Hi Eileen,

I am in Waushara county WI. I didnt do a lot of annuals last year. new gardener and trying to get alot of perrienals going. Let me think...

Petunias they reseeded in my petunia bed. I got this one bloom and it was so neat....I should post it.
Sweet william reseeds
Baby blue eyes did very well for me.
Snapdragons
Calendula
Poppies defianetly for our area. They love our dirt
Love in a mist
I am sure there are tons more. What part of Wi are you from? Barb

Hi Barb,

Thanks for the reply. I'm in Oregon, near Madison. I have pretty extensive perennial gardens, almost all purchased as plants and have been "lurking" at W.S. for two years now, waiting for the right time to make the switch to growing from seeds:). My pocketbook and husband would be thrilled if I could really get this downpat:). Eileen

LOL I hear ya. We can save so much dough if we plant it ourselves. Makes the dh's happy. I hope next year to do more annuals. They are so darn much money to buy. Maybe some of our northern neighbors will chime in and help us out. Sounds like your garden is full and pretty with the perrienals...Barb

African daisy was the first to bloom at the end of June. June was very cold here. July: petunias, phlox, baby breath, sun flower, candyturft, stocks, lobelia, marigold, balsam, painted daisy, gazania (started inside), snapdragon, strawflower, zinnia, nicotiana, cleome, lavatera, salvia. August they just kept bloominig and blooming.

Mariana

Marianna,

Thanks! Wow - you really sound like you had great luck with the annuals and are in just as chilly a spot as we are:). I think I'll start thinking of swaths of colorful annuals working their way through my perennials for pennies on the dollar:). A happy way to spend some time daydreaming. And now to get started on some pots and trading some seeds. This should be a fun winter:).

Eileen

I'm in zone 5, so I don't have your situation, but I wanted to add that another thing you can do is buy a small percentage of the annuals you used to buy, and that way you can still have a satisfying splash of color on your last frost date while you wait for the WS ones to bloom. And, finding perennials that bloom for a long period, and at the right time, makes fewer annuals needed.

good luck and have fun!

Yes Eileen, this year I had a color quick fix with annuals in luck of enough perennials. For sure I will leave enough space on these beds for annuals next year. Here are some photos

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Mariana, Wow, wow, and wow again. You can't imagine how inspirational it is to see your pictures to someone who has to date only had success with two types of seeds, foxglove and forget me nots and those were purchased in a one half pound bag of seed just to get a decent amount of plants. :)

Could you tell me a bit more about your success with the petunias. Aren't the seeds quite expensive? And could you let me know for all those glorious colors, did you do the hunk-o-seed method or do things individually?

And finally, what date did you plant them out from their winter sown containers?

I'm back to gazing in awe at all that color:).

Thanks again. Eileen

The petunias in pictures are heirloom type "old fashioned vining petunia", they are a little tall at the end of august but they were blooming till the first hard frost about 2 weeks ago. I started most of them inside Feb 17, but lots of them were mistaken with Nicotiana Alata and wintersowed in February too. Those inside started to bloom June 05, those outside, beginning July. I've got lots of seeds and if you like them, e-mail me your address, I can send you enough for a few years:). They were the toughest (not fussy at all with our cold clime) and the longest to bloom compared with all the other petunias I had.
I did the hunk-o-seed method with most of them, even with the snapdragon.

Mariana,

i am seeing again and again and again. beautiful!

marianna ~ your gardens are absolutely gorgeous! ~ all the pictures are beautifuly; but the very first one is really, really striking! ~ thanks for posting ~ phyl

Thank you phyl!
I forgot to tell you about especially the evening perfume from those petunias and nicotiana alata: HEAVEN

Thanks daisy08. This was my first year of gardening ever, and I'm obsessed now with winter-sowing, seeds, composting.....

Mariana

You have a greenthumb! Dont stop. Plants love ya.... Pretty pictures. Barb