Daniellalell, It looks like you've just discovered our Forum, and if that is the case, a big Welcome! I also need to warn you that you are about to embark on a wondrous adventure of year round gardening which will drive your family and friends to think you are a certified wacko gardener... You will experience pure joy in the coming months if you participate in this thing called winter sowing. (Some folks at this time would write 'but I digress', yet I will not since I have never digressed at the thought of filling gardens with all the plants I want. I garden in a similar zone as yours and start winter sowing in the deep cold of February - also know as Valentine's Day. Only once in five years have I lost a couple of containers to a deep cold frost and these were tender annuals which were sown too early. You see, we start with perennials, then we move on to biennials, half hardy perennials, then it's the reseeding or 'tough' annuals, and then as the season winds down, we sow our tender annuals. I have also learned in the last few years that most seeds which germinate early are tough and will make it through. I've had Bachelor Button Sprouts covered with 1.5 inches of ice pellets and after the ice thawed, they were still there growing as strong as could be! I've posted a link to the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) page so you can peruse and read at your leisure. Do read them, and then come back and we will answer any question you have. Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Sowing FAQs

I first learned about astrological gardening back in the early 1970s from author Louise Riotte, who was a ghost writer for Organic Gardening. At that time, I was living in Louisiana. She also was the author of many original book publications. In the back of her early books and original publications, there was a section with her home address and phone number. She welcomed letters and phone calls and loved to talk "gardening". I learned much from her back then and I still reference her books. She was such a darling old lady - home-grown and plain spoken. She was such a character - she almost always had her hair done up in pin-curls and even posted her photo in some of her publications with her hair like that. :) Astrological Gardening: The Ancient Wisdom of Successful Planting & Harvesting by the Stars - Astrological gardening has been practiced for centuries, and author Louise Riotte's 40 years of planetary planting have confirmed its usefulness. She identifies ideal astrological conditions for planting and harvesting a wide range of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Here is some information I found about her on the web: Astrological gardening has been practiced for centuries, and author Louise Riotte's 40 years of planetary planting have confirmed its usefulness. She identifies ideal astrological conditions for planting and harvesting a wide range of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Author Biography: Beloved Storey author and life-long gardener Louise Riotte passed away in 1998 at the age of 89. She wrote 12 books on gardening, companion planting, and garden lore, among them the ever-popular Carrots Love Tomatoes, which has sold approximately 515,000 copies. Her father taught her to believe in and practice astrology, while her mother was a practicing herbalist. Together they inevitably influenced her life and her books, Roses Love Garlic, Astrological Gardening, Sleeping with a Sunflower, Catfish Ponds & Lily Pads, and her most recent book, Raising Animals by the Moon. Her own line drawings are included in all her books. Before authoring books, Riotte was a ghost writer for Simon & Schuster and for Jerry Baker's radio gardening show, and she wrote a number of articles for Organic Gardening as well. Riotte took pride in her garden near her home in Ardmore, Oklahoma, which her son Eugene helped care for in her later years. She also wrote: The Complete Guide to Growing Berries and Grapes; Success with Small Food Gardens; Grow the Best Grapes Grow the Best Strawberries: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-190 Planetary Gardening: A Guide to Organic Gardening by the Signs of the Zodiac and probably more that I don't even know about. Below is a LINK to a website that pays Tribute to Louise. I hope you will buy her books and treasure them as much as I do mine. ~Annie Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening by Astrology

Bronze Fennel n the back for color, texture, butterflies and can be direct sown. Dill and Parsley also have that umbrel type flower that attracts beneficial insects. Parsley is Biennial but starts easily from seed with patience, you just have to wait until the second year for bloom. I planted seed every year for awhile, so I always have some seedlings getting ready for the next year and bloom for that year. I use mine mid border. Try wintersowing Hollyhocks when your house is finished. I gave up on Hollyhocks due to rust. Maybe you'll have better luck. They are gorgeous. Delphiniums are a great cottage garden plant, but not easy to start from seed and germination is low. The newer Millennium varieties are the best, and if you find seedlings for sale somewhere, you would probably be better off. I am talking about the perennial. Not sure if there is an annual? I grow my 4 oclocks in pots rather than the ground because they produce tubers that can keep coming back and I'm overly cautious about anything that can become a pest. They are very fragrant but open around dinner time not during the day. On a warm summer night the fragrance can really travel. I wouldn't be without them. Calendula is very easy and good for front of border. And easy to save the seed from year to year. Cosmos 'Double Click', I had this briefly, but it didn't stay upright Other single cosmos are great and do reseed in a mannerly way. I found that once I planted them, I was never without them again without any need for me to start more. Love Verbascum, but have not tried to grow hybrids from seed. It can be front of the border or mid border Achillea will spread a lot and quickly. Echinacea is a wonderful perennial addition and some varieties will reseed for you once established. I have a lot of seedlings this year. Some people find Verbena bonariensis a pest eventually. I have been growing it for about 3 years and this year I am starting to see it pops up in a lot of area that requires my attention. Still liking it though. Columbines are very easy but they reseed a little too vigorously for me. I still like them, but I deadhead carefully now. Dianthus is easy from seed, but I have only winter sown them not direct sown. I think they may need a cold period? They are a nice cottage garden plant for the front of the border and will give a good period of bloom if you don't mind deadheading them. They are another plant whose seed are very easy to save and start for year to year. Wintersowing them is as easy as it gets. There are perennial and annual versions. Some are fragrant. Four years, your Butterfly Bush should be performing well. Is it growing in full sun?

you might need to ask you COUNTY extension office ... a local high end nursery ... or a local garden club... to get the very specific answer you are wanting ... as to what the last frost.freeze date .. if not ... plant in waves .. and take notes ... plant a line of then MAYBE 5/8 .. then a second row a week later.. etc ... the key is to look up time of germination ... and germination temps ... and subtract that from last frost date ... dont confuse air temp frost.. with soil temps ... nor with a freeze ... seeds in the ground usually arent affected unless its a very deep freeze .... but once they sprout ... air temps can cause severe damage ... once they sprout.. and get to the first true leaf.. you can use a tablespoon to move them around.. if you wish ... as i am suggestion a nursery bed of sorts ... and then.. after doing this.. if you still have seeds left over.. just throw them around will nilly ... ken