>NilaJones, thanks for your input for our specific area. Do you really think it's ok to put seedlings outside this early? Last year, I sowed seeds direct into the ground outdoors around Mid-May, and the poor things had to suffer through 2 hail storms and some cold spells. Portland has some weird weather. You're very welcome :). Outside, yes. And it's especially important if you don't have adequate artificial light for them indoors. In the ground is different story. If we get a cold snap, you can bring seedling trays of tropical plants like eggplant and tomatoes indoors for a night. Other babies like kale, lettuce, peas, etc. are happiest with cool weather anyway, so you can go ahead and plant them in the ground if the snails won't eat them.. They can stay out even when it's below freezing, this time of year. And all winter, most years. Hail is not a problem unless your seedlings are so tiny that a hailstone hits one and kills it. When we get hail, air and ground temperatures are still pretty warm. You notice the hail melts in 5 minutes :). I planted out my pole beans a week ago. I worried about them a little last night, with the wind and heavy rain, but they looked so happy this morning! They like this kind of weather :). Their root systems are not big enough for hot sun yet. Cool and moist is just what they want.

Hmm, more good ideas. Yes, I definitely ask the kids. They are in charge of everything. The plan is to give them each a seed catalogue (we are lucky to have the bricks and mortar store of one of Canada's major seed companies right here in town) and have them each decide on their top 5 picks. Really like the idea of the cucurbits (hadn't heard that term before). We have some pumpkin seeds we saved from the club's Halloween class. Thanks to a wonderful donation, we now have enough tomato seeds to make pizza from now until doomsday. Because of the greenhouse, we could plant early enough to get blooms going, but we have 2 weeks off school in the middle of March and no one is allowed in the school but cleaning staff. The poor seedlings would just not survive. Just have to share our last activity. The theme for the 3rd graders was container gardening and they used seed catalogues to find plants they would want to grow in containers. We talked about words to look for in plant descriptions like trailing, drought tolerant, etc. and they made some great lists. Then I gave them a sillouette of a black urn glued on a large background paper. They drew the outline of the plants in rough and then used tissue paper to make their plants cascading out the urns. I can't describe how beautifully these turned out. The parents were astounded when they came to pick up the kids. And were even more amazed when they could point to the different plants on the picture and name them. We picked the top 5 plants that they had included in their pictures on our "to grow list".

Wow!! No veggies this year. Just have a potted tomatoe plant that has tomatoes already. (Were there when I bought it, daughter loves tomatoes!) Let's see, my clematis are blooming, purple, soft white, burgundy, and one called presidents (purple with a pinkish stripe in it...gorgeous!) Also have 1 other clematis that is a late bloomer...but it is growing great!!! 2 of my peonies are blooming. The other two won't bloom as I transplanted them now (and now in the fall as I found out after reading in the peony forum). But my 2 bushes look good. My hibiscus are growing great guns. I even transplanted one and a piece broke off and left that where it was and both are growing! yea!! My Japanese Iris are blooming....others not yet...but I just transplanted them from my sister in laws garden (Metamora area) (I'm near the Ohio border) My azaleas have bloomed....hmmmmm.....asters are budding...which I thought was kind of early.....My rose bush has yet to show me anything yet but green leaves. I've transplanted some bulbs....waiting to see if they come up and what they are!!! Still looking for more to plant! I have tons more but can't remember the names!!! Each year I look and say gee I don't remember planting that!! LOL> My lilies are budded and I'm waiting to see what color they are. Just don't remember....planted them last year next to a "fountain....that I buried the bottom in the ground to look like a pond"....LOL> As I said it's always a joy to see what comes up and see the colors!!! I know there's more....but what's growin' in yours??

Hi Silvergold - you visited the MN border of IA that I consider a double Brrrrr in Winter! Our own DNR set my WDM (30mi So of Ames) patch of soil as 5a. So, I'll just have to dress up my new garden beauties as if they are furless pets! For the 1st time again, after having given up on a collection of very enslaving Hybrid Teas, I'm in the same lot! I was insanely securing the first Winter of the marginally hardy, new aquisitions - armed with nylon hoses, rolls of garden wire fencing & burlap, bags of mulch (cypress, pine needles & fallen leaves). I should just give up on the idea of Quercifolia and stick with our MidWest hardy beauties ... I'll just drool over my son's when I visit his NC garden in the Fall I reason the premature leafing-out, to our unseasonably (50,60,70s) mostly sunny March days with overnite rains & still bare shade trees. Even the marginally hardy ones, still in their protective cocoons, are forced to show signs on their few branches, that managed to stretch out of their leaf blankets. I should perhaps remove the wet, matted leaf-mulch to prevent rot, leave them in their burlapped cages, and ready some protective bedsheet- topcovers for those frost threats. After viewing Ego45's posted pics(i realize he is Z6), I have to do my best on my Purple Tiers (serrata m-y-m). I Know I'm enlaved once again!