Fall has arrived in the garden.

Asters and mums are beginning to pop, and golden rod and Joe Pye weed are buzzing with bees and wasps. "Autumn Joy" sedum has turned dusty pink. Butterflies flit in and out of the picture. There's always plenty of work in the fall garden, too, perennials to dig and divide, phlox and other flowers to deadhead.

I finally got around to pruning the old spirea I wrote about several weeks ago - and, if I do say so myself, it looks amazing. I left the newest growth in the center and it has a nice shape. Not a hack job at all. (I'm glad I didn't cut it all down because the spot would have looked naked!)

I also took a glance at the calendar, which gave me a start. It's nearly tulip time - time to select colors and varieties, and figure out where best to plant next year's beauties. The fragrance of sweet autumn clematis in the air reminds me that there are a surprising number of fragrant tulips. Don't expect a bowl-you-over peony or old-rose fragrance; the aroma isn't that strong. Interestingly, many of the most fragrant varieties are orange.

Orange can be a stunner as an exclamation point in the spring garden or in combination with other orange tulips, yellow, white, pink or purple tulips. Shades run from vibrant to muted, although it's a color I've not seen often in Cedar Valley gardens, where tulips are often classic red and yellow combos, deep jewel tones or soft pastels.

Top of the heap among legendary fragrant orange tulips is "Apricot Beauty," with its fruit-infused fragrance. This salmon-colored tulip has one of the strongest fragrances and is among the easier tulips to force indoors. A close second is "Prinses Irene," commonly labeled "Princess Irene," orange with a purple flame and light perfume. "Apricot Beauty" is a single early tulip, while "Prinses Irene" is a mid-season Triumph. Both of these varieties make lovely cut flowers.

Dutch growers often chose lily-flowering "Ballerina" as their favorite fragrant tulip. This late tulip has recurving petals, interior colorations from tangerine to orange and a reddish-orange exterior that ages to coppery red. It's a perennializing tulip, so it you don't have to lift and divide bulbs in subsequent years.

Other orange smoothies include "Peach Melba," a double early tulip that reminds me of orange sherbet - peach-apricot in the center deepens to pink on the outer edges with soft green ribs and a sweet fragrance; "Apricot Parrot," a Parrot tulip with a green and pink stripe; "Dillenburg," a late-season flower that resembles terra cotta; "Generaal de Wet," a single early orange tulip blushed in yellow; and Darwin hybrid, "Orangezon," a bright orange mid-season tulip.

"Daydream" looks like early morning sunshine - with a soft-as-a-cloud fragrance. It's a Darwin hybrid, a single late crossed with Early Fosteriana tulips. These large-blossomed tulips are weather-resistant, too, and are considered perennial tulips, returning for multiple years. "Ad Rem," another Darwin hybrid, is a red/orange mid-season variety.

Beyond orange, other fragrant tulips include:

Single early: "Couleur Cardinal," dark red with violet; "Bellona," golden yellow; "Christmas Marvel," cherry-pink; "Keizerskroon," red and gold.

Double early: "Mr. van der Hoef," yellow; "Monte Carlo," bright yellow; "Schoonoord," white.

Mid-season: "Rainbow Warrior," yellow-red; "Holland's Glory," red-orange; "Silverstream," cream.

Double late: "Allegretto," red and yellow; "Angelique," soft pink and white.