Heuchera is "evergreen," ie, it doesn't completely die back in winter. It also takes a fair bit of shade. Gaura is large, fountains out. It's common name is Whirling Butterflies and it does look like that, an airy, delicate look. It is good for hiding the naked legs of HTs, but give it full sun and plenty of room. It dies back to a tangle of thin branches, which should be chopped off to a few inches. Lambs Ears want full sun and dies back to a somewhat slimey mess. It also spreads.

I have several heucheras but they're in full shade. Actually I also have salvias and guaras (I plant in threes), but everything is still small this early.

I'd be interested to know how people keep track of perennials too. I've got the tags stuck in the ground for now but don't like that look.

Sandy, below is a link to a great pic-filled website I recently ran across that's chock full of perennial garden inspiration.

Here is a link that might be useful: art of gardening

I bought a nameless plant that grew well in semi-shade for years; eventually a friend I gave a piece to told me it was a heuchera. Mine is evergreen. It has done well in open woodland conditions: light shade, lots of organic matter on the surface but clay underneath, with good drainage from the slope; wet winters, dry summers with little to no watering: similar, here, to what hellebores like.
If a plant disappears completely during the winter, or is so small it vanishes among the grass (my garden beds are waving meadows of annual grass at the moment) I put a bamboo stake to mark its location, with a label if I want to remember the name. I also make maps of the garden, noting down the locations and names of plants I want to keep track of. Maps are essential if you have many plants and want to remember their names, which not everybody does. Labels are just too liable to disappear or become illegible. As far as recognizing cultivated plants as such when weeding, in my experience, having pulled thousands if not millions of weeds in my garden, I know very well what my weeds look like, and almost always recognize plants that aren't weeds as soon as I see them. You will too.
Melissa

I thought of mapping my garden, but that sounds like so much work. I like the idea of knowing all the names but think I just may be too lazy to do the work required to keep track. At least with my roses I just hang marked aluminum tags. That's easy peasy.

It might be helpful to take snapshots and just label the snapshots.

Tall Salvia and Lambs Ear are both wonderful companions to roses and most all perennials.

The Salvia is blue, purple, or white, and produces a spikey flower, giving good contrast in form and color (usually) to your roses.

The silvery gray-green Lambs Ear is a great contrast in both texture and color. In my gardens I always remove the flowers because they are insignificant and a distraction -- at least, in my opinion.

Heuchera is actually dormant here in winter.

I've solved my problem and just started a personal gardening blog to keep track of year-to-year growth, planting times, diseases, locations, etc., with pics and comments.

Salvia next to Old Gay Hill
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