You might be very surprised at what you can accomplish. Back in the fall, I sowed some perennial Rudbeckia seeds in one gallon pots and set them out on the deck. I have done absolutely nothing to them all winter except throw a little water their way when I think about it, which isn't even once a week. They are up and growing, and it didn't take them very long either. I know I am farther south than you, so if you're skeptical of my way, check out the winter sowing forum (as suggested above). If they can do it, you certainly should be able to. Just ask each child to bring a container of potting soil (and have a few extras on hand, just in case). Let them sow their seeds and put them outside. I should think they would be thrilled to death. The FAQs on the forum list lots of plants that are easy to start that way. Oh yeah, I have sowed baptisia seeds in the same way as the Rudbeckia and they came up too. Since you have frost into May, you should have enough cold ahead to provide scarification times. I have also had great luck with balloon flowers (which are very cool plants for kids), iberis, and coneflowers. All three germinate quickly and easily and bloom their first year from seed. Oh! And one more idea. I have 200 baby roses growing out on my back porch that will be our church's gifts to all ladies on Mothers day this year. I figure I have less than thirty CENTS in each one. I went to Wal Mart and got pink, 16 oz. plastic drinking cups. Used a drill to put drainage holes in the bottom. (You can do a big stack of cups at one time.) Filled them with potting soil, and stuck rose cuttings in them when I pruned my roses. I then put them in rubbermaid clear plastic containers (which I use for cuttings and seeds all year long) and stacked them out on my back porch. It looks like 85 to 90 percent of them have rooted. Start with antique roses. I did Nearly Wild this year, (pink blooms in pink cups) but many others would do very well. The poster above me suggested some other plants you could try too. I'm middle-aged, and still am wowed by the miracle of cuttings.

siichan - thanks! It was 55 here today with the most gorgeous, warm sunshine and a lovely breeze. The forecast calls for more of the same the next 4 or 5 days so my guess is there will be sprouts in some of my containers very soon. I have a mix of gallon and half-gallon milk jugs, some of which contain lupine and iberis/candytuft seeds. Which type of containers did you WS that have sprouted? Are your containers getting a lot of sun? I put mine in as much shade as possible to protect them from the harsh sun when the seedlings are too tiny to survive it. Did you do the happy sprout dance? Lots of folks will appreciate it if you post sprout photos. We all need to see green growing things this time of year!!

The best thing is that hopefully you are instilling a love of gardening in them! I say hopefully because my kids were interested when they were little, and couldn't care less now, lol. But I hope that they will come back to it later in life. Yes, funny how things take so much longer with all that "help", huh? :) And I bet they will want to check those containers every day. I know I do, lol! Dee

Tom, Welcome to the Wintersowing forum. If you plan to try wintersowing(WS for short so you'll know what I'm talking about.) Start collecting your milk jugs now , if you have room to store them. There's just my husband and I and we're not big milk drinkers(only for cooking and using on cereal and coffee)so we only use 1/2 gal. sizes of any beverage. That worked fine for my use but I have a neighbor that uses a gal. of milk each week and started saving them for me. Also another neighbor told me to take them out of their recycle bin in the morning of pickup if I saw them in there and that's what I've been doing. I have set myself a goal of 20 this year to WS..as my flowerbeds are getting pretty full. This year I'm only going to do a few perennials, which will be shasta daisies, and the rest will be annuals. Go to a thrift store and buy a mini blind..doesn't matter what size. Bring it home, cut the string that holds the slats and the slats will fall out. You can make a lot of plant markers out of one blind. I was able to buy a brand new in the original box at a thrift store for only $3 and it has served me for 2 yrs. I will reuse some of the ones I have saved but will buy another for this year. Cut them into 5 or 6 in. lengths. Make a point at the end that goes into the potting mix. Buy yourself a paint pen from craft store..Deco is a really good brand. Some gardeners swear by using a #2 pencil..it works for them, but I prefer the paint pen as my eyes can read it better. Do you know how to make up a spreadsheet by computer? I don't so I make mine the old fashion way with lined paper and a ruler. Hey, it works the same way. I also bought some of these milk crates at thrift store. You can buy some at places like Target, Kmart, CVS, Staples and Office Depot too. Some college kids use them for book storage, etc. I paid $1.91 for each of mine. One I paid $1..one of those milk crates will fit 4 (1 gal. each milk jugs into it. If you plant into 1/2 gal, jugs, it will fit at least 8 in it. If you buy them new at some of the stores I mention, they may be about $5 or $6..check out the thrift stores in your area..like Goodwill or Salvation Army. They also come in handy for other things when WS season is over. Besides what you collect from your own flowers, start ordering some of your seeds now. I discovered Crosman Seeds in Rochester, NY. They sell the old fashion seeds for 1950 prices. T's Flowers and Things is another place that you can purchase seeds at a great price. Teresa, the owner has her own website and it will tell how many seeds she puts into her packs. I will be ordering from her again. The Sample Seed Shop is another good source for seeds. The owner Remy often post on the wintersowing or cottage gardening forums. Both sources give fast delivery and reasonable prices with quality seeds. I think Remy has her own gardening radio show or participates in a gardening show. Both will answer questions and are very good to deal with. There are a lot of other reliable seed sources..it all depends on what seeds you want to try and how much you are willing to pay for them. You will start seeing flower and garden seeds in the stores after they have put away the Christmas stuff. Buying locally will save yourself shipping cost. I find the three I mention keep the shipping cost low as they can. Bakemom offers FREE seeds to Newbies so when you see her posted message than you can send for some from her. Also Trudi that started Wintersowing.org website offers free seeds. Other will offer Free seeds for cost of postage, others like to trade seeds via mail. It's fun to participate in the wintersowing swap we have each year. Details will be on Wintersowing forum when it has begun. Make yourself a wish list of seeds you are looking for and if you have any to offer for trade, post that here too. It's fun and you'll correspond with the nicest people. Gardeners are great people. Don't be afraid to ask questions because there are many wintersowing gardeners who can answer your questions. My first year of WS was in 2009 and although I considered myself an experienced gardener but I had always gone to the garden center/nurseries and spent hundreds of $ on starter plants, mostly annuals for the instant color they provided. WS teaches you a lot of things and it is so satisfying when you start seeing germination in the milk jugs. Many experienced wintersowers held my hand that first year from afar and I was so greatful. Welcome aboard and Good Luck with your WS project.