2008 is upon us and your guess is as good as ours as to what might be in store for the coming gardening season. There will be successes and perhaps a failure or two, maybe a perennial that blooms in your garden for the very first time, or one that mysteriously doesn't come up; think of it as an opportunity to try growing something new.

Speaking of new, by our next issue our online search at www.perennials.com will be updated with all of the newest and latest perennial offerings. In February I'll give some simple search pointers on how to find these, and list a few of my personal new favourites!

Truly one of the longest-flowering perennials of any type, 'Rozanne' bursts into flower in early summer and keeps blooming well into the autumn. It forms a midsized mound of deeply-cut green leaves, with saucer-shaped flowers of glowing violet blue. 'Rozanne' is excellent near the front to middle of a border and also grows well in mixed containers or even window boxes. Pictured to the right, you can read more about this year's winner by clicking the link above.

You can ask a perennial gardening question of your own by clicking the "Ask an Expert" link on the top of this newsletter. Due to time constraints, please — no questions on flowering shrubs, trees, evergreens, lawns, hydrangeas, roses, etc.

QUESTION: "Growing in my mother's yard were lilies that stood about 5 to 6 feet tall, with white trumpets about 6" plus and thin, long leaves on individual stalks. Where the leaves met the stalk there was also a black bead-like seed. The fragrance of these lilies was like a perfume, strong and heady, seemingly stronger at night or early morning. I've tried to find these lilies for my own yard and cannot find them anywhere. Do you have any idea what kind they are?" Debbie — Cleveland, Ohio

ANSWER: It's possible those lilies were Easter Lilies that were enjoyed indoors then saved and later planted out in the garden. Easter lilies are usually Lilium longiflorum selections or hybrids. They are generally available to home gardeners only as flowering plants around Easter time, not usually sold as bulbs. The difference in height might seem puzzling, but commercial growers use growth regulators to keep Easter Lilies more compact in the pots; out in the garden the plants grow to their natural height.

The little black bead-like things on the stems are known as bulbils and this link at Purdue University explains them pretty well. Bulbils can be planted and should develop into plants that are identical to the original Lily plant, since they really aren't seeds but are an odd little form of tiny bulb.

The link above mentions that bulbils are most common on the thousands of Asiatic Lily hybrids that abound, and also on the old-fashioned true Tiger Lily, Lilium lanciflorum. However, neither of these groups have the wonderful fragrance that you describe. A Google search revealed that some types of Easter Lilies also produce bulbils.

You may never know for certain exactly what they were, since there are so many kinds of garden lilies. If you have access to the original plants, try to harvest some of the bulbils or ask for an actual bulb to get you started. The current property owners may have long since removed the plants but there is a good chance maybe a former neighbour of your mother still has them. Gardeners usually like to share their treasures!

This is a timely book for a whole bunch of reasons. Firstly, it's timely as a tribute. Secondly, back in the mid nineties, Christopher Lloyd did something rather remarkable that was a complete shake-up in the gardening world: he yanked out his long-established rose garden and replaced it with an astounding collection of mostly tender, exotic plants. Things like big-leaved Cannas, Melianthus major, all kinds of Dahlias, Verbena bonariensis, bananas and fancy Coleus. Though perhaps shock value was not Lloyd's intention, this nonetheless was shocking to the hoards of people who visited the garden each year. It apparently caused no end of rumbling among British rosarians in particular. I recall my friend Marjorie Mason returning from a trip to England about this time and the first thing she said to me was "Christopher Lloyd ripped out his rose garden and planted all kinds of tender things!!" For me, hearing Marjorie's words was one of those moments when I realized this really was the beginning of a whole new wave of interest in exotic plants.

No one book on my shelf has tackled the subject of exotic plants as well as this one does. The various contributors have added their own touch of magic by complimenting Lloyd's words and ideas and helping to explain how we all suddenly arrived at the same moment to have an interest in unique exotic plants: an interest in growing something different, even if our decision to grow tender, exotic plants means a bit of extra work.

Living in a region colder than balmy England, I really appreciate the chapter "Practical Matters", which talks about maintenance, propagation, lifting for winter and other special requirements that many tender plants share.

• 2008 Year of the Rudbeckia factsheet from the National Garden Bureau.
• 2008 Year of the Eggplant factsheet from the National Garden Bureau. Wow, egglant! Who would have guessed?
• Pantone® 2008 Color of the Year: BLUE IRIS (pictured here, what a great colour!)
• The United Nations has declared 2008 to be the International Year of the Potato.
• YOU could become the 2008 Garden Photographer of the Year.
• 'Gold Child' is the pick for 2008 Ivy of the Year by the American Ivy Society.
• The 2008 Herb of the Year is the Calendula, according to The Herb Society of America
• The American Hosta Growers Association has selected 'Blue Mouse Ears' for 2008 Hosta of the Year.
• Dream Come True™ and Mardi Gras are the 2008 Roses of the Year, as selected by the All-America Rose Selections.

Our best-selling book, the Perennial Gardening Guide (4th edition, March 2003) is a handy reference used by gardeners across North America — written by John Valleau, horticulturist for Heritage Perennials®. Available at your local Heritage Perennials® Dealer.