on my front slope.
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Fall Is In the Air 
And so are fall garden tasks. Here's some useful information as you clean up your garden over the next couple of months:
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Keep harvesting, as much as you can.