Today is winter solstice, the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year. For me it means now that winter has officially started, that spring is not all that far away.
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| It was a frosty, but clear morning for the first day of winter. |
To celebrate the solstice I joined up with the
winter sowers group to start my first round of winter sowing.
The first four sets of seeds are supposed to honor Remembrance, Life, Mother Nature and Faith. I decided to throw one more in for good measure.
This is my third or fourth year winter sowing and I've had really
good luck. Towards the end of winter I will winter sow some annuals
too.
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| It was actually sunny enough to set up outside rather than on my kitchen counter! |
This is a link to my post from last year which also shows brief
instructions on how to winter sow. The whole point of winter sowing is
to let the seeds go through the cold weather and even lots of snow to
help with germination. If you live where your winters are cold and
snowy this will still work for you! That's the fun part about it,
gardening in winter!
Remember:
"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow" ~ Guinea Proberb.
All words and photos in this post are property of
A Gardener in Progress.
WooHoo! Happy Solstice! I love the seeds you chose, all great flowers.
ReplyDeleteOh, pretty Foxgloves. My first attempt last year at winter sowing was a failure. I do not know whether I have the nerve to try again or not. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWell we are closer to spring after today and the daylight hours will start to get longer.Yippee!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIt's been very mild here today - not hot by any means, but so warm it felt like a spring day and even the birds were singing.
Good luck with your winter sowing; I hope they do well for you!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIt's been very mild here today - not hot by any means, but so warm it felt like a spring day and even the birds were singing.
Good luck with your winter sowing; I hope they do well for you!
I read your post from last year..I like the methods you're using. May have to borrow that. For today, I'll be doing a bit of outside sowing as I don't have the fixings for the rest. The fog has finally lifted and I see sunshine. I'm ready to play in the dirt..my fingers are far too clean :)
ReplyDeleteBedankt lieverd voor je gezelligheid steun en liefde van het afgelopen jaar......liefs van mij.....xxx...Ria
ReplyDeleteThanks my darling for your fun loving and support over the past year....love from me.....xxx...Ria
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Fijne Kerstdagen,
Merry Christmas,
Glaedelig Jul,
Merry Christmas,
Joyeux Noel,
God Jul,
Happy Winter Solstice to you too! You've totally reminded me that I should probably start my seed as well. Which Echinacea is that....E. pallida?
ReplyDeleteHappy Winter Solstice to you! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas as well.
ReplyDeleteOf course down here, yesterday was our Summer Solstice and we're putting up with fabulous heat and fierce sunshine!!! Not much time spent out in the garden.
Scott it's just E. purpurea. The only one I could find.
ReplyDeleteNow the the days are getting longer...
ReplyDeleteHappy solstice!!
Seeds?? I believe it is too early for seeds in Toronto.
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
Wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteSomething weird happened when I first got onto your blog. There was a pop up window that said I needed to enter a user name and password. I am glad I decided to close the window to see what would happen. Have you ever heard of that happening?
I hope your winter sowing goes well. I keep thinking I am going to learn more about it, but the time keeps slipping by. I do throw seeds on the ground in the fall sometimes, though.
Merry Christmas!
I had forgotten about winter sowing! I had pretty good luck with it last winter, so will need to gather my seeds after the holidays. You have some lovely ones picked out.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to do this over the weekend. Usually I just sow seeds in the ground in the fall. Maybe this will work for my hollyhocks. I have tried unsuccessfully for 8 years to get hollyhocks to grow. Anyway, I'm pretty excited. Thanks for the information. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteSue - that seems to be for a blog on my blogroll. I need to remove it for now, I noticed it did the same thing on another blog I visit.
ReplyDeleteBonnie - It works great for Hollyhocks! I even get them to bloom the first year this way.
Hi Catherine, what a great idea to start winter sowing on winter solstice day! I see that you are sowing foxgloves, I just love these plants. You reminded me that I wanted to look for seeds that can be sown directly on the ground (pre-sow them in mini greenhouses and transplant them later is just too much work for me). Wishing you a happy winter solstice, too! May your new seeds sprout :-)!
ReplyDeleteChristina
Hey Catherine,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to start sowing. Brings in a litte bit of spring.
gr. Marijke
Great idea. I will have to check it out in the future. I am sowing indoors this year. Boy if I was hoping for cold and snow for outdoor sowing this year would have been a problem so far. Can you believe we have had an inch of snow. That is it. Lots of rain though. Wishing you and your family Happy Holidays!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Catherine! I may even do some also after we stop with the foggy days. We are finally seeing some sky this morning.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and your family, Catherine!
Dear Catherine,
ReplyDeleteHappy Winter Solstice!
Best of Luck with your winter sowing . . . though I guess you do not need it. I have missed visiting you!
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!
Peace
Carol
I haven't started my winter sowing yet, but soon, once the hectic holidays quiet down. Wishing you and your family peace this holiday season, and a joyous New Year!
ReplyDeleteIt always cheers me up to start sowing seeds again, though I seem to sow all year round these days. I have viola sitting outside at the moment I just need it to get cold enough to break their dormancy. It wouldnt have been a problem last year and I have a lot of success with winter sowing but this year it is so mild I wonder what the impact will be on my seeds
ReplyDeleteHope that the seed sowing goes well Catherine. Wishing you and your family a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year!
ReplyDeleteI love Spring and it's nice to start to think we're getting closer to it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying some sun and better weather than you had this time last year! I will be keeping a close eye on all of your tips about sowing and other gardening things...I will have a lot to learn! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI need to get a move on with some of my seeds too. I did some direct sowing last month. I have a lot of seeds new to me that I ordered from TM and Park. I'm ready to get a jump on spring. Merry Christmas Catherine.
ReplyDeleteSo you have frost! In Sweden the weather is totaly upsidedown this year. It works fine with me since I like it much better this way =) But we wonder... 50 degrees in december, that´s something new! Today I´ll put some seeds in containers and finaly get some soil under my fingernails again / Happy holiday hugs from gittan
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy for you! I managed to get sick for winter break. It has lasted 8 days, #9 seems to be a tossup. MAYBE I will get this done before the new year. Everything is ready except my energy level....but I know where there is a nice table and chair.
ReplyDeleteDeborah
Hi Catherine. Happy Winter Solstice and Merry Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful relaxing time with your loved ones. Yes, spring will be here before we know it. I'm so ready for it! Happy 2012 to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to celebrate the winter solstice. Happy growing and look forward to seeing them in spring.
ReplyDeleteLooks like there gonna be lots of potential with those seed packets Catherine. I used to stick my primula seed packets in the fridge to fool them into thinking it was winter.
ReplyDeleteHave a Happy and Blessed New Year.