Read the little tags that come on the plant pots! Believe it or not, they are there for a reason. They will give you the very basics. Then read your gardening books. Read stuff on the Web. Read. Read. Read! Ask lots of questions of other gardeners. And scour seed catalogues both online and the printed paper kind. For really great Canadian sites check out The Perennial Gardens and Veseys Seeds. We're especially proud of Veseys because it's right here in Prince Edward Island. You can even tour their gardens while you're here.
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 | Choose a spot for your perennial that suits its needs, not simply your idea of where you really, really want it to go. This almost never works. When the little tag says "sun" it means the plant needs at least 6 hours of full sun. Don't kid yourself into giving it anything less. |
| Thoroughly prepare the plant bed. Weed it. Get rid of debris or rocks. Dig it very well. Add a little bit of good organic fertilizer to the hole. |
| Put the plants in the holes no deeper than they were in the containers. Pat the soil down firmly around them. You don't want big air pockets around the roots. |
| Oh, before you go too much further give some thought to how big these plants will eventually grow. Once again, refer to that little tag. Or, if you want big results fast plant everything much closer than is recommended. Just be prepared to sub-divide everything in a year or two. |
| Now, tuck some lovely mulch around your new plants. About 1-3 inches of organic compost works well. Snug it up around the stem but don't cover the plant. The mulch does a great job at keeping down weeds and retaining moisture. This is especially helpful when your young plants are getting themselves established. |
| Now, your new babies need a good watering. You want the soil around them to be completely moist. |
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