If you have reasonably large clumps of Lenten Rose in your garden, take a quick peek around the plants to check for little seedlings that have recently germinated during the cool spring weather. These are from seeds that ripened last year and dropped to the ground. Now is exactly the right time to move them, before the big new leaves develop fully and smother the tiny seedlings to death! It's not a fast prospect to grow these on to flowering size, but if you want a lot of Lenten Roses for your garden (or to share) it can be worth the minimal effort. Find some out-of-the way spot in dappled shade to start a special nursery bed for your new seedlings. Space them about 4 inches apart, water them regularly and watch them grow -- slowly. In another year or two these may be transplanted to a final location in the garden, a task best done during the spring. Another option is to pot the little seedlings and transplant out in the garden later this year, in early fall. From seedling to flowering size in the home garden takes two to three years. It sounds like a long time, but compared to growing peonies from seed (they can take five years or more to bloom) it's not TOO long of a wait.

WINNER: Brenda -- Orleans, Ontario
"Over the past two summers I have had a mystery plant popping up throughout my front and back gardens. It grows in an attractive little mound about 7 inches in diameter with bright-green leaves and it has my friends stumped as to what it is -- but I know what it is! [pictured above...]
You see, the first year they came up, I couldn't stand not knowing, so I pulled one out of the ground to see how it was growing and lo-and-behold it was growing from a peanut half which was still inside a peanut shell that I had cracked open.
I don't know how the peanut shells got into my garden -- either by squirrels or they were in the cedar mulch. However they got there, I leave them to grow wherever they decide to pop up in the garden (I've had about 12 so far) as they add some nice bright colour, and they are a great conversation piece. To other people they may just be weeds, but to me they are a great discovery - my 'mystery plants'.
I am an avid gardener that takes great pleasure in the beauty and subtle nuances in the colours, shapes and flowers that I grow in my garden but sometimes these unexpected mysteries can be just as thrilling -- and they make me feel like a kid again. I can't wait to see what surprises will come up this year!"

WINNER: Beth -- Brackendale, British Columbia
"Actually, my mystery plant is a tree and it has quite a long story! I first saw this tree when it was very small, almost a seedling and it was planted in my mother's garden. When she and my father passed away we inherited the house and garden and tended the tree for almost ten years, as it continued its slow growth. It looked similar to a maple tree. We even gave it a name... the No-Name-Tree.
Two years ago my garden was on our local garden tour and I decided, now is the time to find out if anyone could give a name to the No-Name-Tree. I put up a sign asking for information. Our very knowledgeable Master Gardener said that she didn't know but she would find out. She took home a leaf and one of the seed pods, consulted a book on maples and phoned me within a day to say that she believed the tree was an Acer carpinifolium or horn beam maple tree. A search on the internet confirmed her findings. Mystery solved!
What is interesting about this tree is its attractive grey patchy bark, another one of its identifying features. Its dark-green leaves change to bright gold and brown in autumn. The tree is vase-shaped, often multi-stemmed and described as a lovely specimen tree. Apparently it grows in valleys and ravines all over Japan. One west coast nursery website describes the tree as 'unusual and scarce in cultivation'. The big mystery now is, where did my mother get this tree from? We will never know."

Larry guides you easily through the task of figuring out your specific type of shade, outlining the unique problems and opportunities that each kind has to offer the gardener. He explores different ways of creating shade, both instantly and over the long haul. Particularly useful are his techniques for dealing with tree-root competition while still having an interesting and beautiful garden.

The plant listings in this book are absolutely superb, including chapters on perennials, annuals, bulbs, ferns, grasses and vines. Each plant group is laid out in a sensible two-page format, thorough but also a good quick-read reference to help you make suitable choices. Also included are a few easy-to-follow planting plans, each offering a completely different final result.

QUESTION: "What should I be using to fertilize my perennial garden this spring, and how often should I do this?" Deborah -- Revelstoke, British Columbia

ANSWER: I'm not a big believer in constant pampering and fertilizing of perennials. New borders can usually be left alone for the first couple of seasons, particularly if the soil was well prepared with additional organic matter at planting time. As clumps get larger, they sometimes need help since they begin to use up the nutrients around them. I like to use an all-purpose vegetable garden fertilizer, believe it or not. The product I use is 5-10-10, but similar formulations like 5-10-5 would also work. My choice is a non-organic granular product with some slow-release component. There are organic choices available, if you prefer. What you don't want to use is a lawn/turf fertilizer with a high first number (nitrogen) and never, ever use a weed and feed product on perennials or anything else other than lawn grass.

Buying fertilizer is like buying dog food. The larger the dog, the bigger the bag you need and the less expensive the unit cost. Manufacturers know that that gardeners are baffled by fertilizers, so they make special small packages of perennial food, rose food, shrub food, etc. Compare the three numbers in the formulation and if they are similar, the products are also similar. This allows you to shop for the best value.

Fertilizers should be applied around, not ON your perennials in order to avoid burning. This is best done by sprinkling from a bucket (always wear gloves) according to the rate on the label and then, if you can, gently working the granules into top couple of inches of soil with a claw hoe or similar tool.

Fertilizing perennials once a year in spring is fine for most types. Personally, I like to wait until the plants are growing so I can see what I'm doing. Heavy feeders such as Astilbe or Delphiniums will be grateful for a second feeding just as you notice flower buds beginning to form.

Each time you register a plant or add information about it, you have one more chance to win the monthly draw for a $50 gift certificate redeemable for Heritage Perennials® at the Dealer of your choice.

We've just added a ton of new plants to the New Perennial Club program. To view the whole list, head to www.perennials.com and just type the letters npc (short for New Perennial Club) in the #2 Search box over on the left, and hit Search. A list of plant names will appear. These lead to plant profiles for each variety. For the club, you need the unique seven-digit plant number to register the plant in your free member account.

I admire Janet for her courage. How many of us would even open our gardens to a local tour, let alone put it on the web for the whole world to see? Check it out, if you'd like to see the beginnings of Janet's Garden BLOG, including a bigger photo of her fancy new rainbarrel, pictured above. Leave a message, give her some gardening encouragement!

With all our talk here about garden journals a couple of months back, this has really got me wondering about gardening blogs now. Please, let us know if you have a garden blog and would be willing to share it with nearly ten thousand other keen perennial gardeners. We will post a list on the homepage, in the bottom news section, and update it as more are added. Just send in your first name and city or region (hardiness zone would be good too) along with the link to your garden blog, and e-mail to John Valleau (jv@valleybrook.com). I'll let everyone know the response next month.

CONTEST DEADLINE: MAY 31, 2005. Please read the Full Contest Rules before entering. NOTE: rules allow one entry per e-mail address. Duplicate entries will be disqualified.

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.