Heritage Perennials are grown by Valleybrook Gardens, an innovative and leading producer of over 1500 varieties of perennials, hardy ferns and ornamental grasses. Our distinctive blue pots of HERITAGE PERENNIALS are available from independent retailers and dealers in many parts of Canada and the USA. We're passionate about perennials! We hope this newsletter helps you to enjoy your perennial gardening even more.

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Our best-selling book, the Perennial Gardening Guide is a handy reference used by gardeners across North America written by our own Horticulturist, John Valleau. Released March/2003 in a brand new 4th edition!

Each autumn, starting in early September, the questions start to trickle in asking us about what to DO to perennials for the winter. I'll just mention once again that that there is a special "How To" article on the site called "Preparing the Perennial Garden for Winter". Just head to our How To page and click article #6.

I've done pretty much no fall cleanup this year yet. I'm still madly trying to get a bunch of shrubs, perennials and bulbs into the ground during moments of mild (and soggy) weather before the snow flies. Yes, it's getting late and it's somewhat risky for a few of them. The alternative of living in pots on the driveway offers even greater risk, as I learned this past winter. Even if I end up temporarily sinking some pots into the vegetable garden at the last minute, the moderating effect of the soil temperature under the snow is bound to bring things through the winter in better shape than if I leave the plants sitting in pots on the ground.

Touching on the topic of winter interest, I've always felt that some gardeners "get it" and others just don't. If your strongest impulse is to run around cutting everything back and hauling the dead tops to the compost pile, then do it! Some of us tend to leave everything alone in the fall, and we end up staring at a tangled mess of dead stems for the most part. I admire those clever gardeners who selectively cut back perennials that would otherwise collapse in a heap on their own, giving the spotlight for those wonderful ornamental grass plumes and berried shrubs to stand proud and receive the center-stage attention for winter that they so greatly deserve. Speaking of spotlights, maybe this year I'll even get around to featuring a few of the grass clumps with tricky coloured night-lighting effects as part of our Christmas holiday display! Or maybe not. It depends if I finish planting all of the shrubs and bulbs.

"My favorite public garden is Elysium Garden-Nursery in Kelowna, British Columbia. Elysium garden gives me inspiration for my own garden, expert advice from the owners and a respite from my busy lifestyle. Since it is only located 10 minutes from my home I know that what they are doing is totally appropriate for my climate zone and garden conditions. Additionally they offer exceptional plants. It contains many different gardens from a scree garden, to a scented garden, to a vegetable garden, to a herb garden and Japanese gardens." Vivian -- Kelowna, British Columbia
Thanks also to Vivian for sending in some photos, including the one above.

"My husband and I like to visit the Toronto Music Garden on Queen's Quay West. I'm the gardener, but he enjoys it just for its beauty and tranquility. I find it a good teacher, as I see what does well year after year. The great drifts of various bee-attracting flowers are breath-taking, and the swaying stands of grasses are most impressive!" Annie -- Toronto, Ontario

QUESTION: I bought some tulip and crocus bulbs this past fall but didn't get around to planting them and now the ground is frozen hard. Can I save these and plant them outside in the spring? Janice -- Leduc, Alberta

ANSWER: Most spring-flowering bulbs need to go through the winter outside in the ground in order to properly grow and flower. We plant them in the fall and the cold weather causes certain changes within the bulbs that triggers development of leaves and flowers in the spring. If you were to hold them in bags then plant them directly outside in the spring, the bulbs would probably just rot in the ground and die. Flowering Onions (Allium) and Windflower (Anemone coronaria) are worth holding and planting outside in spring as they often need very little winter chill to grow properly.

For tulips, crocus, hyacinths, narcissus (including daffodil) and most other types of hardy bulbs sold in the fall, consider trying your hand at forcing these in pots for enjoyment in the house over the winter. Once they finish flowering, keep watering and fertilizing them regularly until the leaves wither and die down. Then you can save the pots of dormant bulbs and either plant them somewhere outside in mid spring or else remove the ripened bulbs and keep them in a dry, dark place for planting later in the fall.

Liz Primeau begins by discussing the history of the lawn itself from a social and cultural perspective and the tremendous amount of time, energy and resources that are required for the creation and upkeep of that perfect sweep of turf. She then draws us into considering alternatives by sharing the evolution of her own front garden space during the 1990's, which was transformed from the usual grass-and-foundation-evergreens into a charming composition of perennials, shrubs, ornamental grasses, bulbs and other plants, with clever pathways to both lead the eye and allow for easier maintenance.

Primeau's own front garden evolved slowly over many years, each change becoming more bold and daring over time; this was not the three-day total garden makeover. I think this gave her the perfect skills to look critically at front garden spaces, knowing that a gardener's tastes evolve and that no landscape creation is ever truly finished.

The basics of how to begin a total front garden makeover are rather brief but well thought out, addressing issues like city bylaws, getting horrified neighbors onside and finding underground utilities. Liz also discusses various alternatives to the typical asphalt driveway and concrete-block sidewalk that were inevitably provided by an uninspired building contractor.