Happy Winter Solstice!

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.

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.

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.

Fertilizer Friday - 16 days until spring!

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to join in on Fertilizer Friday, but I made sure I had time to take pictures yesterday between rain and hail showers.  Every so often the sun would pop out and then shortly after it would pour rain again.  In between showers I ran outside to fill the hummingbird feeders with fresh sugar water.  This was made a bit tricky by Gracie, our dog, trying to to drink it every time I set the container of it down.  I ended up balancing on a step stool half sinking in the soggy dirt reaching for the feeders with one hand and holding the sugar water in the other.  As much as I love our dog, she definitely makes simple jobs much more difficult when she's around.  But, it was worth the circus act because I was greeted with a beautiful male Anna's hummingbird drinking from the feeder this morning.  I've only been seeing females lately, so maybe his arrival means they are thinking about nesting soon.

First thing I did outside was check the winter sowing.  I've now got Verbascum, Hollyhock, Lupine, Foxglove, Flax, Canterbury Bells and Poppy 'Lauren's Grape' germinating.

This Pulmonaria has been way ahead of the rest so far, the others have lots of buds now though.

Hellebores under the Cedar tree.

Pansies in the window boxes.

The shed garden coming to life.  This will be the first spring in this garden and I've already found Hellebore seedlings here!  Lots of bulbs are coming up too.

One of my favorite parts of the shed garden.  Daffodils, tulips and Bluebells are all coming up.  I'm beginning to doubt the variegated rhododendron will ever bloom, good thing I bought it for it's foliage.

Mexican Orange (Choysia ternata) was one of the shrubs I moved when I put the path through the front garden.  Aside from constantly being blown over with all the wind we've had, it's looking really good.  I've got it staked up better now and hopefully the roots will have a chance to take hold.

I'm really hoping for some dry weather this weekend, we are planning to finish off most of the front garden project and moving soil in the rain just doesn't sound like fun.  I've looked at four different weather forecasts, and all four have different predictions for the weekend.  I'm going with the one that says "cloudy with a bit of rain".  I like that better than the one that says 70% chance of rain.
I hope you'll visit Glenda/Tootsie to see what she and other gardeners are sharing today for Fertilizer Friday.
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

First batch of the year!

No, it's not brownies that I'm making, it's winter sowing!  This is my third year winter sowing and it has probably been my most successful form of seed starting.   I had never heard of winter sowing until I came across it on a forum on Garden Web a few years ago.  Now I can't imagine not doing it.  The prep work can be a little messy to do indoors if you're like me and are wimpy about doing this outside in the cold weather.  The first year I tried it in the kitchen I made a huge mess, last winter was so mild I was able to do it outside.  This year it's freezing out complete with snow flurries.

You can use many types of containers, if you click on the winter sowing forum you'll find all types of ideas for what you can use.  I found that foil pans are fairly cheap and reusable and take up little storage space.  I learned a few tricks to prevent the mess I made the first time.  I lined a couple of large cookie sheets with paper towels to absorb the muddy water that leaks through the bottom of the pans.

Probably most people would use a bucket full of potting soil and a shovel to mix the water in with rather than a large mixing bowl and spoon, but since all that stuff was outside and covered in dirt I used what I could find inside, besides isn't this a better use?  Maybe that's because I'm not much of a cook?

There are holes punched through the bottoms of all these pans so that the muddy soil can drain.  I fill them just about to the top, the soil is pretty wet.

Because I don't need huge amounts of plants I use half a pan for each type of seed.  This year rather than trying to use tape to write names on each pan I just numbered the sides and lids and wrote the name of the seed on a piece of paper.  I try to be sure to put seeds that will have different looking leaves from the one they share the pan with so I can tell which is which later on.  The Columbine seeds are from Alison at Bonney Lassie and the Brunnera are from Lona at A Hocking Hills Garden.

I just sprinkle the seeds right on top, maybe pat them down just a little.

The plastic lids have holes punched in so that rain can moisten the soil.  They will sit on the deck for the rest of winter and be transplanted after the last chance of frost.  Some seeds germinate quickly while others seem like they never will and then surprise me right after I threaten them with the compost bin.

I will do more winter sowing in a few weeks and wait even longer to winter sow annuals since most of them seem to sprout quickly.  There is a Facebook page for the winter sowers group that also has lots of information on it.  

It feels so good to have started the first seeds of the season.  Now I look forward to seeing blooms!

So far so good...

My second year of winter sowing is going great so far. I've started many more things than I did last year. Someone asked, "Where are you going to put these all?" I haven't quite figured that out. Hopefully my friends and family will want some plants.

First I wanted to show how the double Hellebore is looking so far. I'm waiting to plant it until the first bud finishes opening so I can get a good picture. The area it's going to is pretty shady and a difficult one to get good lighting.

Hellebore 'Mardi Gras Double' is taking her sweet time, but I'm really excited about how it looks so far.

The winter sowing containers soaking up the sun on the deck. Most of the larger ones have two different types of seeds. I've still got more to start, mainly annuals.

Nigella 'African Bride' and Canterbury Bells 'Cup and Saucer Mix' seedlings

So far these have sprouted:
Hollyhocks
Bush Morning Glory
Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy' (yeah, my first try saving seeds from it)
Cleome (one so far)
Nigella 'African Bride'
Canterbury Bells 'Cup and Saucer Mix'

I also plan direct sow Poppy seeds in the next week, I've got 4 kinds to try this year. Last year when I was given my first Poppy seeds I was told to sow them outdoors in February. Surprisingly it worked even with all the cold and snow that we were still having. That same person told me to throw the Larkspur seeds out at the same time.

The garden didn't go on vacation.

The first thing I usually do when we've been gone is to see how things are looking in the backyard. It's surprising what changes can take place in 4 or 5 days. We were lucky to come home to some mild temperatures and even a peek of the sun. While we were gone though I heard we had some strong winds and quite a bit of rain which made me more anxious to see how things were looking outside. I'm always a little worried that a tree or fence may have blown over or that a raccoon has punctured a hole in the pond liner and it will be empty. Luckily aside from a few small things blowing off our deck everything looked good.

The first thing I noticed on my way outside was that the Amaryllis 'Piquant' bloomed. There are 4 lightly scented flowers on the stalk. What a nice way to be greeted.

I found Primroses blooming in Sweet Pea's garden. She planted these all last winter and even in all the shade they're in, they have quite a few flowers.

The heavenly scent of the Sarcococca ruscifolia carried across the yard, it took me a minute to realize what I was smelling. When we left they had just started to bloom and the scent wasn't that strong.

Even more exciting are that the Hellebores 'Royal Heritage' are blooming! Isn't it beautiful?

Another 'Royal Heritage'. I found these a few years ago at a grocery store and found 3 plants inside the one gallon container. The third one hasn't bloomed yet this year.

One more Primrose along the path is getting ready to bloom. I'd seen Primroses at the store recently but thought it was too early to plant them. I guess if the Primroses in my yard are already blooming it might not be too early to add some new ones.

While outside I thought I'd see if anything was happening with the winter sowing I had started a week earlier. I was very surprised to see that the Dwarf Morning Glory from Lona had already sprouted!
I'm sure glad that while we were gone enjoying ourselves the garden didn't take a break.

A little seedy around here.

This is the weekend it got a little seedy around here. I had started organizing all the seeds I've collected over the past few months from trades or gifts from other bloggers. I also put in my first seed order and bought a few at the nursery. I just couldn't help myself!
The seed order was put in to Select Seeds. I haven't used them before, but had read good things about them. I also liked that a lot of their seeds are Heirloom varieties.
These are what I ordered:
Sweet Pea 'Chatsworth' - "frilly pale lavender flowers"
Tobacco (Nicotiana alata) 'Lime Green' - "Lightly scented green trumpet-shaped flowers"
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) 'Emperor William' - "Lapis blue single flowers... an heirloom variety referenced in many an early seed list"
Cosmos 'Rose Bonbon' - "a showy new double Cosmos from the Double Click series"
Poppy (Papaver somniferum) 'Imperial Pink' - "Pure pink petals with pale lavender marks near the center of the flower"
Primrose (Primula veris) Cowslip - "fragrant, tiny nodding yellow flowers bloom early in Spring... Listed in an 1827 seed catalog"

Next came the Winter sowing which was first tried last year with great results. I follow the directions on wintersown.org, very easy and fun to do. You can also now follow wintersown.org on Twitter and Facebook. Sweet Pea and the Littlest Gardener helped me with them. This year we put them together outside instead of the kitchen counter, much less messy that way!

We will be putting together more as the Winter progresses, there are some things such as Cosmos that need to be started closer to Spring. Today we had beautiful weather, perfect for getting outside and playing in the dirt.

What we started so far (most of these were from other bloggers or seeds we saved from our own flowers):
Pink swamp Milkweed
Dwarf Morning Glory
Rose Pink Nicotiana
Cleome 'Rose Queen'
Nigella 'African Bride'
Canterbury Bells 'Cup & Saucer Mix'
Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy'
Tall maroon Hollyhocks
Red Salvia
Milkweed
Verbascum

These are Cosmos I started last year with Winter sowing. I've never had them get as gigantic as they did last year.

Larkspur that was started with Winter sowing last year.

The lavender flower in front is the Veronica 'Lilac Fantasy'. I've never tried these from seed before and so this year will be my experiment. If they do well I'll save lots of seeds to share.

Finally while out looking at the seed racks I picked up a few more seed packets:
Sweet Pea 'April in Paris' - "perfect match of intoxicating fragrance, lovely form and captivating color with the most intense perfume of any sweet pea I've ever grown... large ruffled blossoms are a soft primrose cream, tinted at the edges in dark lilac that deepens and increases with age."
Sweet Pea 'Heirloom Cupid' - "short vines grow 8 to 10 inches tall"
Amaranthus / Love -Lies-Bleeding - "brilliant red seed heads dangle from the tops of bold plants... 3 - 5 feet tall"

Where all these will go is a good question, because in addition to these I still have many more seeds that can't be sown for awhile, not to mention I know I will see more I "need" at the nursery. It was so fun getting ready for Spring by starting some seeds.

Seedlings galore!

I know compared to some people the amount of seedlings I'm seeing isn't that much, but for me it's a lot!   Have you seen the seedlings that Anna of Flowergardengirl has?  How about Tessa at Blunders with shoots, blossoms 'n roots, or Tom of Seventh Street Cottage?  Now they have a lot of seedlings!

I have been regularly checking on my seeds and anxiously awaiting sprouts that seemed to be taking a long time to show up.  Well, I finally see green.  

Winter sown  Nicotiana x sanderae 'Sensation Blend' and Lobelia 'Cambridge Blue' planted March 8th. 

Winter sown Nicotiana sylvestris 'Indian Peace Pipe' also planted March 8th.

Winter sown Aquilegia 'Yellow Spotlight'  Hard to see I know, but there are quite a few there. Started January 29th.

The winter sown hollyhocks, cosmos and two types of larkspur continue to look good.  I'm wondering when it will be time to plant them in the ground.

Finally a Sweet Pea.  I've planted them two times already, now that I see one I think more should be showing up soon.  

Sugar snap peas are starting, so are the bush peas.

Baby Carrot 'Little Finger'.  'Purple Haze' is taking it's time.

Heirloom Lettuce 'Merveille de Quatre Saisons' that I won from Garden Girl is sprouting too.

We also have Romaine and 'Buttercrunch' lettuce growing.  The red onions are looking good also.

Here is my 'Great Wall of China' tomato thanks to Matron.  One of the four seeds germinated, but that's better than none!

Doesn't this look like I took it in for a fancy portrait sitting?

Finally my biggest seedlings just keep getting bigger.  Soon they will probably have to be moved up to another pot.  Tomato 'Brandywine'

The other seeds I started indoors are all doing great too.  The zucchini is huge and I can't pull the flowers off fast enough.  The basil is quite tall as well.

I see flowers and vegetables in my future!

Snowy day in March, perfect for winter sowing.

Another day of snow, in March, in the Seattle area. I guess that makes it a perfect day for winter sowing.

I thought I'd start some more seeds yesterday. I'm still learning a lot about it and having a fun time watching what grows outside in my lasagna pans.

The seeds I started yesterday were:

Cosmos 'Sensation Mix', I usually direct sow them, but saw them on the WinterSown.Org list and thought I'd try.

Nicotiana x sanderae 'Sensation Blend' I saved some seeds to try indoors as well.

Lobelia erinus 'Cambridge Blue' They have a very long germination time, 8 to 10 weeks.

The fact that I'll only be out about $6 if the seeds don't germinate makes it worth trying for me.

Here is something I was very happy to see, both of my winter sown larkspurs finally sprouted. I started these January 29th, and on March 8th I finally saw these little green seedlings. I had almost given up on seeing any. Thanks to the many garden bloggers who encouraged me to wait a little longer, I didn't dump them out like I had planned to do.

The larkspurs are 'Shades of Blue' and 'Sydney Blue Picotee'.

About a week and a half ago I also started nicotiana sylvestris 'Indian Peace Pipe'. If I have good success this time I'm going to try a lot more next year.

Now I hope it isn't too cold for the seeds I just planted. Here they are this morning.

As I write this post it's snowing again. The weather report says the high today will be 38 and the low in the 20's. I guess winter is not ready to give in to spring yet.

Winter Sowing, my first attempt.

I remember reading about winter sowing last year, and decided I'd try it this year. While at a nursery a couple of days ago I asked several people working there if they knew anything about it. They had no idea what I was talking about. So, I found two great sites with lots of information. The first one is the Winter Sowing forum on Garden Web. There were lots of very helpful people there that answered my questions.

I also found another great site Winter Sown.org. The directions seem pretty clear and simple. I have plenty of seeds as I mentioned in my previous post, might as well try it. I'm in zone 7 (or 8) depending on what chart you look at. According to the replies to my post on the winter sowing post I can start hollyhocks and larkspur now. I'm going to try columbine too, just to see what happens.

A few of my supplies: seed starting soil, covered foil pan, seeds and water.

They really were easy to do. A bit messy, I probably wouldn't do it on my kitchen counter next time. I went a little crazy with the water and it overflowed everywhere. Oh, well.

Here are the finished products. Hopefully squirrels or raccoons won't make a mess out of them. I'm going to try to do a few more in March. I'll update on here occasionally to show if anything happens. Hopefully something will.

If anyone else has had good results or experiences with winter sowing I'd love to hear any advice you might have.