Also, any suggestions on combinations or ideas are welcomed. And when is suggested time to start planting? I'm so anxious to get started!

I've been slowly landscaping my property over the past few years, and many ideas were derived from BluestonePerennials.com (free color catalog), internet research, landscaping articles and much needed advice from this forum. Bluestone has a GREAT catalog to peruse for ideas and Gardenweb is a wonderful place to visit for valuable advice.

If you are anything like me, you'll probably move things around repeatedly until you figure out what you like (and learn, for that matter). I'm still a novice yet I have fallen in love with gardening and find it very therapeutic. I've come to understand that a true gardener is never really "finished" with the garden.

With that said, last year I incorporated blue/yellow combos that I tried to repeat in various corners of my yard as I like the contrast it provides, but of course other colors mixed in, in moderation.

Some of my favorite perennials:

Brunnera 'Jack Frost' & Lamium 'Silver Beacon' or 'White Nancy'(GREAT silvery contrast for shade) - Lamium spreads like mad, so you'll want to keep it contained. I have Lamium planted with my evergreen boxwood shrubs for contrast, and also beneath a japanese red maple tree in a contained area between walkway and driveway.

I have Brunnera 'Jack Frost' paired with my Spirea Neon Lights shrubs, and alongside that are my Astilbes, Japanese Painted Ferns and Heucheras. Jack Frost 'pops' nicely in shady areas. This is one of my favorites.

Pachysandra (Japanese Spurge) is a nice evergreen groundcover, spreads by shallow roots but easily contained and low maintenance. Don't interplant with anything else - pachy will eventually smother it out. I couldn't get rid of Bishops Weed in a contained area of my garden until I planted Pachysandra there. Pachy is one of the very few groundcovers that will grow successfully under conifers. I have this planted at the base of my retaining wall at the front of my property between the wall and the city walkway. You could easily contain this plant within a border. While it spreads with underground runners, it's by no means invasive.

Ajuga - nice low growing groundcover or border plant, but I have yet to see how hardy it is. I have 'Chocolate Chip' and another unidentified variety in a small strip along my driveway. Nice colorful blooms that will continue through the season if you deadhead spent flowers. I also deadhead my Salvia and Veronica for repeat blooms.

Heucherella 'Stoplight' and Heuchera 'Citronelle' are nice yellows, and look lovely when combined with purple heucheras. Combine these with Astilbes and Japanese painted ferns. If I remember correctly, the darker Heuchera varieties can handle more sunlight than the lighter varieties, but I believe the general rule is they do well in shade.

If you are into vines - clematis & honeysuckle vines - dark clematis against a light back drop, light clematis against a dark backdrop for a stunning effect. Clematis forum is a wealth of information.

Sedum 'Autumn Fire' (don't buy too many - after the first year you can divide the clumps into multiple plants and still have some to share with your friends)

Annabelle hydrangea (great for shade), don't fertilize other than at planting time otherwise the blooms get too heavy and fall over. This will probably die back to the ground in your zone over winter months, which is fine. It will bloom from new wood in the spring.

Bearded iris (with Lemonbalm at base but cut lemonbalm back hard after it flowers to prevent it from taking over your planting bed. I'm trying to get my hands on the 'All Gold' variety). Plant iris in groups by color.

Asiatic Lilies 'Matrix'- great color

Veronica Royal Candles (nice blue flowers)

Coreopsis 'Zagreb' with Salvia 'May Night'

I also have Salvia 'May Night' planted with my Euonymus - 'Emerald N Gold'

Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine'

Nepeta (catmint) - a nice underplanting for my rose bushes

Sweet William Dianthus 'Heart Attack' (I LOVE the color on this one, a stunning crimson)

Shrubs - azalea (sun), rhododendron (shade), weigela, purple leaf sandcherry

Amsonia Hubrechti (aka Arkansas Blue Star) paired w/Bergenia 'Bressingham Ruby' - nice fall color combination

Hostas (yellows, blues, variegated etc.) and ferns are a definite for me

I realize this is long-winded, but I have to admit, I have spring fever. I can't wait to get back into the garden. I hope some of this is helpful to you.

I'll let the experts comment on recommended planting time. I generally wait until after the danger of frost, so for my zone that would be June 1st.

Good luck!

Which perennials do you like? How much room do you have to work with? Sandy soil, clay soil, or loam? Sun or shade or some of each?

You want to wait until the ground has thawed and dried out before you start digging. In my area, that'll be a good four or five weeks from now, but we've had a ton of snow this year.

Don't buy things too early, no matter how tempting they are, especially when you're new to caring for plants! While some things, like shrubs, can go into the ground relatively early (say, late April), a lot of the pretty eye-catching things at the nurseries need *warm* soil to grow. That's often more like Memorial Day.

But that means you have some time still to dream and plan! What do you want to do with your space?

lets get to basics ....

get a list of public gardens within 25 miles ... and once a week [when i worked it was saturday mornings] .... go visit them ... when you find one you like.. or peeps you like... keep going back ...

you will learn what they are doing each week in the garden.. giving you a clue what you should be doing ... probably right now.. in z4 .. nothing .. lol ...

then come home and start surveying your domain ... and decide where you will start.. and what your 5 year plan is ... start with a small area ... 5 by 10 feet.. and start making a bed .. later in the summer ... we will start next years bed .. etc ... i always have the next bed in process ... you just never know when you need more space .. lol ..

while you are out and about... after the garden visit.. start stopping into nurseries ... and see how they are timing it all out ... i would prefer a good nursery over the bigboxstore.. its all about finding peeps who do this according to mother nature.. not the arrival of the semi ... a base of knowledge that you are going to suck up ...

somewhere along the way .. find some local garden clubs.. i dont really like them for the socialization ... but their garden tours later in the season are priceless .. knowing what grows in your area.. and actually seeing it grow.. makes learning what is easy to grow very simple.. one problem with books, catalogs and the web .. is all the pretty picture of the hardest plants in the world to grow ...

then basically .. buy what the local nursery sells... insert in ground.. ROOTS DOWN .... [its really that easy] ...and see what lives and dies ...

only sticking your hands in the soil.. only that.. will turn your thumb green ...

things live.. things die.. you will have wild successes.. and dismal failures ... and that is what it is all about... some say that you arent really a gardener.. until you have killed every plant 3 times ... so NEVER beat yourself up about anything.. its a zen state of mind.. limited only by your budget ... its not really about success.. its basically just about being out there ....

start with the cheap stuff.. the reason it is cheap ... is that it is an easy plant ...

once you have mastered those.. then start moving up to the foo foo stuff ...

and NEVER underestimate the generosity of gardeners ... i drove past this wonderful garden for 5 years .... i would see this 80 something couple all gnarly and stooped walking around working.. one day i sucked it up and knocked on the door .. told them how beautiful it was.. and 2 hours later left with a trunk full of plants .. we love the attention.. 99% of gardeners do it for a love of the plants ... and love to show it off .. and usually have a trunkful of stuff to give away ... talk about instant garden ... and the reason we have so much extra.. its the easy stuff to grow ...

just get out there.. turn off the computer.. and visit gardens ...

as they said in that movie.. just build the bed.. and they will come.. or was that a baseball movie/???? .. lol

good luck

ken

ps: buy a plastic tarp for the trunk .. and throw in some empty pots.. and a wad of plastic grocery bags ... dont want to waste valuable time cleaning up the car, when we can be in the garden ... lol .. and we never want to pass up an opportunity to be ready to accept free plants ...

pps: some of the best hosta growers live up your way ... contact the minn hosta society if you have any shade to work in ... and make sure you hit the annual garden tour.. it will blow your socks off ...

When I first got a chance to garden, I wish I had paid more attention to all that stuff about soil & compost & mulch. :)
Find out what kind of soil you have, put lots of organic matter on your beds, and most of your plants will thrive.
Find easy ways to water your beds.

#1 rule of gardening: RIGHT PLANT RIGHT PLACE .

If you locate a plant in conditions to its liking, you will have a much greater chance at success with said plant. Personally, I like plants to thrive, not just survive - there's a big difference there. You can push the boundaries to some degree, of course - some sun lovers will tolerate part shade, for example - but for a beginner I would recommend sticking to the recommended growing guidelines for the particular plant, you'll have plenty of time to learn what boundaries you can push as you gain experience.

I'm saying this because I think one of the reasons I really began to enjoy gardening is the first few things I planted I was very successful with, and it gave me a huge confidence boost - hey, I can actually do this! If I would have had initial failures (or only "eh" results), I probably would have been discouraged may have just thrown in the shovel.

So you have to get to know your conditions in order to choose plants wisely. Sun/shade/part-shade, dry/normal/moist are the most critical issues, but keep in mind that conditions may change as the season progresses, especially in terms of amount of light (e.g. areas under trees are normally sunny in the spring and shady the rest of the season, spring bloomers/shade lovers may do well here).

A lot of folks make the mistake of amending/preparing a hole for the plant and neglect the rest of the bed, they figure when the plant something in another hole they'll amend it at that time. MISTAKE. Amend the whole planting area at one time, if possible (I realize sometimes it's not) - turn over the soil, breaking up it well (or rent a tiller), mix in a lot of organic matter (e.g. compost, shredded leaves, etc.), rake it level, mulch it and let it stew for awhile while you're deciding what to plant in it.

Pick up some basic gardening how-to books to learn the basics - you need something geared for a beginner, preferably with a lot of pictures. A great reference book (that I still use) is "Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials", hardcover edition. Covers the basics of designing and growing and is a great reference for plants.

Agree with Ken - start with some easier plants that thrive in your zone (and there are LOTS), and work your way up to the fussier stuff.

Also, keep in mind your taste will probably evolve along with your skill level, and that's okay - actually it's a good thing. Most importantly, though, grow what *YOU* like and what makes *YOU* happy - it's your garden.