heartzlink , I did nothing special at all. All of the info I am using to start out with is all on wintersow.org+ what others have so generously shared with me on their own experiences. I just took all the info and broke it into a seperate excel sheet for each month. For zone 7, here is the link. For zone 5 I copied all of this, deleted anything that did not germinate, ordered it but month sowed, seperated it into excel sheets on germination start month. No creativity here. Just cut and paste :) This is my first year wintersowing and I was feeling the newbie nerves. This just helped me feel confident on where to start. http://wintersown.org/wseo1/WS_Database_Z7.html I hope that helps. For anyone else in Zone 5. It was a bit of work so I would be more than happy to just send you a copy if you want it. I hope by next year- I will have an expanded detailed sheet.

Right now, just one. Sanguisorba menzii, think it's also called Japanese bottle brush. Of course the prettiest one I saw on the perennials forum when a guy from Canada posted a photo. His are more cherry colored. Some I've seen are more of a light pink. I saw a vendor but they were short and stubby and more of a rust color compared to his. Oh, of course, tiffy has a much prettier blue poppy than I WS'ed, am thankful that she called it to my attention, meconopsis Lingholm. Some people are such a great help just with info here. Sure I found some vendors but I'm done for this year, got my cc bill today, doesn't take long even with little things. I guess they don't have a wanted list. One I want but really can't have is a particular weeping birch that grows north of Vancouver, BC. It's not quite the same as European birch. Anyway, since those BUGS have arrived on the scene and like birches so well, it's best I don't have one. How I wish I had more room for trees. I'll think of more things for sure when I see them on GW and remember other beauties I've seen, don't have to have them all. I bought most of what I wanted this year, but I know there are some I've forgotten or were out. Saw a beautiful astilbe at Wild's, think it's milk and honey, really fluffy, dreamy pink, and a white one to match, meant to call today and change my order. Believe you me, I am very grateful and fortunate to get some black raspberries and currants, hope they germinate and hope I can make room for them. They sent me generous amounts and really a nicer variety than if I had ordered plants like I was thinking about. What are you looking for? I can at least keep my eyes out for you.

It depends upon how much time you have to care for seedlings before they are tranplanted into permanent spots in the garden. If you are growing garden annuals that you want blooming as soon as they go into the ground they need to be started indoors several weeks ahead of your planting date. Seed packets will offer germination information to guide you...keep in mind that the information on the back of the packet is based upon ideal circumstances. Most garden perennials do not bloom their first year from seed so they can be started anytime. Starting indoors will require care to prevent damp-off and repotting if felt necessary. Outdoor germination you will need to protect the soil from desiccation by wind and sun, the seedlings should also be protected from slugs or snails, if a hail storm is coming you can help protect young direct-sown seedlings by turning an old laundry basket over them for the duration of the storm. Direct-sown seedlings are often a tasty treat for birds and bunnies. A scarecrow and fencing can help protect the seedlings from critter damage, however a starving animal will ignore devices used to deter or scare them away. Vegetable packets offer a "days to maturity" guideline to suggest when to sow your seeds. Those days are generally based upon how long it takes to grow the first ripe produce after a seedling is about four inches high, those dates are not indicative of how many days needed to produce ripe fruit after germination. Germination requirements can vary from species to species, though some plant families may have similar requirements. If you have no seed packet to read for germination requirements then you can look up the information on the internet by typing in the plant name + germination. The information may also be found in books at the library. Winter Sowing, done outdoors, goes on all throughout winter. See the Winter Sowing Forum FAQs for information. There is also forum with FAQs for Starting Seeds Under Lights.

Tall fescue will be ok in the shade as long as you keep it cut high (4 inches) so that it can hVe a better chance of absorbing as much sunlight as possible. It won't thrive with just 3-4 hours of sunlight (nothing will) but it will be OK. Don't seed as heavily in those areas to lower the competition for sunlight. The shaded spots in my TTTF lawn are the best performing areas of the lawn due to the shade blocking the heat during the summer. (I'm in the transition zone...) Also think about how shade/sunlight exposure changes during the year...In the fall/winter, the days are shorter so there isn't as much sunlight...but the shadier spots in my lawn end up getting more sunlight in fall/winter/early spring than they do in the summer because the leaves have fallen off the trees. TTTF in the shade is one thing... but TTTF in the shade with poor air circulation is another. Watch out for disease.