For me, the last 3 years I sowed lots of perennials, put them in 2 beds that were full last year so I will divide and move around this season.
I have listed what perennials I have, and very soon will be sitting down to plan what divisions will go where. Still, I have a few other perennials I want and will be Wsing those.
Last season, I let the perennials do the bulk of the color. Although that was OK, I really missed my zillions of annual cut flowers so, back to late Ws or SpringSowing for those this year. Adding annuals while the perennials grow up really adds color also.

If you kept a journal of what you planted, maybe you could look up the sun/soil requirements, height/color/bloom time for you perennials, what space you have and go from there.

I like fairly large specimen plants, so sometimes I move the entire plant, then a may plant a baby perennial in the space with an annual for color till that one grows up

Haha. I resolve to keep a journal every year. Sigh.

Well, I'll sow some annuals around what returns and in place of what goes kaput. :)

Bachelor's buttons and poppies for sure. Maybe some cosmos if the gap is big enough.

I think you have a lot more restraint than the rest of us! You're actually going to wait to see the babies mature before you grow more!

Wouldn't it be great to have a "pot condo" like Donn's, so we basically have our own nursery to pick from as we plant a new bed? Instead I have the babies planted into regular garden beds, and have to sort of run around the garden to decide who should be moved where. (I did try to have a plan of what to plant where. That got thrown out the window when I got a few hundred free plants last year)

I really am running out of lawn, but there are so many plants I read about that say "grow me! Grow me NOW!" I am pretending that I'll start culling the more disappointing plants in my yard, that way I can allow myself to continue starting seeds.

The seeds are calling me...

Looking through old threads I see that you ws many many perennials last year. If the plants you have growing are enough for you to work with this year then there is no need to ws more just to ws. I encourage you to do what you are comfortable doing. This is supposed to be fun. Though I spend hours and hours in my gardens each day and work hard it is fun for me.

Some of my perennials go into the regular beds if I know what/where I want them. For others I use my holding beds like Donn's "pot condo" letting the perennials grow anywhere from a season to two years. Then I decide where to plant them in my regular beds.

Because perennials take 2-3 years to bloom and mature I like to start new ones every year. There are so many varieties to try.

I have three holding beds full of perennials and will only ws a few new perennials and some annuals this year as I concentrate on reworking my other beds and making new beds. Some of those will go in the beds, others will go to family and friends or sold or composted or left to grow on another year.

I also put some annuals in the holding beds if I am unfamiliar with them or am not sure if I would like their form or their bloom.

What is Donns"pot condo"?
Carol

Donn made a shelving unit to hold some of his pots as they grew on. It was very nicely made.

It has wire shelves so everything gets some sun, and is right on the water's edge (on a boardwalk) so it even gets reflection. He uses an automatic watering system with tubing and emitters to water the plants. It's slick.

Clumsygrdner, I agree with MNwsgal that you should sow whatever amount you're comfortable with. This will be different for each gardener, depending on space, life circumstances, etc. Perhaps you could sow a few new types of annuals this year? That would give you instant gratification of new blooms, without having to come up with the designated space for perennials in your garden beds.

I winter-sowed lots of perennials last year too and plan to start lots more new ones this year! Plus 10 or 12 new annuals and biennials. Can't help it, there are too many interesting plants to grow and it's incredible fun. There isn't much else I'd rather be doing in the whole world than be in the garden. At times the abundance of WS seedlings was a little overwhelming, but it's still a fun overwhelming! :)

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Last year I did tomatoes and some alyssums--my garden is loaded and I have to rip out a lot of beds and thin other stuff. This year it's probably going to be the same.

WSing isn't about doing hundred of containers unless you want to. WSing is about doing it YOUR way and if your way is a handful of containers I think that's great.

T