Preface We are thrilled to offer this information-packed, beautiful, and inspiring third edition of The Well-Tended Perennial Garden ! In an effort to stay topical in the rapidly changing world of perennial gardening, we felt an update to the original edition from 1998 (that's right--can you believe it?) and the expanded edition from 2006 was in order. Exciting changes to this edition include more than 50 new plant encyclopedia entries, dozens of new cultivars, scores of new photographs and illustrations, updates to some of my original garden design projects, and visual stories of new design projects. If you have the previous two editions of Well-Tended Perennial Garden you will also appreciate the updated Perennials by Maintenance Needs, which has been expanded in this third edition. New perennials are being introduced daily and it's hard to keep up! Our goal isn't to provide every new perennial or cultivar (these are well covered in other publications), but to address these new plants from a maintenance perspective, which is a viewpoint unique to this book. What are the care, and more specifically, pruning, needs of these plants? Which cultivars are more reliable, hardier, or long-lived performers? Which ones have I used for years that still pass the test of a great plant? Working in the horticulture industry for 4 decades now, I've seen many changes. I have always used native plants in my designs, but the emphasis on their use is even greater today. Perennials are being incorporated into rain gardens, rooftop gardens, container gardens, and mixed gardens. They are joining trees, shrubs, bulbs, annuals, and vegetables in the garden, rather than being strictly relegated to traditional perennial beds. There is the desire to grow dynamic yet low maintenance plants that are deer resistant and drought tolerant, that don't require frequent pruning or care to look their best. Many new, safe organic fertilizers and pest controls are readily available. We address these issues here. Thankfully, many of the sound horticultural practices that were discussed in the book's first edition still hold true today; you will find they remain in these pages, both in recommendations and in the examples of featured gardens. Thank you for supporting this book and its mission all these years. Besides being one of the all-time bestselling and most-sustaining gardening publications available since it was first released, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden has been one of the most rewarding and cherished aspects of my career. Today's world is hectic and filled with technology. People rarely look up from their cell phones or digital devices. We desperately need to fuel our souls, and an excellent way to do so is by connecting with plants and the earth through gardening. May this refreshed, more-relevant-than-ever guide help you navigate a joyful perennial gardening journey.   Excerpted from The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques, Third Edition by Tracy DiSabato-Aust All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.