by  William Aldrich

As a new homeowner, William Aldrich was confronted with waist-deep weeds in his backyard. A few battles later, he harvested his first home-grown vegetables and the gardening bug was set.

A few years later, a Chicago Tribune editor asked Aldrich, then a copy-editor, to write an article about orchids. “What’s an orchid?” he asked. “You’re perfect,” she replied. He wrote about gardening for 15 years as a free-lancer in addition to his editing duties at the paper.

Aldrich was elected to the board of the Garden Writers Association of America and eventually served as President. In 1995, he founded Growit Communications, Inc., to publish Chicagoland Gardening Magazine, which continues today.

The idea of perennial plants is an appealing one for many (lazy) gardeners who yearn for an easy answer to garden maintenance. What they don’t realize is the labor doesn’t go away just because the plants (theoretically) return every year.

Because perennials have such differing growth habits and cultural needs, knowledge is a great tool for a successful perennial planting. Perennials for Illinois is a book whose size is perfect for taking along into the garden or accompanying a journey to the local plant seller for finding something new to add to the garden. With a sturdy cover and colorful plant descriptions, the book makes a perfect companion for any perennial gardener.

The book is one in a series from Lone Pine Publishing of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Three more in the “Illinois” series are planned—Annuals for Illinois, Trees and Shrubs for Illinois, and Month by Month in the Garden for Illinois. The company has similar series for several states and some Canadian provinces.

Much of the text and photography is shared between the editions with local experts enlisted to write state-specific guidelines and research the best varieties or cultivars for the local weather and soil conditions.

Illinois contributor William Aldrich found one interesting analogy for the mindset of perennial plants. “We went to Starbuck’s one day and Leo, the barista, piped up and said, ‘Isn’t it interesting how perennials come back annually?’” Aldrich relates. “I thought it was profound—what a way to play off two of the most used terms in gardening, annuals and perennials. Unfortunately, in the editing process the quote was changed to say ‘how perennials come back every year’ which isn’t interesting and ruins the joke.” He now includes the original phrasing when autographing a copy. “It’s the least I can do to acknowledge Leo’s contribution.”