It's finally one of the nicest months of the year in Southern Alberta, so get outside and get your garden in tip-top shape.

Katrina Diebel, owner of Vales Greenhouse in Black Diamond, says June is officially Perennial Month.

June is the perfect month because May is too early to decide if any of your plants have died over the winter and it can be too late in July and August to get good replacements.

"It was declared that by the Perennial Gardening Organization," said Diebel,. "It is a world-wide organization. June is the perfect time because here in Alberta we tend to get good water and June does tend to be the perfect month to get things in and get them established."

This year the perennial plant of the year is Butterfly Weed, which is native to the Lethbridge area.

"The Monarch Butterflies love it, unfortunately in this area we don't really get monarch butterflies, but the Painted Ladies love it."

Along with the butterflies, the bees and hummingbirds love it too.

The plant is like a hemp plant and there is some work going on to make it into clothes.

There are three colours white, pink and the traditional yellow/orange colour.

Along with the plant of the year perhaps consider getting an old favourite to fill in any holes.

Diebel, says she's not suppose to have a favourite plant, kind of like having a favourite child, but the peony holds a special place in her heart.

If you get several different plants the peony can bloom from June to August, they come in all sorts of colours and smell fantastic.

"I like the fact that I can mix them in a shrub bed and they don't complain, I can put them with annuals and they won't complain. They aren't real fussy children they will do what ever I ask of them. And they will sit at the dinner table next to anybody else, annual, perinnial, or shurb or anyone else and they won't get in a fight."