What i meant by waiting longer to see sprouts was that they'll come up when the conditions are right, regardless of when you sow. So if you put them out now you'll have longer to wait than if you put them out in Feb. or March. And it's fine to do your sowing now. The only danger is a warm spell that has things sprouting too early then getting zapped when cold weather returns. Doesn't seem like much of a danger this winter, at least in my part of the country. We've had four snow events since the beginning of Dec. already. Caryl

Good morning Annette ~ I planted some seeds this past fall/winter and have had success. I'm still planting seeds and enjoy it very much. It is so exciting to see them sprout and grow, then bloom. The price of so many things has sky rocketed that it makes you stop and think about how much is too much and that goes with 'buying' more plants. Like Diana I plan to stop collecting and enjoy what I can grow here. Plants can become an addiction like anything else. : -) I have done some plant trades and that is fun, and of course the seed swap was a real blast. I am getting some favorite roses of mine going with cuttings from shrubs I already have. We just can't help but to love new and different. All the colors, scents, shapes. Sometimes though we just have to know when to say enough is enough. Hopefully I can keep to that. On our 1/4 acre I've got plenty to keep me busy and make me happy. Do check out the winter sowing forum, there are a lot of happy growers there. It's something for you to read up on during the summer and look forward to trying next winter. Have fun and enjoy your gardens whatever the time of year. Yours always sound beautiful. Hugs ~ FlowerLady

No, I just "converse" via the forum. Perhaps so, but I was a bit upset when she was kind of chiding us the other day for discussing changes in the zoning map, etc. People are concerned and I think it IS an appropriate place to discuss those concerns. What and where else? I felt like she was being a bit "controlling"? I really would like to see Paul James take her on his show, though. Poor Annie. You need to get some big strong help like I'm going to do. I just can't do that heavy stuff anymore. Plus, I have a disease called alacka. I lack the talent to work with fencing, posts, hammers, nails, boards, etc. Do you know that I saw Ralph Waldo Emerson's house in Massachusetts near Concord? And his garden? I went to see a lot of the writer's homes - Thoreau, Longfellow, Louisa Mae Alcott, Dickinson, etc. It is so beautiful there in the spring. Also saw Walden's Pond. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Gardens and flowers and trees are just stunning up there. They can grow hydrangeas much better than I. The Cape is lovely - we had breakfast at a little coastal breakfast inn - blueberry scones! Saw the sun set on Race Point (furthest point you can go on the Cape). Ferried over to both islands. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Saw the famous Merrimack, House of Seven Gables, Salem, North Church, loved Boston, seafood (can't eat it here anymore), great great great. I was lucky. I got to go with my job, so all expenses paid. Otherwise, I would never have had the opportunity. Winter is like Currier & Ives. But long, very, very long. Roads are never a problem there, though. Susan

Anise Hyssop White Horehound Valerian Pretty Bonnets Echinacea-White Swan Filipendula ulmaria (meadowsweet) Geranium Pratense Geranium Mrs. Kendall Clark Heliopsis Hosta-New American Hybrids Mix Primula Mix Verbascum mix Viola Penny Lane Mixture Alpine Strawberries Ruegen BERGENIA, HEART-LEAF-NEW HYBRIDS MIX CORAL BELLS, NEWEST HYBRIDS CHRISTMAS ROSE (warm cold warm cyler) PRIMROSE, RONSDORF HYBRIDS DRUMSTICK Actaea pachypoda (Doll's Eyes) (warm cold warm) Allium cernuum (Nodding Onion) Allium tricoccum (Wild Leek, Ramps) (multicycler) Anemonella (Thalictrum) thalictroides (Rue Anemone) Antennaria microphylla (rosea) (Pussytoes) Aruncus dioicus (Goatsbeard) Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead) Chelone lyonii (Pink Turtlehead) Cimicifuga (Actaea) racemosa (Black Cohosh) (warm cold warm) Claytonia virginica (Virginia Spring Beauty) Darmera peltata (Umbrella Plant) Dicentra eximia (Wild Bleeding Heart) (warm cold warm) Gentiana clausa (Closed Gentian) Geranium maculatum (Wild Geranium) Hydrastis canadensis (Goldenseal) Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) Lobelia siphilitica (Great Lobelia) Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells) Passiflora incarnata (passionflower) Rhexia virginica (Meadow Beauty) Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot) (multi-cycler) Stylophorum diphyllum (Celandine Poppy) Thermopsis caroliniana (Carolina Lupine) Trillium cuneatum (Whippoorwill Flower) (multicycler) Trillium grandiflorum (Showy Trillium) (multicycler) Trollius laxus ssp. laxus (Spreading Globeflower) Viola labradorica ( Labrador Violet) Xerophyllum asphodeloides (Turkeybeard) oh also self gathered: Agrimonia eupatoria (agrimony) Aster (Symphyotrichum) cordifolius (Blue Wood Aster) (I think) solidago (?) - blue stemmed goldenrod Yellow flag Iris Helianthus giganteus (Swamp Sunflower) (again, not positive ID, wild gathered seed) Peony Phlox panticula Verbascum - "wild" (naturalized alien I think) moth mullein White snakeroot wild strain black eyed susans lots and lots of triploid daylilies (from a friend) The warm cold warm cycle plants got about six weeks warm and six weeks cold (should be three months of each) because the seeds were not available soon enough for full cycles-they are in biodegradable containers and will be sunk into the ground to recycle if no germination. The species marked "multicyclers" need two cycles of cold to germinate. They were planted this winter but will be sunk into the ground to overwinter next winter. Any seeds that were not stratified due to expert directions or that had disagreement (the cardinal flower, the Huechera, etc.) are split between winter sow and spring sow-most will just be sown outdoors when it is warm enough. so that makes about 58 species I guess. I'd say for container count multiply it by 3. I have monkshood, astilbe, assorted hostas and ligularia fall sown direct seeding, along with assorted second cycling seeds. I have tarragon and golden hibiscus and two varieties of watermelon under lights indoors, and more passionflower, rosemary, Clethra alnifolia (Summersweet), Hydrangea quercifolia (Oak-leaved Hydrangea),Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel), Rhododendron maximum (Great Laurel) indoors under lights not yet germinated. Also a Mr. Kendall Clark Geranium that germinated too early and was picked out. Discpline is not my strong point. I had other Geranium pratense germinate in January and are big happy babies waiting to go out in the cool air ASAP. They do not appear to like the heat of the house. Thus summarizes my winter garden experience *grin*. I have like thirty tarragon and only want one-left them under lights for trades and something to stare at and harrass. Start looking for recipes that require tarragon. Laurette