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Several weeks ago I wrote about Nepeta, 'Walker's Low', this year's Perennial Plant Association's Plant of the Year. At the time, I suggested that their 18 selections since 1990 could be the backbone of a great perennial border.

So I'll start down the list with a brief description and thoughts of my own.

2006: Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Firewitch'. This is a short gray foliaged dianthus with raspberry red flowers. I think the short dianthus are better perennials than the taller ones. Even with the short ones you will need to divide the clumps every three or four years.

2005: Helleborus X hybridum. The common name is Lenten Rose which pinpoints it's early bloom period. It is a reliable choice for the shade garden. I get better results it I remove the aged leaves in late winter, maybe March 1. Helleborus Article

2004: Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'. That's Japanese Painted fern. Mahogany foliage moves this fern to the top of most fern lists. It is not difficult to get this one too wet or give it too much sun. Look for moist, but well drained, shade.

2003: Leucanthemum 'Becky'. This is possibly the best full sized common shasta daisy in the marketplace today.

2002: Phlox paniculata, 'David'. A tall white garden phlox. Reported to be the most mildew resistant garden phlox on the market five years ago and even today. Mildew can be reduced by not letting the plant become moisture stressed, keeping the leaves dry and planting at an airy spot. Since that is tough to impossible I'll mention that grandmother always took the rinse water from the milk bottles and used it on the phlox with good success.

2001: Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'. Slender grass that reaches three or four feet in height. Widely planted and well behaved. One you can plant and never touch but don't expect it to hide the garbage bins.

2000: Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue'. Short stature but usually full of blue-purple daisy-like flowers. I've seen flowers on this one every month of the year, although they weren't too fancy in the middle of the winter. For me this one seems to fizzle out after three or four years.

1999: Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'. This is a no brainer. The standard for Black-eyed-susans.

That gets me about halfway through the list and I see, by space, that this would be best done as a two-week project. I will continue next week unless some other topic is burning in my mind. Then it will be later.

From the roadside ditches to the most manicured garden you will spot one of the highlights of the summer garden. Of course I am talking about daylilies.

The roadside ditches might suggest that they are native, but they are not, by most definitions. They came with the first settlers, liked what they saw and wondered off to populate the country.

My recollection, from childhood, is that grandmother had only the roadside variety in a large swath in her garden between a locust and walnut tree. Yes, they are on that short list of plants that aren't bothered by walnut trees.

Daylilies remain popular because, like hosta, there are thousands of named varieties. Hint: when you read your magazines and see lists of the writer's favorite daylilies, expect a long search, perhaps, if you must have a specific variety. My goal is not to mention a single variety in this article.

They come in a rainbow of colors, with small or large flowers, an array of flower shapes and plant size from boot high to head high. For the last year or two I have been searching unsuccessfully for the head high ones. There also is a small group that defies their name and bloom in the evening.

When looking at daylily signs or tags you will see words like re-bloomer or extended season and dormant and evergreen. This far north they all go dormant so that part of the sign doesn't matter.There are several varieties that are good re-bloomers. That means they bloom for several weeks, rest for several weeks and then repeat the process all summer. Many others claim to re-bloom, and do, with religious deadheading and the right mix of fertility and moisture.

I have made many varieties re-bloom during unusual ventures into high maintenance gardening. It is a lot easier to pick early, mid-season and late varieties and mix them in a planting. I haven't given up in my search for good re-bloomers but...

Another excellent choice is cultivars that have extended bloom. The idea here is that they continue to produce flower stems for a month or six weeks. There are many good ones in this category.

Daylilies prosper in full sun but will tolerate quite a bit of shade. The shade will reduce their vigor and flowering and cause the plant to sprawl somewhat. Go ahead and push a few into shade. You will soon learn their limits and yours.

Clumps of daylilies will age and need dividing every five to seven years. Do it in late August or early fall after the blooms end. Dig up the whole clump and cut into sections of two to four stems. Cut the tops in half and replant. If you ever kill one please share your secret with me.

Chief insect problems are thrips and red spider mites. Neither is often a problem in the garden. With mites you will see some webbing and a yellowing of leaves. Thrips, on the other hand, will damage the buds, thus distorting the flower.

Recently there is a new fungus in the form of rust raising a bit of concern. Look for browning of the leaves and a blood colored ooze when you pull an infected leaf through your fingers. Three thoughts on rust. First, practice good sanitation by removing old foliage before the season starts. Second, try not to buy plants from the south where the problem is much worse. Our winters help. Third, rusts need an alternate host. In this case it is patrina, a nice plant but hardly necessary for daylily lovers.

Recently I drove by a well-manicured patch of new varieties that led to a road bank patch of the old red and orange ones. That was clever but unlikely planned.

For some, the 2007 garden-planting season is over. After the winter cabin fever they rushed out and got it done. Spring is king. If that describes you, you may read on but it isn't really necessary.

On the other extreme are those of us who will sneak a plant into the garden whenever somebody is not looking. For that matter, they will do it even more gleefully if somebody is looking.

A few will even think about the plant they want and consider whether it has any special needs and pick the planting time to match. Today we will elaborate on this and the last paragraph.

Most ornamental grasses like the soil hot. Early spring or late fall transplanting is not to their liking. For best results, most grasses should be planted between late May and early August.

As an example, a number of years ago I planted a warm season grass in late April and an identical pot-mate late in June. By the end of the summer the June plant was larger and happier than the early planted one.

Another concern is as we see cultivars and selections of some of the traditionally southern shrubs being adapted to our location, we must pay attention to their needs. I am specifically thinking about crape myrtles and camellias.

They need to get their roots well established before the cold temperatures arrive. A bit of wrapping for the first winter or two may also do wonders to promote their happiness and minimize winter injury.

With winter injury, our winds are usually the culprit. March is often the villain month. I have gotten to the point where I first separate plants into their ability to tolerate wind. Then I think about sun or shade and moisture requirements.

The division and relocation of spring blooming perennials, hostas, daylilies and peonies is also a common question I get. My pat answer, if I know the person, is at 2 pm on August 20. Translation, early fall, as soon as a few showers are falling.

Now part two. I received a call from a good friend a few weeks after Christmas. He knew that I lusted after bear's breeches; Acanthus to you Latin speakers, and he had some he wanted to get rid of.

He said when. I said why not now. He agreed, knowing that I would have good sense and stash them in some corner of a greenhouse until spring, and gave me three nice plants. I knew it was January, but it was rather warm. I looked at the weather map and it promised showers and more mild temperatures. I planted two of them and took the third to the greenhouse realizing that I had just sentenced the other two to death.

When the colder weather was promised, I covered them with some branches from my discarded Christmas tree and hoped for the best. The two I planted in the garden are just breaking into bloom. The one in the greenhouse died quickly. Go figure.

That leaves me with just one goal. I have never planted anything in February. I still need February to be twelve for twelve.

The well-worn hoe has stood idle for nearly two years now. Many years and many strokes had worn its working end to a sliver no larger than an old silver dollar.

A few years earlier I had wondered why mom stuck with it. I bought her the lightest new one that I could find. She said the new one was too heavy and it was retired instead of her long time companion.

Mother was the youngest child of the union of a Lutheran married to a Mennonite farmer just five generations removed from the first permanent settler in Lancaster County. She learned farm life early.

She married at the start of the depression and followed Dad, who had a government job, to Philadelphia. Less than five years later they were back in Lancaster on a small farm west of Lancaster. The neighbors laughed at this young couple from Philadelphia who had just bought a thistle patch. Their laughter turned to disbelief as mother's hoe slowly won the battle with the thistles. Their interest in fruit and produce was born there.

About the time I was born, my grandfather retired and they moved home. They started an orchard, which was active by the time I remember anything. In the late 1940ies there was also a large acreage of corn.

That was before machines were too plentiful or too reliable. I was too young for school but the perfect age to accompany mom and grandfather to the cornfield for fall harvest, one ear at a time. I'll never forget my grandfather's frequent exclamations, "Got, Ag we'll never get done." Mother's name was Agnes. He was a bit Dutch but I think you got his message.

Produce, and finally, greenhouses joined the orchard and Mom was there for each step. The greenhouses remain today. Maybe thirty years ago a co-worker playfully suggested that Mom would sit up in her casket and ask, "Who's cutting the cucumbers today?"

Mom left the greenhouse workforce just weeks before her 90th birthday. She tended her flowers at a slowing pace for nine more years. Her last trip to the greenhouse was in May. She tired quickly but was thrilled.

Mother also was active in church and had taught elementary school for 20 years.

In the last weeks, her granddaughter cut flowers from the yard of the house she had bought from her, and took bouquets to her. In the last few days only the grand children and great grandchildren mattered.Mother has moved to a garden where there is less maintenance. She was blessed with just over 100 years. She will be missed, but will always be an inspiration. She loved life, her family, her church and growing things and is survived by her hoe that proved her diligence.

Every year the Perennial Plant Association names a garden-worthy perennial as its plant of the year. They have been doing this from the early 1990ies and have a wonderful record of picking plants that perform well in the garden and are rather easy to grow.

This year's pick is Nepeta 'Walker's Low'. Some sources claim this is a catmint. Others say it is catnip. Others say cats are finicky and are picky about their catmints or catnips. I agree that cats can be finicky and quit there.

Nepeta is a member of the mint family, so that gives you a clue about its vigor. It really is tame by mint standards, but should be given a bit of room. In my garden it probably tripled in size by the second season and after five years is about three feet across.

The plant was introduced in Europe in 1988. It was named for a garden there and the name is not related to plant size. Expect a height of 30 to 36 inches in the garden if the plant is very happy. The pot tag will probably claim it to be about half that size.

It is grown for its violet-blue flowers, long bloom period, attractive grey-green foliage, lack of pest and disease problems and low maintenance requirements. 'Walker's Low' likes well-drained soil but is tolerant of drought when established. Here I believe it is best used as a full sun plant.

The flower is violet-blue and clustered on upright arching stems. The bloom begins in mid-summer. On its own, the bloom is extended. With deadheading it will be even longer.

It's versatile in use. The literature suggests the front to middle of the perennial border, as a ground cover, in the large rock garden or cascading over a wall. I never thought of the last one but believe that would produce a great effect. I might try it to replace a wonderful shrub that I now have over a wall that is not so wonderful there because of severe winterkill each year.

If you are interested in critters, look for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. The pest insects seem to have other likes and seldom bother this plant. It is also said to be deer and rabbit resistant.

The deer resistance goes back to the theory that deer depend largely on smell to warn of danger. Since the leaves emit a strong mint aroma when crushed, it is avoided. About rabbits I don't know, but I do have rabbits and my nepeta is still happy.

Hats off to the Perennial Plant Association for another great pick. It's been a bit since we shared that entire list. Why not next week? It's a great place for the new perennial gardener to start and would serve well as the backbone of any perennial effort.