While I know this warm up won’t last, I am fervently manifesting spring! I want to get out and play in the dirt.
Since the dirt is still frozen, I’m satisfying my need by getting together my winter sow jugs. If you’ve been around the blog for long, you’ll know I’ve done this two years running… you can read about it here and here. You can read more about how to winter sow here.
The first year I did it, I had fabulous success. Almost everything I planted thrived. Last year was a bust. While they started to sprout in the jugs, just before mid April, we got a wicked windstorm and the poor jugs got blown all over the place. The delicate seedlings just couldn’t survive.
This year, I’ve tucked the jugs up against the house and guarded them with that big rock the fence guys dug up in the fall
They should be nice and safe there. And what am I growing this year? I’m so glad you asked!
Canterbury Bells, Silver Dollars and Chinese Lanterns are all plants I grew when I was a child. They will be nice additions to the garden. The Iceland poppies are leftover from the first winter sow attempt (I only plant about half the pack at a time). They’ve done well so it will be nice to have some more. You may remember I have already have purple Lupin (also a winter sow success), but I’d love more colours of it – this yellow just looks so cheerful. And last but not least, the Black-Eyed Susan seeds are actually from my garden. I collected some in late fall with the hopes of growing some for the front garden. Hopefully they will do well and add some much needed late-summer colour to the front yard.
We’ll have to wait until about mid-April before we see any signs of life in the jugs… but you can bet I am counting the days!
Exciting! And intriguing! And tempting!
I’ll be really interested to see how your seedlings do. Lovely additions to your gardens! (Lupins are one of my favorites!)
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Lots of color coming your way. Those yellow lupines should be lovely.
(Still waiting to see what comes up again in our yard. I know we have day lilies and dogwood trees. Other than that, spring will be a surprise.)
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The bulbs I potted last fall are starting to pop up. I gave them a nice new covering of starter soil. I have no idea what will come of them but it’s going to be fun watching.
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Clever idea to create mini greenhouses. Looking forward to seeing the plants progress.
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I did not winter sow this year. Im glad you did. Im trying to keep a tiny tiny tree alive. 2 of 3 have died inside so far. I LOVE poppies. I am having success with my geranium and moss roses inside for the winter , however. I am using snow melter to water them. We have a water softener and I cannot use sink water for those.
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Thanks for sharing your really great idea. We are going to try this out and hopefully, spring is here quickly. We hope no windstorm for you this year. Looks like you are going to have a very colorful spring. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.
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Love those Canterbury Bells! Hope the grow for you. Feb. 22 is the day we usually prune our roses but not this year. It’s too cold and wet out there with even some stubborn piles of snow!
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Hey, this is terrific! I’m showing your post to The Hubby; I think he’d enjoy sowing early!
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