Early Spring / Late Winter Seed Starting During a Garden Redo Year

Call me an optimist, but I'm sowing tomato seeds for the garden. The garden that is half dismantled, awaiting a full redo via this plan I posted in the fall due to rotting beds. It's a huge project because if we are going to redo it, I want to redo it RIGHT. Long lasting, low maintenance materials. Wider pathways. Keeping Morgan Mayhem out. Add in elements to make it look good.

I don't think we'll have it done by early May when it's time to plant. It's just not feasible. But I still sowed tomato seeds. Maybe they will just go into pots until the garden is done. Maybe they will go into pots for the whole summer. I didn't go overboard for that reason - the garden project is huge and I don't know how long it will take. Full time jobs + the daily routine of kids + two boys who love sports (and all the practices that go with that) = not a lot of time for massive projects. Especially ones that are weather dependent. 

But I love the garden. It makes me happy. Gardening sparks some serious joy for me. So it's going to happen - even if it's slow progress. Even if I only have potted tomatoes this year.

So I'm going to get most of my gardening energy out on flowers this spring. I'm sowing a few tomatoes, but I'm all-in when it comes to flowers. I've filled two trays that are currently on the radiator cover for warmth. They are all perennials to continue last Fall's efforts to further enrich the flower beds with more texture, variety and flowers.

Tomatoes: sweet 100's cherry tomato, yellow pear, early girl, paste and big boy. 

Flowers:

• 2 Lupines, Tutti Frutti (purchased last fall, seeds pre-soaked before sowing)
• 2 Globe Amaranths, Strawberry Fields (my sister had these in her wedding centerpieces and I fell in love with them)
• 4 Balloon Flowers, Komachi Blue (I have one of these in the front garden from a nursery and I LOVE it - they have a wonderfully low profile and bloom nonstop)
• 4 Dahlias, Bishops Children (I love these, I had a couple long ago)
• 4 Dahlias, Figaro Mix (I love how these smaller varieties are just perfect as gap-fillers in the flower garden beds)

I'm also sowing another Apricot Blanket Flower (the two I grew last year did great so I want to add a one more) and 2 more Black Eyed Susan Vines for trellises. (Zinnias and Alyssum will be direct-sow in May.) 

 (Images are from parkseed.com and jungseed.com where seeds were ordered from)

I know this seems like a lot of flowers when last Fall I planted so much (see the full list with photos here - Veronica, Phlox, Asters, Huechera, Delphiniums, Black Eyed Susans, Echinachea, Blue Geraniums, Butterfly Scabiosa and Irises), but there are still several places I really want to fill in that haven't been tackled yet - the areas I focused on in the fall were my priority, with the intention of doing seeds and a few live plants. And none of the new plants will be ready to split for a few years, so I'm coming up with ways to more affordably fill things in. The dahlias also did great in pots last year, so it's another way to add in more color and blooms.

Live plants for the garden this year I will cover in a future post. I found a shockingly inexpensive online nursery, but I'm not sure what exactly is going to arrive yet. It could be one of those too-good-to-be-true situations where they send me tiny sprouts that shrivel and die in 2 days. Nothing will arrive for another month at least so we'll see.

Here's looking forward to spring!