First, prepare your soil. Get some compost in a bag and dig it into the soil the plant is going to go in.

Second, don't worry about 'tonics'.

You don't need to cut anything down in the winter. The only reason to do this is to please your sense of asthetics, it isn't relevant to plant health.

Whether or not to mulch in winter depends how hardy the plant is. You will have to look up the hardiness of each plant if the tag that came with them doesn't indicate this.

Hardiness is determined by numerical zones, you list yourself as zone 5. Anything not hardy to zone 5 may not survive the winter, anything hardy to zone 5-6 should be mulched and anything hardy to zone 4 should be fine without mulch in winter. Wait until after the ground freezes to mulch. The idea is to prevent the ground from the repetitive freeze/thaw cycles via mulch insulation.

First thing to do, is improve the soil. These plants will be in the ground for a long time, so you have to improve the soil now. Incorporate organic matter - compost if you have it or can find it or you can get bags of organic humus, etc. at a garden center or Home Depot type store. Many people like a technique called "Lasagna beds". I haven't tried it but you can do a search for info on this.

If the plants are growing in pots, slip them out and plant in the hole. If it's root-bound (you can see roots running around the outside of the ball) loosen the roots a bit. No need to wash the soil off the roots. Once planted, give them a drink and continue to water as-needed into the fall.

For the winter - generally you would cut down the plants in the fall, when they look dry and dead. Grasses can be left alone for winter interest and cut down in early spring.

Good luck and have fun!

If you have a rototiller or can borrow one, it would great if you could till in some bagged compost and most any other kind of organic matter in a large area that you can call your 'perennial bed'. I have hard clay soil, too, and find it absolutely wonderful to grow anything in, with a little bit of improvement. Of course, we are assuming that your soil drains well!

Remove your plants directly from their container and after disturbing their root systems somewhat, plant them as is. Dig a shallow hole, by the way. You will need to install your plants higher in the new bed than they sat in their containers. In other words....plant them high. This is a must in clay soils.

Do you have a friend or neighbor who can instruct you a little bit, in person? It's always helpful for a novice to have a teacher......

All good advice, add that compost to your clay before you plant....think .50 cent plant in a $5 hole; you'll save yourself all kinds of headaches if you prepare your bed before planting (not wish later that you had).

Here's a photo of a container grown plant, roots teased out a little, placed in the planting hole. Spread any roots you can see and try to make sure they are going downward, not curling back up the sides of the hole. Water in well after planting to settle soil and eliminate any air pockets.

If you remove a plant from a pot and find a very tight mass of roots, don't be afraid to use a sharp knife to make an X in the bottom, or 3 or 4 slits down the sides.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:2103085}}

I would echo the advice to prepare the bed well before planting.

You should also sign out a perennial guide from your local library to check on the moisture, soil, sun requirements of each plant and to check their ultimate size. This will guide where you plant each one. Some of the plants you have do better in dry soil, some in moist soil, some do best in well drained, others tolerate clay, some want a touch of shade, others need full sun.

Or you can search Google for each plant and find info. Or use the link below to research.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dave's Garden Plant Files