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 new 4th edition!

That darned groundhog was wrong again, it appears. Niagara is in the middle of yet another storm, as is much of the Eastern part of the continent. If I kept a garden journal it would reassure me that the snowdrops are actually under there somewhere, just waiting for a week of mild melty weather before they burst into eager growth. But spring happens when it happens, and there's just no sense in complaining. Some of you are already writing from warmer climes, asking questions about bulbs, spring cleanup and what new varieties to plant for 2005. Hopefully our timely Top 10 list will provide a bit of a warm glow to this otherwise dreary March weather. Spring truly is near, so remember that we're here to help make your perennial gardening dreams come true!
-- PICTURED ABOVE Echinacea purpurea 'Doubledecker'

Our Top 10 Perennials are chosen from over 1500 varieties that we grow and from the many hundreds of new varieties introduced, discovered, or sometimes rediscovered every year. Of course, not every new plant is a good plant. Though nearly all of our selections this year are recent introductions from breeders in Europe and North America, all ten are sturdy, high-performance plants that are sure to please! Gardeners have told us they don’t like to be disappointed by finicky perennials that look good for only a short time, so our goal this year was to find ten winners with flower or foliage interest for weeks on end.

Wherever you garden in North America, you should be successful with some or most of these varieties!

The 2005 Top Ten Perennials:

• Echinacea purpurea 'Doubledecker'
  (Doubledecker Coneflower) Zones 3 - 9
  A totally new twist on the traditional Purple Coneflower, with delightful and bizarre two-tiered blooms that will attract plenty of attention. This new seed-strain will often produce plants with single blooms in the first season before they settle down in the second year and develop a high proportion of double-decker blooms, like a Coneflower wearing her Easter bonnet! PICTURED at the TOP, below DEAR GARDENER...
• Echinacea Mango Meadowbrite™ (‘CBG Cone 3’) USPP pending
  (Mango Meadowbrite™ Coneflower) Zones 4 - 9
  Recent breeding work at the Chicago Botanic Garden has produced this marvel, their second new coneflower introduction. Mango Meadowbrite™ appears to have occurred as a mutation of Orange Meadowbrite™ during the process of tissue culture propagation. It produces large, single daisy blooms of a glowing neon mango-yellow shade, surrounding a golden-orange cone. Flowers are delightfully fragrant, with an overtone of sweet spiced tea, making them particularly useful for cutting.
• Gaillardia 'Fanfare' USPP pending
  (Fanfare Blanket Flower) Zones 5 - 9
  This new selection offers a breakthrough in flower form for the first time, so it deserves a Fanfare. Rather than the usual daisy shape, here the individual petals are rolled into tubes. The effect is like a ring of blaring candycorn trumpets surrounding a big burgundy button eye. Plants are sturdy and fairly compact, topping out at around 14 inches, so very well-suited for the front of the border. PICTURED immediately ABOVE
• Helleborus × hybridus
  (Lenten Rose) Zones 4 - 9
  Selected as the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2005, by members of the Perennial Plant Association. These are perhaps some of the most exciting, easy-to-grow and rewarding shade-garden perennials on the market. Long-lasting cup-shaped blooms are available in many lovely pastel colours, appearing in both single or double forms.
• Hemerocallis 'Apricot Sparkles' USPP#13223
  (Happy Ever Appster® Daylily) Zones 2 - 9
  A stunning member of the Happy Ever Appster® family, ‘Apricot Sparkles’ is one of those rare constant-blooming Daylilies that are a generation beyond ‘Happy Returns’. This dwarf variety has 4”-diameter blooms of deep apricot-yellow with a delightful sparkling diamond-dusted finish. It repeats constantly from May to frost, beginning slightly later in short-summer regions.

• Heuchera 'Obsidian' USPP#14836
  (Fancy-leaf Coral Bells) Zones 4 - 9
  Among the blackest of the many Coral Bells hybrids on the market, this recent selection was bred by the famous TerraNova Nurseries of Oregon. The leaves are large, smooth and glossy, rounded in form with gently scalloped edges and a jet-black colour. Sprays of creamy flowers appear in early summer, held above the leaves by bright coral-red stems that are a beautiful contrast to the foliage.
• Polemonium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven' USPP#15187
  (Variegated Creeping Jacob’s Ladder) Zones 3 - 9
  It’s true that several selection of variegated Jacob’s Ladder have been introduced in past years, but ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is the best of the bunch. Unlike other variegated forms, this one continues to produce new, fresh foliage throughout the growing season, with no surprise summer collapsing or melting out after blooming. The compound leaves have a ferny appearance, medium-green in tone with a strong edging of creamy-white and a flush of pink during spring. Clusters of lightly fragrant bell-shaped flowers appear in mid to late spring. PICTURED ABOVE
• Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
  (Caradonna Perennial Sage) Zones 3 - 9
  Few perennials are as tough and adaptable to a variety of conditions as the Perennial Sages. Tolerant of both clay and sand, and soils ranging from dry to moist, these ask only for a sunny location to perform to their full potential. ‘Caradonna’ is a new German selection, with flowers of a deep indigo-purple shade held on purple-black stems that provide an unusually rich overall effect.
• Sedum rupestre 'Angelina' USPP pending
  Simple to grow is an understatement when it comes to most kinds of Sedum, and this one is no exception. ‘Angelina’ has succulent, needle-shaped leaves in a remarkable shade of bright golden yellow that seems to almost glow. Clusters of tiny star-shaped yellow flowers are a bonus feature during the summer. This spreads to form a groundcover 4 to 6 inches tall, spreading to 2 feet or beyond within a couple of seasons.
• Tradescantia ‘Blue and Gold’ (‘Sweet Kate’)
  (Blue and Gold Spiderwort) Zones 3 - 9
  Introduced by the famous Hillier Nurseries in Britain, this marvelous neon-yellow leaved selection of Spiderwort was released in North America simultaneously under two different names, hence some confusion. The foliage forms a grassy mound, studded with a long succession of triangular flowers in a deep gentian-blue to violet-blue shade that looks just stunning against the leaves. Like with many yellow-leaved plants, a bit of afternoon shade is advisable to help prevent sun scorch, yet bright conditions will help to bring out the best possible colour.

QUESTION: "How should I tie back tulips in the spring to hide the foliage until it turns yellow?" Mike -- St. Louis, Missouri

ANSWER: Tying up tulip or daffodil leaves may not be the best solution, since it can interfere with photosynthesis. Those leaves are busy storing nutrients in the bulbs, which is necessary for good blooming the following year. If you can't stand the flopping leaves, go ahead and use whatever is handy -- string, yarn, raffia, etc. but it will still look ugly.

One trap to try and avoid when planting tulips and narcissus (daffodils) in particular is this: we purchase them in the fall, then wander around looking for a spot to plant them. Because the perennial garden is still lush and full, it's easiest to plant bulbs right up near the front edge, or within the first three feet of a flower border. The result? Staring at those ugly leaves that linger and linger well into the summer. I've stared at daffodil leaves in July many a time and cursed them; at least they're usually long enough to wind around and tie into knots.

A better way to plant taller sorts of spring bulbs (anything over 8 inches in height) is to place them in the middle to back portion of the border. That way, when the leaves are looking tatty the surrounding perennials begin to fill in and disguise them. When the bulbs are blooming, they ARE the tall thing with nothing in front blocking your view. An especially good trick is to plant bulbs right beside clumps of daylilies or hostas, since these both form lush mounds of leaves by early June in most regions.

We've drawn three winners from the entries. Congratulations go out to: Dorothy (London, Ontario), Anna (Oakville, Ontario) and Dale (Coquitlam, British Columbia). All will receive a signed copy of the Perennial Gardening Guide.

The best information site around on gardening under black walnuts is Black Walnut Toxicity from Ohio State University. There you'll find an easy-to-understand explanation of the toxin and good lists of both resistant and sensitive plants.

Our entries this month suggested these plants as being particularly reliable under black walnuts:

PERENNIALS Aegopodium (Goutweed), Ajuga (Bugleweed), Allium schoenoprasum (Chives), Asarum europaeum (European Wild Ginger), Aster (Fall Aster), Astilbe, Bergenia, Convallaria (Lily-of-the-valley), Crocus, Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William), Digitalis (Foxglove), Erythronium (Dogtooth Violet), Epimedium (Barrenwort), Gaillardia (Blanketflower), Galium odoratum (Sweet Woodruff), Geranium (Cranesbill Geranium -- especially Geranium macrorrhizum, Goniolimon (German Statice), Hemerocallis (Daylily), Heuchera (Coral Bells) -- PICTURED ABOVE is 'Geisha's Fan' -- just one of many, Hosta, Iberis (Perennial Candytuft), Iris (Tall Bearded and Siberian iris), Lamium maculatum (Creeping Lamium), Levisticum (Lovage), Matteuccia (Ostrich Fern), Origanum vulgare (Oregano), Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern), Pachysandra (Japanese Spurge), Paeonia lactiflora (Garden Peony), Phlox paniculata (Summer Phlox), Phlox subulata (Moss Phlox), Polygonatum (Solomon's Seal), Primula (Primrose), Pulmonaria (Lungwort), Salvia officinalis (Common Sage), Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew), Tricyrtis (Toad-lily), Trillium, Vinca minor (Periwinkle).

SHRUBS and VINES: Bougainvillea, Campsis (Trumpet Vine), Chaenomeles japonica (Flowering Quince), Euonymus fortunei (Japanese Euonymus), Hedera helix (English Ivy), Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grape Holly), Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo), Philadephus (Mockorange), Rhus typhina (Sumac), Rosa (several readers mentioned shrub roses are growing well), Thuja occidentalis (Hedge Cedar or Arborvitae), Weigela.

Some gardeners included lists of poor performers. Among these: Aquilegia (Columbine), Chrysanthemum (Garden Mum), Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora' (PeeGee Hydrangea), Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea), Lilium (Lily), Potentilla fruticosa (Shrubby Potentilla), Rhododendron (both Azalea and Rhododendron), carrots, cucumbers, raspberries, tomatoes, petunia.

The Events Calendar is terrific, especially of interest to smaller horticultural societies and garden clubs to promote their regional events. You will also find a huge listing of specialty plant societies and garden clubs from across the continent.

Writers from all regions contribute regular articles to this site, so nobody needs to feel their particular climate zone is being left out or skimmed over. Membership is FREE, and this lets you participate in regular live chats or to post messages on gardening forums, find garden e-mail pals or arrange seed exchanges.

And word is out that Donna's extremely popular trips to exotic garden destinations are among the best offered anywhere. If you want to see proof, just check out the PIX gallery to brighten up the snowiest of winter days -- or click the iCanTravel link to find out about upcoming tours.