DIRT

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Fall is the perfect time to plant peonies, and planting these small trees is much more rewarding than planting tubers of the other peonies. If you are lucky, you might find some on sale. I favor the flatter leaf, bi-color single varieties like "Joseph Rock" and "Reine Elizabeth", but they are all gorgeous—not an ugly one to be had. The Latin is usually Paeonia suffruticosa. Start your tree peony collection now; it takes a dozen years for them to get really good, but these are heirlooms and will last for generations.

Though the breathtaking categories explored in the July 1 issue are enough to make any gardener swoon, the most bizarre genus of all is Arisaema. Too bad that their cute everyday name is "Jack-in-the-Pulpits" because there is a huge array of these otherworldly winter hardy perennials to choose from. Though easily grown here, the trouble is finding them. They don't seem to be an item in most of our otherwise wonderful nurseries (though Marders and Lynch's have a few now and again). This could be because of the come-and-go nature of some species, but others—A. ringens and A. sikokianum, two of the most fabulous—have extraordinary leaf arrangements that persist through the entire summer and offer an autumn bonus of a pizzazzy pile of berries.

Although Heronswood is no longer around for Arisaema, Tony Avent at Plant Delights (www.plantdelights.com) and Barry Yinger at Asiatica (www.asiaticanursery.com) have made a specialty of them. Go to the websites right now because fall planting is best. Don't be disappointed when a homely little corm arrives. It will not come in a bag like tulips and fritillaria do, but in a small pot of dirt that will look empty and cause you to think, "Is this what I paid $20 for?" Just have faith and plant it like any other bulb, and do it right away before it can dry out.