To welcome the cooler days of autumn, a flower show would be just the ticket to enjoy some of the beauties of nature. On Saturday and Sunday, the Las Vegas Flower Arrangers' Guild is doing just that with its Fall Flower Show and sale at the Nevada Garden Club Center in Lorenzi Park.

Called "The Exciting West," hay bales and all things Western will decorate the venue. So, pull on your boots and come and kick up your heels. From novices to master judges, from youth to master gardeners, flower designs and horticulture entries will be center stage.

We are so lucky in Southern Nevada to experience a second blooming season after the heat of the summer. Creative flower designs will reflect the theme of the show, and the best of our fall gardens will be displayed in the horticulture entries. Plants in every form -- trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, roses, orchids, herbs, vegetables, cactuses and succulents -- will be featured, as well as container-grown plants, both indoor and out.

Eligible for an educational award will be special exhibits by master gardener Don Fabbi, "Plant a Row for the Hungry"; "Chuck Wagon Herbs" by the Growers Study Guild; and a Collection of Western Bonsai by the Las Vegas Bonsai Society.

The Flower Arrangers' Guild is one of 14 garden clubs in Southern Nevada that is a member of Nevada Garden Clubs and National Garden Clubs. Those organizations promote the love of gardening, floral design, and civic and environmental responsibility. Many of the clubs will be represented among the show entries, and there will be a chance to chat with members selling garden-related items.

Don't miss this wonderful touch of fall! The show is free and open to the public on Saturday from noon to 4:30 p.m., and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Nevada Garden Club Center, 3333 W. Washington Ave. in Lorenzi Park.

If you have a beautiful bloom or plant in your garden and want to enter it in the show (and possibly win a blue ribbon), just bring it to the Garden Center on Friday, between 3 and 7 p.m., or Saturday, between 6:30 and 8 a.m. There is no entry fee. For more information, call 242-9259.

GROWING VEGETABLES

Have you ever wanted to grow vegetables in our desert climate? Join Fabbi at 11 a.m. Saturday at Plant World Nursery, 5311 W. Charleston Boulevard. Fabbi brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with him in his presentations.

"I plant my successes and compost my mistakes," he says.

One of Fabbi's many loves is assisting senior citizens at the city of Las Vegas Doolittle Senior Center Community Gardens in West Las Vegas. It has 35 raised beds filled with lush cool-season vegetables. Fabbi acts as coach for the gardeners, making it possible for them to go home with arms full of vegetables instead of failures. He assists them with bed preparation, knowing when to plant various vegetables and how to water.

The senior gardeners have their own assigned plots and have various ways of branding them to be their own.

"They all respect each others' plots," Fabbi said. "Vandalism and stealing produce has never been a problem at the gardens. At first (10 years ago), some produce was disappearing, but as time has gone on there is very little vandalism. This is probably due to a greater appreciation of what this community garden is all about."

The coach is always experimenting with other plants and he has these gardeners doing the same. You'll find sugar cane, cotton, peanuts, tobacco, sweet potatoes, herbs and five pineapple plants growing in the garden.

Fabbi was quick to credit Plant World Nursery for its role in the success of the garden. The nursery has donated plants, fertilizer and vegetable seeds to the project.

The expert also has the gardeners planting food for the needy. To date, they have donated more than a ton of vegetables to the poor. The program they work under is the "Plant a Row for the Hungry." It is sponsored by the Garden Writers of America, an association I belong to.

Fabbi loves growing vegetables in the 2-foot-high raised beds.

"The senior gardeners are able to take control with the enhanced soil," Fabbi said. "Soil is the biggest limiting factor when it comes to producing quality vegetables in our climate."

Now for the real advantage of raised beds, he said with a grin, "They minimize standing, stooping and digging, which is real nice for those senior citizens." The participants sit along the bed edges and visit while working, which is part of the social atmosphere.

Fabbi has learned from senior citizens as well.

"I've always harvested collards by removing the heart of the plant, but one sweet lady showed me how to harvest the mature leaves and let new growth continue to replenish the plant. We have collards out here that are over 2 years old."

The community garden is not open to the public, but arrangements can be made to visit. Watch me and Fabbi this Sunday morning on KLAS-TV, Channel 8 during the local news for a view of the garden.

Fabbi will have a "Plant a Row for the Hungry" educational display at the Fall Flower show on Saturday.

Here are some recent questions I received.

Q: When do we harvest our winter squash?

A: A tough skin is the best barometer to determine maturity. If your thumbnail cannot crease the skin, it's mature. Save 2 inches of the stem on the fruit to further extend the life of the fruit after harvest. When picked immature, they'll rot quickly.

Q: Why won't the garlic I planted last spring make a normal bulb?

A: You plant garlic in the fall. It is a biannual like onions, which means it must experience a certain amount of cold weather before the bulb forms.

Q: As we near the end of the garden season, what do I do with my tomatoes if it freezes?

A: Be ready for the frost, because you will end up with buckets of green tomatoes. Find out how to use green tomatoes in relishes, pies and bread. My wife makes tomato bread out of ours and it is great. Or pull up the vines and let them hang in the garage to let the fruit gradually ripen.

Q: My apricot tree suddenly died. What caused it?

A: When a tree suddenly dies, peel back the bark just below the soil line. Look for a brownish-black disease called crown rot. If you continually moisten the crown of the plant at the soil line, it activates this soil-borne fungus that plugs the lifeline of the tree to kill it. To avoid further problems, pull soil away from the trunk and refill with pea gravel to keep the trunk dry.

Linn Mills writes a gardening column each Thursday. You can reach him at linn.mills@lvspringspreserve.org or at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve at 822-8325.