Ive got some perennials in packs from Wilkos, you know the type of thing, a root in a plastic bag with some peat.

When I ve received these in the past, Ive soaked them as directed, then planted them straight out into the garden, also as directed. My dad puts them into pots first and starts them off in the greenhouse, then plants them out. I thought this might be a good idea, because if they are just roots, its entirely possible to forget where youve put them unless you make a label. You also know if they "take" this way too.

What do you do?

I've always planted them straight into the garden, and rarely had any problems.

My garden is very small, and in order to be sure where I've planted the roots (so I don't plant twice on the same spot, or dig up new shoots as weeds) I've got a plot of the garden to scale on graph paper with all of the plants marked.

This is helped by the fact that I completely cleared the garden and started again 11 years ago, so I know exactly what has been planted and where it went. When the whole garden was empty I marked out the planting areas for groups with both sand and marking labels, although these have been less necessary since the plants have become more established.

Right, the Hostas have gone in today, but Ive marked them with a label! Fingers crossed.

Im going to put the lily of the valley in tomorrow and possibly the bleeding heart.

Im also wanting to plant up my new strawberry planter, but might keep this under cover of the mini greenhouse.

I think I'm with your dad on this one - I always put them into pots first. I'm mainly doing this so I can keep them in a cold frame to give them some protection. After all I don't want young plants getting rotted by all the rain we are having (I have clayish soil) and also I can keep a better eye on them. Plus of course I'm still only getting to grips with my new garden so once they have started to grow I can place the pots around the garden and see where I might want the plants :)