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!

Learn more about the book and buy it here today!

Valleybrook Gardens Ontario GIANT PERENNIAL PLANT SALE will be taking place on Saturday, September 11, 2004 from 9AM to 4PM. The sale is at our ONTARIO nursery, located near Niagara-on-the-Lake. Please click here for directions and more information. There will be BARGAINS GALORE!! We suggest you bring your own cart if possible, and a supply of labels could also come in handy.

So the story goes with so many of our best native perennial wildflowers -- the Europeans have to discover, use and rave about them before we can appreciate what grows on our own doorstep. Chances are good that Senna hebecarpa will once again be back in production for us within five years, I'd almost place a bet on it! Like home decorating, garden fashion is heavily influenced nowadays by magazines, television and the internet. Maybe just writing about this great waiting-to-be-discovered-again plant here will help it to make the journey back into our gardens where it belongs and can be appreciated.

Our August contest winning entries:
"I'm a new gardener and I must say this year was the most beautiful for me. I always felt that I could not grow plants although my father had the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood every year. Evidently I inherited some of his wonderful traits for gardening. The foliage plant that I found to be the most beautiful and the easiest to care for is the Coleus plant. I have them all over my yard. Next year I have to remember not to plant them too close to any other plant because they grow so big my other plants get overshadowed. The coleus has such wonderfully-colored foliage and I don't have any problems with pests on this plant. It just brightens up the area. Every time someone comes to my house they comment on the beautiful colors of the coleus. My sister couldn't believe it when she first saw my garden. She wanted to know where I learned to grow plants like that. She said my garden looked like it came out of a magazine." Mona -- Hampton, Virginia

"Without a doubt my favourite perennial foliage plant is solomon's seal [Polygonatum]. I love to watch for them appearing early spring in my garden, a sure sign the garden is getting revved up again. They divide successfully, and each clump grows up pointing in the same direction. The greenery turns a beautiful bright yellow in fall, and as an added bonus for a short time the long stalk is adorned by small bell-like white flowers. Couldn't be without my favourite leafy plant." Shelagh -- Surrey, British Columbia

"My favourite plant for foliage is Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis). What I like best about it is the way water drops collect on the leaves. Although it does have beautiful yellow-green flowers, the leaves are interesting all season." [Photo above was sent in by Maureen] Maureen -- Calgary, Alberta

In both my front and back gardens the various varieties of Sedums have thrived and continue to add many colours and textures of foliage. An added bonus to the pretty foliage is the different types and colours of flowers that continue throughout the garden season. I especially like that they are pest free and require little maintenance. Of course, it is always sad to see the Autumn Joy turning red as that is a reminder that cooler weather is fast approaching. I like that the Sedums spread rapidly and I have been able to share with all my gardening friends." Suzanne -- Barrie, Ontario

Aspiring designers and dedicated perennial fanatics alike will find this to be an interesting read. Kingsbury invited several internationally-known British designers (including John Brookes, Penelope Hobhouse, Piet Oudolf, Sandra & Nori Pope) to create designs for perennial gardens that tackle specific purposes. A small sampling includes: a shady foliage planting; a tropical-inspired border; a corner planting for summer; dry gravel bed in orange and plum and a host of other absolutely creative and inspired ideas that provide solutions to the most common of situations. This is a wonderful read. Each designer is so completely individual in their approach, and the book is filled with superb colour photographs and mapped-out designs for those who wish to attempt recreating them. The climate approach is a British one, so bear this in mind -- a fair bit of reinterpretation would be required in translating these designs to specific regions here in North America, unless you happen to live in the Pacific Northwest.

Nearly all of the designs illustrated are for mixed plantings, combining perennials with shrubs and evergreens that provide year-round interest. The most refreshing thing about the designs is accompanying text that explains the designers' process, their justification for the specific choices that they made. This explanation is something that I often find sorely lacking in the short articles on design so often seen in garden magazines, and it seems to me the most important part of all, literally getting inside of the designers head.

QUESTION: "The leaves of my Summer Phlox and Beebalm are all covered with this icky white stuff -- they look terrible! What can I do about it? Will it spread?" Joyce -- Detroit, Michigan

ANSWER: Your Summer Phlox and Beebalm have a fungal disease called powdery mildew, which has been really bad this year in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Mildew spores lurk for the winter in plant debris and on the soil surface. A thorough fall cleanup around infected plants is a good place to start. You might as well cut any infected plants right back to about 4 inches right now, since they look so ugly anyhow. Most likely they will just stay that way until next spring, or they might produce a few new leaves from the base. Dispose of the infected leaves and tops rather than adding them to the compost pile since the spores might survive for awhile.

Once plants become infected to the point there is a white coating on the majority of leaves there is really nothing you can spray or do to control the disease. The best approach is a preventative spray every two weeks or so starting in early summer and continuing all season long. There are both chemical and organic products readily available for mildew control at garden centers. One home remedy often suggested: 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a few drops of liquid soap mixed in a pint of water. This also will need to be applied regularly starting in early summer. Shake regularly while applying in order to keep the baking soda suspended in the mixture.

Powdery mildew is a common problem on many kinds of perennials, including upright types of Phlox, Monarda (Beebalm), Rudbeckia (Coneflower, Brown-eyed Susan), Aster (Michaelmas Daisy) Pulmonaria (Lungwort) and sometimes even Sedum (Autumn Stonecrop). Generally, the type of mildew that infects Phlox, for instance, will not spread to other types of plants in the garden but it can infect other nearby Phlox plants.

Spores become airborne, often as a result of overhead watering or early summer rains. They land on plant tissue and germinate and if the host is suitable, the disease infects the plant. Periods of high humidity can easily lead to powdery mildew infections. Fluctuating temperatures also seem to cause outbreaks, particularly when moisture is erratic. Periods of alternating moist soil and brief drought can stress plants enough that their leaf tissue becomes thinner and more susceptible to infection.

Growing selections of Phlox and Beebalm that are known to be somewhat resistant to powdery mildew is a good idea. If you have old types somebody gave you years ago that get infected 9 years out of 10, it's time to rip them out and try some of the newer selections. Watering deeply once a week when summer arrives will help to keep your plants from becoming stressed, and they should (at least in theory) be healthier and more resistant to infection.

Our AUGUST WINNER is BONNIE of Edmonton, Alberta. Congratulations! Bonnie will be receiving a gift certificate for $50, redeemable for Heritage Perennials® at a Dealer of her choice. Our September 2004 contest winner will be picked on October 1, 2004.