new garden on a budget - early March 2012 seed starting list (ornamentals)

I am starting many more seeds than usual this year in order to help fill out the big empty area left in the front entry garden now that 2 huge spruce trees have come down.  Eventually I hope to have mostly perennials in the area but they are more expensive and take longer to reach their full size, so in the meantime I will be filling the area with lots of easy-to-grow-from-seed annuals.  Every year I also start a few new, less common things just for experimentation.  In February I started iceland poppy, lagurus, and 'marble arch' salvia, and here's what I'm starting in the next couple of weeks:

• linum perenne lewisii (blue flax) - this perennial is easy to start from seed outside in spring but I'm impatient for bigger plants so I'm also starting some indoors this month;
• echium vulgare 'blue bedder' - never grown before but I'm trying it for the blue flowers; apparently doesn't like transplanting so I have started these in peat pots;
• melinis 'Savannah' - never grown before; an annual grass with pretty pink plumes, I'll probably put this in pots;
• agrostis nebulosa (cloud grass) - never grown before; another annual grass I thought I'd try this year;
• cosmos 'Polidor' mixture - a yellow-orange-red mixture to fit the front garden colour scheme;
• cosmos 'Sonata' - a pink-white mixture for the Adventure Garden;
• lavatera 'Mont Blanc' - more white flowers for the front entry garden;
• lavatera 'Silver Cup' - a gorgeous pink variety for cutting;
• verbena bonariensis - I grow some every year for the Butterfly Potager; I am starting some indoors and also winter sowing some, to hedge my bets, because this plant is notoriously difficult to start from seed;
• ground cherry - the only edible I grow that needs to be started this early; similar to tomatoes in culture.

 The next thing to start will be tomatoes in mid-March.  Are you gardening yet?

 from the archives:

• My seed-starting setup - This post describes what I do to start seeds, and the how and why of it all.  There are also lots more links on the bottom of the post.
• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary
• How to winter sow - an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

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Comments

[Paula H.]

Let me know if there is something I can contribute - I have lots of perennials that could be split this year. I'll be interested to see how your cosmos and lavatera do (will they flower much sooner than mine?), as I always seed these in the spring. They are two of my "easy to grow" garden favourites.

[Calgary Garden Coach]

Oooh, Paula, I just had a great idea! Normally I wouldn't have space to have a holding bed of perennials so I didn't think of this before - but in fact I do have lots of space this year! So if you have things you want to keep, move them this year to my front garden, I can keep them for you and then we could divide them the following year so you could have some or all of the plant back once you're in your new place!
... and I don't know why I bother starting cosmos and lavatera inside, really, except that I'm itching to do something at this time of year!!
Janice

[Paula H.]

That's a great idea - then I will be less likely to lose things due to cold! And you get a bunch of free stuff (and free labour!!).