• By Leslie Rose
• Posted Friday, August 14, 2020

Forsyth Extension Gardener: Your Perennial Border

As we approach fall, it’s a great time to plant perennials in your yard. Perennial plants are those which will return to your garden for several years from storage in their roots, crowns, or woody stems that persist through a period of dormancy in the winter.

Over the coming months, horticulture agent Leslie Rose will offer a variety of resources to help anyone who is thinking about adding perennial plants to their home landscape. Leslie will be teaching a Forsyth Extension Gardener short course: Your Perennial Garden. Registration will be limited, but if you’ve been wanting to plant a perennial garden at home, this is a great opportunity to do so! Fill out the interest survey now. The survey does not guarantee participation. Read the rest of this article for more details.

Resources about perennial plants will be available to everyone at the Forsyth Extension Gardener: Your Perennial Border web page. While most of the resources will be available to anyone who visits the site, Leslie Rose will also be teaching an in-depth “Your Perennial Border” class this fall. The class will include 5 small group Zoom sessions to review information and discuss weekly topics related to perennial gardening.

“Your Perennial Border” is intended for home gardeners who wish to complete all steps from planning to installation of a perennial garden this fall. These gardeners will receive guidance from Extension, as well as fellow participants. The anticipated start date for the class will be during the week of August 24, 2020, with meetings every other week after that.

Please note: due to the nature of this course, we will be limited in the number of people who can participate. Much of the educational material will be made available to the wider public. However, participation in Zoom meetings and discussion groups will be limited. Fill out this survey if you are interested in participating – this does not guarantee your spot. You will receive a follow-up email from Leslie Rose regarding your participation.

Participants should:

• Have garden space to be used to create a garden of perennial plants this fall.
• Be willing to fully participate in this course over 10 weeks from August through October 2020.
• Participation will include: reviewing educational material prior to each session, discussing and interacting with classmates and the instructor during a virtual Zoom meeting for one hour every 2 weeks, completing assigned planning and planting tasks to complete a perennial garden. The estimated time to participate is at least 2 hours per week
• Be willing to provide feedback through follow up surveys, questions, etc. as applicable.

If you’ve been wanting to plant a perennial garden at home, don’t hesitate to fill out the survey for the short course! Your chances of success are great with the support of Extension and fellow gardeners in the Your Perennial Border class.