As perennial gardeners know or will discover, fall is a wonderful time for planning next year’s garden and is also an excellent opportunity to plant, divide, or transplant those returning beauties. Many of the more unusual flowers that can be successfully preserved are perennial in nature and therefore, you can start your 2009 dried flower arranging displays now. Following are a few of the more reliable performers (italicized are best preserved in silica gel):

Ajuga Ajuga reptans bronze	Peony Paeonia - P.suffruticosa
Red Yarrow Achillea – Millefolium	Dianthus Dianthus
Golden Yarrow Achillea filipendulina	Lamb’s Ear Stachys byzantina
Lavender Lavendula	Russian Sage Perovskia atriplicifolia
Silver King Artemisia Artemisia ludoviciana	Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia fulgida
Leave room for: Blue Salvia (a tender perennial) Salvia farinacea