The database that drives the amazing search features here at perennials.com was overhauled this winter in a major way, though this is not something yet visible from the website. I think of it like putting a huge new roof on top of a flat building — you don't see it from the street or from inside but it's what keeps you safe, dry and warm. Before our May edition of the newsletter, the website will be updated to include all of our new perennial introductions for 2007 and even some new search attributes.

Most exciting of all for us will be the launch of the brand new website for our ROCK STARS® line of alpine and rock garden plants. Look for the big announcement within the next few days at www.perennials.com. It's been a frenzy getting the website all ready, but we're just thilled to bits with it. Picture above is one of our Rock Stars® plants, Primula 'Mauve Mist'.

The 2007 Top Ten lineup includes:

• Campanula poscharskyana Blue Waterfall
• Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’
• Dicentra ‘King of Hearts’ (pictured to the right)
• Geranium ‘Rozanne’
• Heuchera ‘Obsidian’
• Hosta ‘Patriot’
• Leucanthemum × superbum ‘Snowcap’
• Paeonia lactiflora ‘Bowl of Beauty’
• Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’
• Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’

QUESTION: I have a grouping of Coral Bells (I think they're the variety 'Palace Purple') that first of all looks really awful right now. The leaves have mostly turned all brown and dry and dead looking. Also, down low on the plant it looks almost like the whole thing is sticking way up out of the ground. What should I do this spring to make it look better?" Cindy — London, Ontario

ANSWER: I've seen a lot of crummy-looking Coral Bells (Heuchera) in the past month, including some right here in our display garden. The Fancy-leaf types of Coral Bells are reliably evergreen in Zones 7 and higher usually, but in Zone 6 and below they can easily get windburned during winter, then look miserable in the spring. This varies a lot from year to year, depending on the amount of snow cover, cold weather and drying winds. Basically the leaves (or maybe even just some of the leaves) have been damaged to the point that they need to be removed. I find scissors work best for this task, snipping off the ugly leaves along with the long stems that hold each one, just above where they attach to the main stems. By May the plant will have replaced these with new foliage.

After a few years in the garden, Coral Bells have a tendency for the stems to become woody at the base, and to have what I call a "Christmas tree" look to them — like bare twigs with a tuft of leaves at the top. Some gardeners go to the effort of digging up the entire clump, making the hole a little larger, then replanting the clump deeper so these woody parts are then buried and the leaves emerge from just above ground level. Another way would be to mound the soil up over the clump to bury these woody stems.

While this new book is also laid out in an enclopedic A to Z fashion like his Encyclopedia, it's a much easier read for the average gardener thanks to loads of colour photos throughout. Also, Armitage's writing style here is much less technical. He focuses more on garden worthiness and less on the sorts of taxonomic details that a professional or horticulture student might require. While that kind of information might be a good thing to know if you were out on a hike and trying to decipher one species of Aster from another, this book is aimed at the gardener who is thinking about including more native perennials and wants to learn more.

In the whole native plant debate, I personally am a bit of a fence sitter, so I enjoyed what Armitage had to say in the Preface:

"This book is not written for extreme native plant enthusiasts. In fact, I suspect the right wing of the 'Native Party' will not particularly like this book. Those purists are the ones who believe that all exotics are bad, and that all natives are good. Rather, it is written for my daughters, Laura and Heather, and their friends and gardening buddies, who would love to try some native plants but don't know where to start."

After reading this book, I must say that Alan Armitage now has me wanting to go out and find a good many of these plants for my own garden, whether they are native in my immediate region or not. They look like great plants to try, and he's got me excited. It also features a section of "Sources and Resources" that includes nurseries, websites and some useful lists of plants for specific purposes, such as deer or rabbit resistance, drought and different kinds of shade.

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.