Hardy Perennials at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Hardy perennials are very valuable in the garden and play a major role, as most of them are relatively cheap, grow quickly, and can readily be increased in several ways, including by seed, division, or cuttings. Most of them, like trees and shrubs, live for many years. In addition, most of them, unlike trees and < shrubs, are herbaceous as they have soft stems which die down in the fall and grow again the following spring. A number of them have evergreen leaves, and one or two grow in the winter and die down in the summer. Not all herbaceous perennials are in fact hardy, but here we are concerned only with those that are. Herbaceous perennials may be used in a variety of ways in the backyard.

Chinese lanterns (Physalis Alkekengi) are old-fashioned flowers whose orange, inflated pods are often seen in paintings on old tea trays from the '20s. They are hardy perennials but will bloom from seed the first year if started early. Put plants about 2 feet apart.

Half-hardy annuals (HHA) are usually damaged, set back, or killed by frost, but they stand up to wet and cool weather without rotting. Tender annuals (TA) come from the warmer parts of the world and need warm soil to germinate. They are killed immediately by frost. Added to the classification of annuals are perennials, either hardy (usually from a temperate climate) or tender (generally from the tropic parts of the world), that will bloom the first year from seed. Most seed packets today give full instructions for care and note any special treatment required. Most catalogs do the same.