Yes, mine are in a less than optimal spot and that is the reason they are still there..lol. I heard how difficult they were to move and I didn't want to lose a season of bloom because I waited three years actually to see bloom. I would advice anyone considering placing these in the garden to consider doing the best you can to site them right the first time and be willing to leave them there for a long time. They do really want full sun. I have them in afternoon sun from 11:30pm until about 4pm and the blooming has been less than what I am sure it can do. One plant in the same border, evidently gets a little less sun due to trees shading it a little sooner than 4pm and it didn't bloom at all. They also get pretty large and I have had to use support for mine or it is all over the surrounding plants. Maybe due to not enough sun as well? It is very pretty when in bloom and is up against my cream colored siding and that makes it pop too. Maybe next year after it blooms I will move it. [g]

You will probably want to dead-head and/or trim back in Fall any types which reseed heavily. Things as the black-eyed-Susan and coneflowers. If these are left, you may have an overabundance of volunteers. Many perennial plants are trimmed close to the ground line. If there are leaves which survive the winter, then just trim out the dead flowering stalks. Damaged foliage can be trimmed as new foliage takes over. The Russian sage might be pruned more for shape and just have dead material cut away. That might be best done in Spring. I don't trim mine to the ground. Will cut back hard some branches if they mess up the overall shape.

Hey Ho Steve O I'm so sorry to hear about ur troubles. Maybe tis will cheer ya up. I was down at the orchard about a week or two ago and another grower who is a good friend of mine shows up and says how did you do. I was like with what. He says with the freeze dumbo. I was like huh, he's says well all my cherries are black and dead. I was like no way. Well u guessed it, I lost half my crop. I still have a sick feeling in my stomach. Well it will be tuff to pay the mrt. on the orchard this year. Oh well. On a happeier note I been selling alot of lilacs. My experience with frost is to leave it alone and see what happens. If you deal with emotion then u tend to cut it all back and one that is done you may have act too rash. I would wait and see what happens. Maybe if you want just cut some back. Time will tell and before you know it those plants will be fine. I pray all is well, Tim

Hi, Marissa! I hope you have a camera because we're going to want to see pictures of your garden this spring and summer! It sounds lovely already and I'm sure you'll gradually add your own touches. I'm one who doesn't do a lot of fall clean-up. Lots of people do and I wouldn't say they are wrong. I've just always thought the old stuff offers some bit of protection in winter. Grasses and a few other plants do add winter interest but a lot of it is just d-e-a-d. I yearn so for spring anyway that it's just a little bit more anticipation for me to see it cleaned up again. In spring I wait until the weather is cooperative - not so cold that I'm miserable out there - and then I dive in! By then I'm so eager to get back out in the flowerbeds that I have no trouble finding the energy and motivation to put in the time it takes! As for how much and how far...cut back grasses to a few inches high when the new green growth just begins to show or even before. Be VERY CAREFUL not to cut into the new growth because it can really set them back and deform the shape of the plant. Other perennials will show you how much to remove since the old parts will be brown or black and obviously not part of the new growth. It is so refreshing to see the fresh green coming up underneath all that old stuff. I get a big kick out of it! Anything that looks dead can go. If the last freeze is past I pull back any mulch that is too close or covering the new green growth and (my least favorite chore) remove the dry leaves that have blown into the beds from the woods nearby during the winter. Around here we do have some evergreen plants that discolor during winter - I leave those alone til later because some of that foliage will brighten up again. You can always nip out the parts that don't make a come-back. As I go through the beds I also pull any weeds I can identify - if I'm not sure it's a weed I'll let it go rather than yank what may be a "volunteer". Some things do self sow and can come up in unexpected places. I like that and would rather harbor a weed for a while than execute a goody. Eventually I hope I'll be able to identify all the likely players but for now I'm content to know the 3-4 most common weeds in this area. If I keep up with those I'm doing pretty well. I find by starting right away in spring I can get a jump on the weeds and not let things get out of hand. How lovely that you are thinking ahead and planning for the future of your adopted garden! I bet the previous owners would be delighted to know that it will be taken care of and enjoyed. Gardening is an ongoing process of learning whether you are new to it or experienced. I'm sure others will post advice to you that reflects greater experience and skill than I have.