I no longer purchase flowers, since I can now grow so many thanks to wintersowing, and I only have one garden bed so I won't be doing that either. Our yard is unredo-able because it is so small. What I AM doing is sowing, checking hourly on my babies, wishing it would warm up so I can start more seeds, and going through catalogues and dreaming I had more room to plant. I have serious yard envy!

I don't know if I'll be buying any plants at all anymore, thanks to finding out about wintersowing. Wow, what a money saver! I can only imagine how much money I'm going to save starting everything from seed. Actually, I'd never be able to afford to buy all of the plants of all of these I've started from seed if I'd have to buy the plants somewhere. I'm sure it wouldn't even stop at in the hundreds, more like thousands. I'm picturing how beautiful my garden is going to look someday! Most of the ones I'm planting this year are perennials, which I guess I'll have to wait until next year to see them, but that's okay. In the meantime I'll have plenty of other flowers to look at here of my perennials that I started last year (only those were started indoors and a few bought, as I didn't know about wintersowing back then) and my annuals that I'm starting this year. I've started a lasagna bed this year and have been working at it a little at a time. It's going to have lots of flowers! I almost can hardly wait until spring. This seems like the longest winter I've ever experienced! Why is it that winter seems to last about 9 months out of the year and the nice part of year only 3 months?! lol

I'm dreaming of Spring. Spring 09! I love wintersowing, but I also love small minor spring blooming bulbs. American Meadows puts spring blooming bulbs on sale in the spring because they have to be planted in the fall but early birds get first pick! I've placed my order of snowdrops, small allium, and Wild Iris and I'll probably order more. It's a nice surprise in September when they arrive.

In fact, my minor bulbs are beginning to bloom now. We're getting snow this evening so tomorrow, I hope to upload some "Flowers in the Snow" pictures. :)

If my mom would share the camera.

I just heard the geese this morning!!! :-)
I jumped up and looked out the window to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
Spring is not far away...

Linda

Oh, am I EVER dreaming of spring! :)

I have been saving through the winter to afford some new beds that I am going to put in.

Last fall, I marked off a place in my front yard where I will create a flower bed: perennials esp. prairie flowers, roses, annuals. I put down newspaper, cardboard, grass clippings, and leaves, and covered the whole thing with black landscaping material. I am going to put in a four-length (32'), split-rail PVC fence in the middle of the bed to use for climbing plants as I acquire them.

Last week I ordered two raised bed kits to put in my backyard for veggies, herbs, and a garden plot for my 5-yr-old. I have clay soil where I live in Northeast Wisconsin. I do have a decent sized in-ground established veggie/herb garden (18' x 24'). I have been composting and amending the soil in that garden for almost 10 years, and the clay and rock seem to still be winning. I hope the raised beds will give me an opportunity to grow some root veggies (carrots, radishes) that I can't grow in the clay.

I ordered three roses from David Austin Roses for the front bed I am going to establish, which was my big splurge. I have three Austin roses already, and I really like them, and they survive our cold winters. I ordered Lady Emma Hamilton, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Jude the Obscure. After seeing some of the pictures of these roses in the Rose Forum, I can't wait to see how these will bloom in a few years!

Other than my rose order from TX, I planted what seems like TONS of garlic last fall that I ordered from Seed Savers from Decorah, IA. I hope all the garlic might keep some bunnies away. Hope!

I usually purchase most of my plants from a local nursery, "Pansies," which has been around, I think, since the 1950s and run by Mr. and Mrs. Pansy. Mrs. Pansy is in her 80s now and lives across the street from the nursery. She finally sold the business about three years ago. I miss seeing her expertise, but I am glad the new owners are continuing to run the nursery in a similar way.

I hope that I won't have to purchase any plants this year because I am winter sowing. :) I purchased seeds from Pansies, and I will be purchasing quite a bit of compost and perlite from them to put in my new beds. I think it will even out. :)

Sorry this is so long. RIght now, I spend so much time thinking and dreaming about what I am going to do in my yard this year. My husband's eyes glaze over when I start talking about it too much. :)

Thanks for giving me another opportunity to talk about my garden and the promise of spring. It's 10 degrees according to my outdoor thermometer. Looking out at my WS containers, it is hard to believe I might be outside putting together my bed kits in three weeks. I hope so!

Cheers,
Nora Belle

"dreaming of sping?" you bet, daffadills are up a couple of inches,the sedums are starting to regrow all I think about is playing in the gardens, actually it will be working lots of work w/ so many ws annualls and perrenials to put out.
I'm hopeing to get a large oak taken down to get one garden more sun and to expand it. I'm a little nervous about planning it out but, think i will just wing it and hope for the best. I so wish i had heard about lasagna beds last fall (big sigh)

I have no sprouts , but started late not too worried yet (yah right) lol

SPRING FORWARD Annette

Oh YES, am I ever dreaming of spring...
With all my new wsing babies I can redo that perennial border along the back of the yard that needs a face lift, the bed behind the house was cleared of weeds last fall and should be ready for some new plants this year, then there's that area DH cleared and started mowing...I can put in a nice big perennial garden between that and the back trail, oh and I want to redo my herb garden with some better raised beds-probably use some recycled cedar lumber for that, oh and then I want to try taking cuttings from some shrubs earlier this spring because taking them later in the season hasn't been so successfull, oh ya and then I want to do some work around the pond we had dug to create some interest around the perimeter with flowers...

Good grief, I think I need a nap already :)
I have 5 acres and I call it all my garden. DH has finally submitted and has become an enabler creating beds where he doesn't like to mow...wahoooooo!