As the sun balances on its cosmic fulcrum, most gardeners, at least in my East Vancouver neighbourhood, are gathering in their crops. Judging from the size of everything from tomatoes to pumpkins, those who planted early have enjoyed a bumper year.

My compost pile is overflowing with uprooted stems from which vegetables have been plucked and processed for long-term storage, either in canning jars or freezer bags. As I survey the rapidly emptying beds, I realize how much I'm going to miss the greenery, as well as the symmetry of all the growth that led one's eyes from basil to beans to bell peppers.

We can all benefit from spending more time in gardens, whether in Roy Forster's artfully planned VanDusen Botanical Garden, which first began to take shape in 1975, or Pem Van Heek's espaliered apple grove, which he began planting in Strathcona Community Garden in 1989. Today, 50 varieties of apples flourish in formal, lattice-lined rows there. Each variety is labelled with both its name and the year in which it was first developed. These tags make fascinating reading. Examples include the red Merton Worcester (England 1914), the green Blenheim Orange (England 1740), and the tawny Muscadet de Dieppe (France 1750). Right now, they hang heavy with fruit.

Early autumn is an especially fitting time to visit the Nitobe Memorial Garden, a place where equilibrium is paramount. The design of this classic Japanese stroll and tea garden at UBC mirrors a belief that form is an extension of content. The challenge for visitors is to discern the many layers of meaning that underpin the logic of its organization. This may require repeat visits to fully comprehend, which is a good thing now that our own gardens are fading. But you'd better hurry, as Nitobe is only open daily until Thanksgiving on October 10. (After that, it's weekdays only, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Not many garden lots can compare with Nitobe's one-hectare perimeter. Still, there's something both exotic and familiar about this place that's sure to make most visitors feel right at home. Perhaps it's the proliferation of maple trees, which, over the next few weeks, will feature an extravagant display of oranges and reds. Or maybe it's the benches that invite you to sit and contemplate the maples' blazing reflections in the garden pond, where a school of white koi, themselves tinged with gold and rose tones, group up, then lazily circle the pond nose to tail, like a freight train.

Even before you enter this garden, an air of implied order exerts itself as ramrod-straight red cedars and Douglas firs rise above ranks of clay tiles atop the walls that surround the garden's east and south sides. Once you slip inside the gates, bamboo handrails line a trail that leads to a waterfall where every stone in the streambed appears to have been placed with intent. Likely as not, they have. Nothing in this garden, designed in 1960 by Kannosuke Mori, has been left to chance.

Although you can wander off in any direction, the garden is best exper?ienced by exploring it in a counterclockwise manner, one intended to mirror the passage of the moon. Because signage would be intrusive and spoil the natural effect, a handy self-guided tour map, available at the entrance, is indispensable, at least for first-time visitors.

Strathcona Community Garden and its companion Cottonwood Community Garden are opposites of Nitobe. As you stroll the network of narrow paths that leads through the brambles and wetlands into these gardens, it's evident that the rule of green thumb here is gardens without borders. One plot spills into the next. At this time of year, when the efforts of gardeners attain apotheosis, the overall effect is one of barely contained exuberance. Only one plot is surrounded by a weather-beaten fence. Flowers dominate, particularly in the Cottonwood garden, where poppies, evening primrose, marigolds, camomile, oregano, and sage intermingle with morning glories, sunflowers, and an almost endless catalogue of blossoms. Signs remind visitors that flowers, fruit, and vegetables are the property of the owners and should not be picked without permission.

Tucked into a corner of Cottonwood, the Environmental Youth Alliance's brick-walled greenhouse would do any garden proud. Under the care of the young women who predominate the EYA membership, a native-plant garden is progressively taking shape. When it's time to take a break from weeding, or to just meditate on the ways of the world, fledgling gardeners repair to the end of a small dock that overlooks a modest wetland nearby. Despite the drumming of diesel locomotives in the nearby railyard, a delightful air of peace hangs over this space, as it does in any garden. -

ACCESS: Nitobe Memorial Garden is located on the UBC campus at Gate 4, just off Northwest Marine Drive. For more information, call 604-822-9666 or visit www.nitobe.org/.

Strathcona/Cottonwood Community Garden is located on the south side of Prior Street between Hawks and Raymur avenues. Although the 290 plots in Strathcona and the 55 plots in Cottonwood are all currently under cultivation, there is an annual turnover of gardeners. Those interested in joining the Strathcona Community Garden Society are encouraged to attend the work parties that are held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month. Annual membership to the society costs $10, and a $5 fee is levied on each plot. For information on the Environmental Youth Alliance, call 604-689-4463.

The entrance to VanDusen Botanical Garden is located at 37th Avenue and Oak Street. For more information, call 604-878-9274 or visit www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks/vandusen/.