Dianthus and Sweet Willam. Always and forever.

Since this is my first year, I can't answer from experience but I'm guessing foxglove too because I want to have it every year and not worry whether or not it self-seeded. Maybe dianthus too, same reason. Some of the perennials I'm WS this year are short lived. I'll have to see which I decide I never want to be without.
Great idea for a thread, tiffy. I hope others chime in so we learn which perennials really need to be sowed every year.

Hellebores (summer or Fall sow or give a warm moist period indoors before I set them out) I've planted hellebores in the gardens of anyone who does not lock their gate when they see me coming.
Meconopsis.
Allium cyaneum (dwarf form).
Chinese mayapple.
Dicentra scandens, and my germination can be hit or miss here, some years I have seedlings and some years I dont.

forget me nots, they are iffy as a perennial here. can't go without those!

Also, always winter sow tons of african daisies. Just love 'em (not perennial of course)
and cosmos, just because they are such a great filler plant in my perennial beds (not perennial either of course)

Gardenweed, not sure we have need, none of those I sow need to be sown, all are reliably perennial...It's just me. I can't seem to let that seed go unharvested, and have to buy new colors hellebores to try.

Is it to late to start foxglove in zone7 ?

I usually buy starter plants but sometimes I will sow some margigolds from seeds. When I buy, it is always petunias and annual geraniums and of course, mums for the Fall

morz8 - use of the word need was probably WS/gardener's lingo for want/lust passionately enough to WS every year.
I'm sorry but I didn't quite grasp that bit about "let that seed go unharvested." What seed? Where? Unharvested? Did I miss any? HOW did I miss them? I tried to get all of them!!! Truly I did! And still have hundreds and hundreds and more and don't know what to do with them. What rational person needs/wants 250 rose of Sharon bushes growing on a single acre?
Oops!! Sorry!! There I go again--I used the word rational on a gardening forum. Rational certainly doesn't apply when one talks winter sowing or gardening now does it? If it did, I wouldn't be wondering what I'll do with (insert current container count) jugs of perennials. (;-p)

I have to second what Morz8 says about not really needing to sow these seeds. In the years that I've sowed the spot in the photo above I've had yellows one year, purples the next, white the following, etc. I never know what I'm going to get since I usually sow an 'unknown foxglove' received in trade. :O)

Shouldn't be too late Hashbrown.

The only seeds so far I've sown every year since I started gardening again are marigolds my daughter bought for me.

tiffy, what is the name of your foxglove? Beautiful!

hashbrown, the only way I have grown foxgloves until winter sowing this year is spring sowing, probably early May here, can't remember. I don't know why you couldn't start them now but I'd be careful they get plenty of ventilation starting this late in your zone.

I've only grown Candy Mountain and a white one, didn't get too many but enough. The ones I succeeded with, I planted in a shallow McD's covered salad tray in shade, when germination started, took the top off right away, moved to half a day of sun or more (there's a certain place I keep them), and kept misted, then transplanted into something bigger and let grow on. Didn't get blooms until the second year, and 2 of the whites have sulked and never bloomed then. They looked bigger and healthier by last fall so we'll see what happens with those, the pink ones I like the best.

Some of you might find this amusing. This foxglove was naughty. I think it was tricked by the light bouncing off the white foundation so opened facing that. When it got taller, blooms moved up, and when it got to the blue shingles, it started blooming the normal way.

I don't bank on mine self seeding, don't know if any did or which ones will come back.

Oh, you don't have to do it my way, just do what feels right for you. Heck, you could probably direct sow by scooping out soil in a small area, filling with potting soil, and cover snugly with a 2-liter bottle (anchor with landscape pins or pieces of bamboo sometimes hard to push down enough), cap off. Rain will make them a little snugger. You can tell when the seeds need water by the moisture in the bottle. If they need water, water over and around it, not directly in the opening; it'll soak in. For insurance, you could try a couple different ways or think of something else.

I think I'll be sowing foxgloves and delphiniums every year, too. The second is my Candy Mountain.

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hollyhocks
dianthus
daisies, daisies and more daisies
black eyed susans
foxgloves

all the usual annuals ......

Lynne

So far my must haves every year are alyssum, dianthus, snapdragons, and lady in red salvia. This year I am branching out and trying so many new things that those might change, but probably not. I will probably just add to the list instead!

I usually grow Morning Glory and Lobelia every year. I have tried a number of different colors of MGs so it has been lots of fun. I grow Lobelia in memory of my DH's mom, it was her favorite flower.

Mary

Hashbrown, not too late to start foxglove. Most don't need any chill even though they do WS well, and those few that do need a chill will benefit from as little as 2-4 weeks of cool nights. I found a half packet of digitalis parviflora this afternoon that I'd forgotten about, sowed them and put them on my deck.

Though I only "discovered" them recently, dianthus is #1 on my list. I grew my first full pots of dianthus about 3 years ago, and I fell in love.

But, if I had the space, foxgloves would be right up there with them.

PV

Delphinium
Larkspur
Sunflower--teddy bear (an annual)
Morning Glory--Heavenly Blue (an annual)

Norabelle

Gazanias, petunias, portulaca, dianthus, zinnias, and marigolds.

Euphorbia,snow on the mountain,always and forever.
Agastache,lots and lots
Morning glories &
Foxglove

cAROL

That is gorgeous, tiffy.
I have not tried growing Foxgloves. I have no room for anything big anymore...and I don't have a lot of shade in the garden. Maybe I should try it next winter.

WSown every year:
-Lobelia & Petunia

WSown every couple years:
-Primula veris
-Marigold
-Prairie Smoke
-Mexican Hats

Direct sown every year:
-Larkspur
-Echinacea
-Forget-me-not
-Dianthus barbatus
-Rudbeckia hirta
-Lychnis
-Poppies
-and everything I have growing in the garden, :-), because I scatter all the extra seeds as they ripen. :-D

cleome - spider flower
gaillardia - blanket flower
zinnia
portulaca - rose moss
echinacea - cone flower
giant cockscomb
bachelor button
")
Not wintersown , but I sure do like my cannas.

In any given year, snapdragons; in most years, mostly everything as what I don't need myself I'll give away.

This year, absolutely everything I can find room outside on the tiny deck for a container for, as I am hoping for a new garden somewhere soon.

Milkweed-the orange one and now a yellow one
echinacea-from my harvest moon

assorted annuals like sulphur cosmos,marigolds,MGs,calendulas,

I want to do more balsam and snapdragons this year

Hey Morz8 my gate is unlocked.....I've had no luck with hellebores!
-B

Drippy, I was waiting for you to chime in with the snaps. :O) I always have a little patch of those in the gardens since you 'introduced' them to me a few years back.

Piti,
I winter sowed your Prairie Smoke yesterday. I really hope they do well here. Such a lovely plant!

I see a few plants repeating themselves on the lists such as Dianthus, Echinaceas, Marigolds, etc. Definitely great winter sowers!

I usually sow a pack of California Poppies, they're just so pretty!

Marigolds, Morning Glories & Nasturtiums. I planted foxglove in 2008 and saved the seed then WS'd it last year, I can't wait to see what comes up this year!

For perennials I seem to sow Lobelia cardinalis, Ligularia, Columbine, Hostas and Heucheras. I just love all of them! Soon I will have them everywhere!
For annuals I sow Snaps, Petunias, marigolds, and Larkspur.

Rhonda

Heavenly blue morning glories, foxgloves and at least two kinds of basils are essentials for me every year. After that, as the fancy takes me, catelogs tempt me or seeds come in trade and bonus.

KimKa

Consistly WSown in the last 3 years:

Poppies - cause I love them
Heuruchera - cause they WS easily and the plants are so expensive
delph - cause I just keep trying. They rarely bloom or if they do they don't make it to a second/third season
Silene - cause it is easy, lasts almost all season and looks great
Joe Pye - cause I just keep adding more around the back edges
Different Lychnis - cause they do well here and I've received generous trades
A really low (4"?), spreading sedum (no name)-cause it helps along paths to keep the weeds off the edge

I usually sow foxgloves and marigolds every year, but this is my first year in this house, so I don't know what's going to happen with the rabbits and groundhogs around here. I live next to a woods with a little stream, kinda perfect for every flower-eating critter out there!

Four o'clocks. I love the way they smell. And also Larkspur and Cosmos.

Annuals I just love and sow every year (and some like Cleome, Cosmos, Cilantro, etc. self-sow on their own) -

Alyssum Carpet of snow
Yvonne's salvia
Coral nymph and Lady in Red Salvia
Melampodium
Cardinal climber
Nicotiana Jasmine-scented white
Snapdragon Black prince

I sow Digitalis purpurea every year too. Last year I had an injury so I didn't get the sprouts planted out. :( There were a couple reseeders so I hope something blooms this year. Last year a couple nice plants bloomed from WS 2008 -

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Have to be Cosmos and lots of them! This year I have Sonata White, Bright Lights, Apricot, Cosmos mix, whatever I have I'm throwing at my garden! I finally got poppies to WS for me so they're on the list too! But as many other people have said, "Who knows what I'll like this year and keep for next year?"

Salvia Coral Nymph

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Nicotiana

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Coreopsis Tinctoria & Gypsophila

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Zinnias and Cosmos

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Cardinal Vine
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And of course what my daughter calls 'Gangsta Sunflowers'...they reached heights of 14-15ft!

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Just a few favs...

Your pictures are beautiful! Nice one of the hummingbird! I love the salvia coral nymph, did I get that right? Did you get the seeds from a catalog? I plant marigolds, morning glories, 4 o'clocks and cinnamon basil every year. Don't know where I'm going to plant the clocks and morning glories this year-running out of room! I save the seeds from all of them, usually plant them when the ground warms up, ws marigolds this year.

I hope my WS foxglove look that nice!!!

I guess my favorites have to be ruds cause I have sown them 2 years in a row.

I may buy some more foxgloves since I can still sow them...

Karen

Bacopa is a must for containers with its tiny white flowers and pretty leaves, but it's expensive to buy by the plant when you need 15 or more. So I take a few cuttings in the fall and baby them in the window, then cut from them till I get enough going. This year, a couple of the cuttings dropped some seeds and now I have more itty bitty plants with the cuttings.

For those of you in southern zones I think it's a perennial.

Also have to have petunias, marigolds and tomatoes.

Caryl

Dianthus and aquilegia are some of the ones I sow every year. It's fun to try new varieties and receive seeds in trades from generous gardeners.