Dianthus, mexican hat, anise hyssop.

You should check the FAQ's, there is a wonderful list of all the WS possibilities.

I think of blackberry lily, and candy lily, as having a high germination rate. I've gotten good germination from most traded dianthus seeds, but one zero-germinator, and I don't know why, of course (was it me? The seeds?)

Anise Hyssop would definitely do very well. Anyone with a plant will have a gallon of seed to trade. (It's a great plant, but you have to pull a lot of seedlings every year!). The plant will bloom the first year, so that will also please people new to starting from seed. Some dianthus do that, too.

You might want to include early-germinating seeds, too. Maybe lettuce, or bachelor buttons. Seeing something sprouting as early as possible helps all of us, I think!

You might also want to consider calendula. I've had 100% germination on that with 8 year old seed.

It also flowers nice and early, with bright cheerful flowers. It's a good plant for kids.

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: Calendula photos

Cosmos,Ageratum,African Daisies,Zinnia and Salvias do great also!:)

Alyssum sprouts & blooms fast. It will even bloom in the container if not planted out :) (oops)
E

One thing I will add - when I did my first WSing class, several people came up to me and said, "What? No vegetable seeds?". I admit to being somewhat speechless, as I always thought of flowers when I thought of gardening, and not vegetables. It seems many people think just the opposite, and they were disappointed that I didn't have any vegetable seeds!

So now I always have lettuce seeds. They are good germinators, early sprouters, and cheap to buy if need be.

As for flowers, I second the hyssop and alyssum. Snapdragons are fairly good germinators and also early. Sunflowers are good germinators too, although not necessarily early.

:)
Dee

Eat more greens!
Broccoli, Spinach and cauliflower do great Wsing!
I sowed mine in March/plant out inApril, have full sizied broccoli by June.
Going to test earlier this year by Wsing Feb and hopefully get out there in March so I can sow again for a fall crop

For posies, Digitalis ,Calendula, Delphinium, Russell Lupines perennials.
Annuals zinnias, marigolds, alyssum, seed dahlias are great for Wsing Tunias seem to take some time for me, but they catch up.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I may offer a variety of seeds depending on how many come to the class and what I can harvest from my garden. Have to admit that I don't do veggies w/winter sowing but after seeing all the suggestions I may start.

My class will be in January if that makes any difference because I wanted to make sure it was cold here before we planted the seeds.

My two biggest germinators were snap dragons and marigolds. The best choice for you (in my openion) would be marigolds because of the ease of saving seeds and the ease of children being able to see and handle seeds. It doesnt take more than a couple of foraging trips to collect a couple thousand marigoald seeds. jim

The best choice for success and fostering self-education in the learner is going to be a regional wildflower mix. You can buy it in bulk from Wildseed Farms, et al, to divide into smaller amounts or you can compare the mix components and make your own with appropriate varieties from the seeds you already have.

Good luck with your class! Teaching can be a lot of fun!

Thanks, I think I will offer a variety of seeds depending on the audience. We live in a very small rural town and I'm afraid that some here will see wildflowers as 'weeds'.