Well, to be honest, I have had a problem this year with something eating my seedlings after I've planted them out. Earwigs, slugs, rabbits, and chipmunks are some of the obvious culprits that come to mind. Some clumps have just disappeared, some have been obviously chewed on, just stubby stems left with no leaves. Something -- I'm pretty sure it's rabbits -- recently chowed down on all my beautiful lupine seedlings! Just today I decided to set out a diversion platform feeder, hoping the seeds, dried fruit and lettuce trimmings will distract the little beasts long enough for my seedlings to regrow/recuperate. I'm thinking that next year I might pot up a bunch of my seedlings, and grow them on in some kind of caged setup like the one Donn made, and then either plant them out in the fall, or try overwintering them with lots of mulch. It's been very frustrating! However, that said, I don't want to dissuade you from winter sowing. I have a great time collecting seeds and sowing them in the dead of winter, and the ones that have survived are doing well. Winter sowing is a great and very inexpensive way to get lots of healthy hardy plants.

Thanks, all. The seeds aren't that big a deal but it would be nice to have some to share and try myself. Maybe I'll just let nature do her thing, am already pampering my poppy inside. Redbuds set seeds late, can attest that I harvested some pods on a wet early spring day, they were viable so maybe these might work like that, too. Won't hurt to cut off a bloom B4 frost and set it in some water under my lights to see how it does. Cuttings would be a little trickier but may try that next year. I got mine from my sister who either got it from a nursery in MN or from a friend. It has to be Cimifuga Racemosa, looks just like Bluestone's except their photo shows a bloom starting to set seed top down. I'll watch and see what it does and if the birds have any interest in it. The foliage is quite pleasant all season, and I did give it a little something this year by way of fertilizer, maybe Scott's bloom booster time release or it grabbed some food from a nearby rose, Mills Magic. I do water it when it gets really dry, maybe that helped it bloom so well finally. It made a feeble attempt to bloom last year, bud shoots on top but never opened, disappointing. Maybe it just took this long to kick in after being divided and xplanted. Bluestone's looks like mine to me, will provide a link. Mine gets a little morning and late afternoon sun. Rozanne came with some buds but they shrivelled up and didn't open, should have pinched them off, was just thrilled to get to see anything, silly to take a photo of a partially-opened bloom but I just got so thrilled to see it. Now this really really makes me want a fall garden, little room for that. The asters folded mostly already, thought the frost got them but now see some smaller stragglers, but wouldn't it be pretty with mums or other very late blooming flowers or grasses? I think to get a similar effect earlier on, maybe some white liatris would be in order, but they won't be curvy. Oh, mine doesn't have much by way of a pleasant scent so far. I thought some of you would be enchanted by it like I am. Here is a link that might be useful: Cimifuga Racemosa aka Black Snakeroot aka Bugbane

Thanks for commisserating, everyone. It's nice to know that people understand what I'm going through. Elisabeth, I bet your kids love your garden! My kids are grown and live here and have jobs with little time to help around here, as is the same with my husband. So I'm the outside person. The thing is, I spend more time outside than a person does working a full-time job because of it being so hard to keep up with things. I certainly would be tempted like you mentioned with the bobcat, and yes, those mosquitoes and gnats almost eat me alive some days. Angie, Yes, I already decided that I'm downsizing. I don't want to get carried away and downsize a lot because I know what I went through to get rid of the grass before, so I thought I'd take off about 1/4 of the top garden, and I'm doing away with 1/2 of the milkweed patch. The milkweed patch gets soooo weedy, and that's the place where that darn Canada thistle is coming up the worst, although I've noticed little plants coming up in almost all of the gardens/beds. I don't think I'm any more decrepit this year than I was last year, but the rain that was almost nonstop for 2 months is what really did me in this year, and I don't want this to happen again. Jeff, Wow, I didn't realize that the roots go that far down! I agree with you and am using RoundUp on these tenacious thistles. They'd take over if a person would let them. Sandy, I've been holding off on putting down newspaper because I always get a really bad slug problem here every year when I put down newspapers and mulch. Those creatures hide under things and damage my plants so much, and I thought that it would be especially bad this year with all of the rain that we had for 2 months. I'm really sorry to hear that you got arthritis in your wrists from the result of your breaking them a few years ago. I remember when that had happened when you were about to go visit your daughter. What an awful thing to happen to ruin your plans and then to get arthritis yet is a real bummer. I'll try vinegar on some weeds and see what the results are. Sherry, Since you've had carpal tunnel syndrome for awhile, I guess you understand how uncomfortable it can be. Well, the numbness is more annoying than uncomfortable. It's the pain up my arm from the cubital involving the ulnar nerve that I mind the most, but I'd be happy if I wouldn't have either one of those problems. I wish I could put in raised beds, but I don't think that's possible. It's a very good idea though. I wouldn't get help from anyone putting them in or doing anything else outside. My "kids" don't have the time or ambition. Ha! Thank goodness neither of them want to have kids because that it's a lot of work raising kids. I'll do the best I can here with what abilities I have and try to accept that I'm not as young as I used to be. My problem is that my mind wants to do the work of a 20-year old (what one would physically be capable of doing, that is), but my body feels like my age plus 20 years. If I were magically given the body of a younger person for just a week, would I ever be smokin' rushing around to get things done that I want done in the gardens. :) Susan, That's great that things look so nice at your place; I'm just sorry that it took a toll on your body, which I know what you mean. I tried to do a lot outside yesterday since it was an absolutely lovely day. With the exception of two small breaks, I worked outside from about 11:00-8:00. I paid for it too...could barely make it out of bed today. I always do have trouble in the morning, but it was especially difficult today. My dr. is afraid I'll get hooked on vicodin so won't prescribe me anymore, but geez, I made a bottle of 30 pills last for a little over a year because I take them as little as necessary. I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a druggie. lol I'm seeing the back specialist next month to see what's plan B because plan A (steroid shots last summer) didn't help me. I'm going to do what you said and I've picked the garden closest to the house to concentrate on this year. Since it already doesn't look nearly as bad as the others, it shouldn't be too bad to get it in even better shape and maintain it. The others have gone to the dogs so much that I'd almost need a work crew (yeah, like that's going to happen :/) to make them look nice. I guess I'll just have to settle for one nice-looking garden and too lousy-looking ones. bernergrrl, I guess you and a lot of others know what I'm having to deal with with the gardens. Even without a lot of rain, as you know, they're a lot of work. Through in the rain and not being able to work out there practically the entire spring, and it makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to get caught up with things. I had this idea that I somewhat failed in my goals to provide for the butterflies in the ways that I wanted to, but I can't lose my sanity trying to be "Wonder Woman". I have been trying to delay with newspapers and mulch (I have bags of leaves I'll use) because of the slug problem that I get here every year, but I have to start doing something to keep the weeds down. It would be nice if I could get someone to rototill, but I'm not going to count on that. Sorry, will reply more another time...my arms are telling me that was my typing limit. Thanks again. Cathy

I don't follow the rules very well either Helen. I think our early springs and late freezes in the Ozarks tend to be a little more extreme than most people experience but in general, winter sowing works well. I'm much more careful to protect annuals from late frost than perennials. I've winter sown tomatoes a few times and had great luck with old seeds on those. My dad's old timey method of planting tomato seeds is much like winter sowing. He uses a five gallon bucket, sows the seed in late winter but doesn't cover the container like most winter sowers do. I don't think I've ever been organized enough to winter sow before Christmas and most things don't need that much cold stratification anyway. I still have Christmas shopping to do and wrapping and cleaning etc. Always running behind. I've dropped a couple hints for potting soil for Christmas and have been saving the square containers that Walmart's Artisan lettuce comes in. I think those will work ok but the plastic is thin so I won't be able to use them more than once. It will be easy to poke holes in the bottom at least.