A couple of years ago, I learned a dead simple trick from garden writer Stephanie Cohen: mark the clumps of bulbs with green golf tees. How brilliant! The pointy end stays firmly in the ground, they are unobtrusive yet you know exactly where they are later, at digging time. I figure about 3 or 4 golf tees per large clump of bulbs ought to do the trick. I have the golf tees, now I just have to remember RIGHT NOW to mark the clumps before the leaves all vanish.

The Perennial Plant Association reminds us that JUNE IS PERENNIAL GARDENING MONTH. No, it's not just a gimmick. It really IS the perfect point in the season to do some planting for mid to late summer and autumn interest. The spring chores are long finished and gardeners have the time now to stand back, look at a section of the garden critically then make some changes. You can even transplant many perennials in June, so long as you cut back the foliage by half or so and try to dig nice large rootballs. Just be diligent about watering these until they settle in. Garden centers still have an awesome selection of perennials in June, probably the peak point in the season. Hopefully you have a little bit left in your gardening budget to add just a few more!

Daylilies are NOT affected by Lily-leaf beetle, but it can occasionally attack Fritillaria, Polygonatum (Solomon's Seal) and Convallaria (Lily-of-the-valley) as well as true Lilium species and the many garden Asiatic, Trumpet, Oriental and other Lily hybrids. Watch for bright scarlet-red beetles about a half inch in length. These overwinter in the soil (often at the base of the plants), emerge in spring then lay eggs on the undersides of the new lily foliage. These eggs soon hatch and become slug-like grubs that are slimy, icky and ugly. It's these grubs that do the most damage, feeding on the lily leaves and flower buds. Often there are enough of them that they completely strip the plant, leaving a bare stem behind.

If you only have a few Lily plants, hand picking the adults and grubs may be the simplest approach. Do this every few days starting mid spring and up to blooming time. Beetles are difficult to control with insecticides because of their hard shells, but the larval stage is more susceptible to chemical products. Check with your nursery to see which products are registered for this use in your region. Although not registered as a pesticide, various websites mention that organic Neem oil has provided reasonable control, applied weekly when the larvae are feeding. Neem oil is available at health food stores and sometimes at garden centres, most often sold as a leaf shine spray (be sure to check that the label lists Neem oil).

Here are three excellent information links with photos of the insect as well as the typical damage:

• University of Massachussets Extension Division
• University of Guelph Pest Diagnostic Clinic
• Reilly's Country Gardens Neem & Lily Beetles Fact Sheet

As always, Marjorie draws from her many years as a real gardener, and it is her contagious passion for gardening that shines through loud and clear. In the introduction, she says: "This book is for people (like me in 1967) who are baffled by empty space, cowed by weeds and longing to have something gorgeous to look at. But it's also for people (like me now) who have lovely gardens but need to be reminded of the basics of garden-building, the core ideas that make a garden truly successful."

To our American readers and others even further away, do NOT be put off by the Canadian spin in this book title — that is just clever packaging. The concepts and ideas of what takes a mere yard and turns it into a garden are universal ones that apply in all regions.

When one feels overwhelmed about a big project, breaking it down into steps is a very wise thing, because it lets your mind tackle one thing at a time that eventually leads your through a journey to the end, whether it's tiling a bathroom floor or making a garden. In Step 1, Marjorie talks about basic preliminary things such as surveying the site, looking at light levels and water availability, budget constraints, figuring out when to bring in the professionals. Step 2 moves on to learning all about the soil; figuring out what you have and how to improve and feed it so your garden plants will be happy plants. Marjorie Harris is firmly dedicated to using and writing about strictly organic methods, and she does a great job of helping anybody understand how plant health begins with living, breathing and healthy soil.

Other steps along the way lead us through considering various garden design styles, then ideas on how to plot out your design in a way that works for you. We then move on to plant selection (for everything from trees to herbs, perennials, bulbs, it's all here!) and the very critical steps of proper planting. Finally, step 7 is a frank and simple approach to garden care using organic principles.

Through our newsletters and website questions, it's obvious there are a great number of people who are just getting started on their gardening journey in midlife or later. Marjorie is a master at taking new gardeners into the palms of her hands and showing them that it's all about passion. It's all about learning from one's mistakes, it's all about taking it one little step at a time. And it's about sitting on the deck with a vodka when it all gets too overwhelming.

QUESTION: "My Columbines [Aquilegia] have beautiful flowers, but the leaves look terrible! They have these light green patches on them that look almost like blisters. What is causing this and is there anything I can do? Also, I would like to divide them and want to know if this is the best time?" Trish — Sudbury, Ontario

ANSWER: There are two main pests that attack the foliage of Columbines. The one you have is Columbine Leaf Miner, a little worm that gets inside of the leaf and tunnels around feeding on the tissue. Because these hide within the layers of leaf tissue, neither chemical nor organic sprays provide effective control. Either be brave and squish the worms in between your fingers, or just prune off the infected leaves by following their stems down and trimming them off near ground level. The plants will grow new, healthy foliage in just a few weeks. Dispose of any infested leaves you remove, rather than composting them.

The other common pest is Columbine Sawfly, a green worm that feeds on the leaves from the outside. If there are lots of these, they can completely defoliate the plant, leaving behind just the stems and leaf veins. If you catch them early enough, insecticidal soap spray or any all-purpose insect spray should knock them back. If you miss them, just trim back the stems and leaves as above to rejuvenate the plant.

Columbines do not usually divide very successfully, because they have just one main thick, woody root where all of the leaves and stems emerge. In other words, there usually just isn't much TO divide or split, since cutting this one main root will probably kill the whole plant.

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.