Fall was particularly glorious this year. Long and without frost, gardeners everywhere were delighted. As December fast approaches the final clean-up is at hand, the garden is ready for its winter slumber. The sprawling stems of asters and chrysanthemums are finally cut back, some having shot out four feet, they lay heavy on anything that grows beneath. Very often the gardener finds some whimpering perennial buried, suffering from lack of light and the weight of heavy stems, death by suffocation may take a couple of years, but in the end the more competitive plant wins. The sprawl was intentional, their motto "Spread and Conquer". These plants are the competitors. Sharing the garden space with pioneers and stress-tolerators, their MO is to grow with large soft leaves, spread to gain ground and flower late in the year. Often the results are weighted stems that fall and subsequently gain more ground. This was no weak stemmed, inferior plant but a cold, calculating competitor. For the gardener and the editor, observation comes into play as the interface of one against another becomes the line in the sand. Do you manage the garden or leave it as live and let live?

Those heroic stress-tolerating plants are the tough leafed, evergreen, slow growing, early flowering perennials that we worship. Of the three types of survival strategies - competitor, stress-tolerator and pioneers, this group gives us the most satisfaction in the off seasons. The poster child for stress-tolerators are the helleborus. Flowering in the latter part of winter with evergreen leaves (that deer don't eat), their health is paramount. In the long run, these stress-tolerators will be growing and flowering every winter and early spring for many, many years. They will require far less maintenance and play well with each other (slow growth, not liable to out-compete), unless, of course, a competitor has had its way with them.

Gardeners are not too different from one another. When asked, would you rather have flowers in February or November? We want it everyday, or so the majority claim. There are those few that live for their glory in May and June with iris or June and July with their daylilies. Good for them, on matters of survival there is clarity. For the rest of us, we must edit and prune for the health of all. It's a mighty big job.