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!

It won't be long before some of you are enjoying a late-winter display of Lenten Rose (Helleborus 'Blue Lady' is pictured above). If I still kept a journal I could place bets on when my Lenten Roses will burst into bloom, but all I can give is a best-guess of the first week of April, or last week in March -- depending on Mr. Groundhog and his shadow. I'm grateful for a full slate of indoor projects in the meantime, and of course I look forward to the upcoming garden show season as a welcome relief from the snow and cold!

WINNER: Kimberly -- Furlong, Pennsylvania

"Here are some of my 2005 Garden Resolutions:
1. I will not FEAR plants -- Too many time I avoid a particular plant because I think it will be too hard to grow, or I don't have exactly the right soil, sun, temperature conditions, etc., but I have found that any chance I have taken has paid me dividends in beauty and hardiness, more so than when I play it safe.
2. I will continue to grow to attract wildlife (except the deer!) -- The flowers that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other birds and unusual insects tend to be hardy and colorful and I feel like I am somehow giving back to the Universe. And the deer: well, I will do what I can with companion planting in order to deter them.
3. I will NOT let the mint get out of hand! -- It took about 16 hours of hard labor in October to uproot native mint that went out of control this summer! Yes, it's lovely dried and to make tea, but enough is enough! I only hope the dill I planted doesn't follow suit and will remain containerized!
And, not at the least, I will continue to educate myself through references such as yours."

WINNER: Lynda -- Hamilton, Ontario

"As with all my resolutions this year, my garden resolution is to slow down and enjoy, and in this case, enjoy the wonders of my gardens more often. Every year I start about this time dreaming up the new expansion of my gardens, and while I am extremely happy with how my landscape space is developing, I am finding less and less time to sit back and enjoy the scenery.

So... early morning tea and toast on the patio surrounded by containers of vibrant annuals tucked into the lush beds of hostas, all covered in dew, while watching the cardinals feed at the feeder and singing their thanks to me for remembering to fill the feeder!

And mid afternoon naps on the lounger by the pool, listening to the buzzing of bumblebees as they visit my vibrant poolside sun garden.

Then onto the back deck to watch the sun set over my little piece of gardening heaven in the city, while the sprinkler spits a well-deserved drink to all my garden treasures, and the cardinals come back to sing to me again before they nest down for the night.

Sounds like heaven, doesn't it? And the chances it will happen? As with all resolutions (at least, all of mine), I suspect it will last as long as I don't head to the nursery that first warm morning in May, and I don't see that to-die-for new container at the garden show I shouldn't even be at, or my neighbour and gardening buddy doesn't e-mail me with her latest and greatest garden find, and off I go in search of that same great find.

Ah well, I guess when you are passionate about something, the greatest part of the enjoyment comes from working hard at your passion, and that for me is everything about gardening. So my real resolution? Enjoy it all even more -- the hard work, the sweat, the anxiety, and finally, and best of all, the wondrous moments when it all comes together!!"

WINNER: Linda -- East Lansing, Michigan

"This year will be different!

In 2005 I WILL clean my beds out before April. I WILL promptly water and plant my new purchases from the nursery (before they wilt and I forget what they were). I WILL ask for help in my garden when I need it -- instead of doing 'just a little more' until I throw out my back... again. I WILL clean my storage shed, throw out products over three years old, and organize my tools so that I can find them.

"It has never occurred to me to make garden resolutions, but this year I am going to give up on the usual ones -- lose weight and get in shape, and make some that I will keep. I will have a plan to help me. I promise to label all of my seedlings. To accomplish this I am going to only grow a few seeds from a seed pack. I will put away all my tools when I am finished. I will not let myself in the house till I have completed that chore. The most difficult resolution will be to remember to bring in my coffee cup. I get carried away deadheading or pulling out weeds and then I leave the cups all over the garden. I'll try and leave the cups in my path and not behind some plant. Good gardening in 2005." Nicky -- Nobel, Ontario

"My gardening resolution for 2005 is to buy even more plants! I have had zero resistance to new, exciting, featured plants; colours I just MUST have; form/structure that is a necessity; more for shady areas; more for sunny areas.

Passersby all comment on how wonderful, lush, exotic my garden looks -- I have to keep up appearances! Whenever anyone says they have no room for more plants, I say NONSENSE, there's always room for more! This is one resolution that will be easy to keep!" Mark -- Vancouver, British Columbia

"After countless, unsuccessful attempts to mimic my garden beds after the carefully-planned colour-coordinated ones often seen in cherished gardening magazines, I'm giving up the good fight and planting loved plants and shrubs wherever they may flourish, regardless of colour scheme!

In doing so, I hope to achieve a more natural effect with a bit of a 'shock' value thrown in for good measure!" Arlene -- Thunder Bay, Ontario

"This year my resolution is to take clear digital photos of my gardens month by month. I am hoping these will show me the gaps in blooming periods as well as where I can make better plant combinations with what I presently have. In my eagerness to have gardens, I now realize I have a mish-mash of beautiful perennials and shrubs and am not displaying them to their fullest." Faye -- Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

"Every year I wish to have more color in my gardens and vow to have them looking just perfect. So, this year I resolve to concentrate on planting more containers filled with colorful annuals and great foliage.

Containers are versatile and portable. They can be made a feature of the garden or I can move them to different areas to 'perfect' my display. But most of all, I resolve to take the time to enjoy what beauty and colors I have in my gardens throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons and try not to obsess with perfection." Debbie -- Apalachin, New York

This is an evergreen, late-winter or early-spring flowering member of the buttercup family. Lenten Rose is hardy in Zones 4 through 9, and will sometimes survive in Zone 3 when plants have a sheltered site with reliable snow cover. Mature plants can form clumps that are 18" to 24" tall and 24" to 30" wide. Long-lasting blooms are available in many colours and appear as single or double forms. Mature clumps often have 50 or more flowers per plant. Plants perform best in partial to full shade, providing outstanding color, texture and form.

Lenten Roses were formerly known as Helleborus orientalis hybrids but taxonomists recently changed the name to better express the complex parentage of modern garden forms, since these hybrids can include genes from up to nine different species.

A rainbow of colours aptly describes the flowers of the present day Lenten Rose hybrids. Colours range from pure white to a deep plum bordering on black, with in-between shades of pink, rose, magenta, cream, pale yellow or green, often showing intricate contrasting spots on the inside of each cup-shaped bloom. There are semi-doubles to doubles and some forms with picotee edging, almost like fancy stitching.

Flowers can last for two months or longer, followed by attractive seed pods. Leaves are thick and sturdy, divided into 7 to 9 segments like coarse leathery umbrellas. The foliage adds excellent textural interest to the shade garden, the perfect backdrop for bulbs and other perennials.

Lenten Roses are probably the easiest Helleborus to grow, preferring an average to rich, well-drained soil with plenty of added organic matter such as compost. They prefer the shade of deciduous trees in hot-summer regions, but will tolerate a fair degree of sun where summers are cool. Occasional watering through dry summer periods will keep plants happy.

Although the foliage is evergreen, winter weather can leave it looking sad and tattered by spring. The flowers quickly push up from the ground at the first signs of milder spring weather, and they look best if all of the foliage is pruned to the ground in late winter. Gloves are recommended for this task, since contact with the leaves can cause mild dermatitis in sensitive individuals. This same property in the leaves makes them low on the list of plants attractive to hungry deer.

Most Lenten Roses are commercially propagated from seed. Even specially-bred colour strains do not come 100% true, so it's best to purchase plants in bloom if you're after a specific colour. Established clumps will often produce lots of seedlings on the ground below, which appear in early to mid spring. These are best moved to a new location while still very small, otherwise the developing foliage will smother many of them to death. Large plants can also be divided spring through fall, though they are slow to recover and may take a couple of years to bounce back and begin to flower well once again.

Here, you'll find some astonishing suggestions for growing plants in odd places -- like right on top of pavement, on table tops, rocks, railings and even old stumps or logs. George Schenk always writes in a detailed manner, so this book has an excellent "how-to" focus that will help you to calculate the materials required, to select the best soil mixture for the site, create simple retaining walls to hold it all in place, and make the best plant selection for your climate. A totally artificial garden built on pavement requires special long-term care, and once again this book is filled with ideas on how to help your creation to get better with each passing season.

Before you rip out that old patio or pull out that stump, reach for this book first to get some unique and different ideas. Let's face it, hardscaping is expensive, so if there is some way to turn ugliness into a garden showpiece instead of wiping the slate clean and starting over, it's worth investigating.

Qualifying entries must answer ALL of the following six questions:

1. What form of journal do you use? i.e. blank scrapbook/paper journal of your own, purchased garden journal book (which one?), a computer journal, an online journal (which website?).
2. How often do you update your journal?
3. What sort of gardening information do you record? i.e. plant purchases, garden diagrams, notes on tasks done, records of plants that died, local weather conditions, etc.
4. Do you include photos in your journal?
5. Why do you keep a garden journal? (i.e. As a reminder to do certain tasks at a later date? As a reminder of past successes or failures?)
6. What would the perfect garden journal offer you in terms of features? (i.e. A way to store digital photos? Diagrams of your borders, local weather conditions, etc.?)

That's a LOT of questions to answer, so this month the reward is a $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE redeemable for Heritage Perennials® at the Dealer of your choice. We will DRAW for ONE LUCKY WINNER from the qualifying entries. The winner will be announced in the February, 2005 newsletter and we'll include a sampling of the results.