First week of April -  2013 -  The Daffodil is Ryjnveld's Early

                                 Sensation - sometimess blooms in March.

                                 Nice to plant in a place you will see every day.

Planning advice:  For your greatest gardening pleasure, plant your 

                                favorites in a place you will see every day. 

                                Kitchen window, driving in the driveway - 

                                whatever greets you often.  Make that your 

                                first special planting spot.  You will love to 

                                make it pretty, and it will love you back!!

whiteflowerfarm.com

Delta True Blue Pansy

Note snow in off deck:

I was desperate last spring and bought these

while the snow was on the ground. Made my day!!

only 9 weeks 'til we plant pansies! 

Sorry - I get very excited by pansy time - after 35 years of gardening I still think that spring is soooooo exciting .Pansies/violas are planted from plants -  seeds take a long time.  

They like cold days and nights and lots of water.

the little yellow guys are violas

The bigger blue ones are pansies.

Five things to do now for a great spring garden:

#1 Dahlias:  Dahlia" Karma Fuchsiana" 4 ft tall, gorgeous cut flower.

Dahlia Seattle             

Order now for the best varieties- dwarf for short bouquets, no staking
                                                      24-40"  for long stems and lots of flowers
                                                                   also good in the garden for show

Dwarf Gallery Art Fair

 www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com

#2  Order plant Catalogs -   I use garden catalogs to plan my colors.
It is good to know that some have very accurate pictures -
www.whiteflowerfarm.com
www.waysidegardens.com
I don't necessarily trust the recommendations, but the colors are true.
Blackmore and Langdon delphiniums (very finnicky but gorgeous) are
one of their specialties.  Less finnicky and fun to put in containers; Aster
Frikarti Monch.

#3 Order flower seed catalogs-  www.shepherdsseeds.com
very nice selection of veggies, flowers and herbs.

#4 Order herb plants or plan to purchase them at a nursery already grown:
Take a long time: Parsley, Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, Chives.
These are cool weather plants -- If you live
in zones 2-7, order them to arrive about 2 weeks before cold weather
plants can be set out in your area: www.TheHomeDepot.com
Bonnie Plants are excellent, well-grown herbs and veggies.
Your State Co-operative Extension service will have than information.
In CT, it is April 10 or so.  I will put the plants out in the sun for an hour
or two every day for a week, then pot them or plant in the ground.

#5  Prime yourself:
If you have cabin fever or want to see what the rest of the plant world
looks like, plan a trip to your local Botanical Garden or Flower Show.
www.NYBG.org  is for the New York Botanical Garden.  There is a huge
glass house full of plants, trees, cactus and fountains that make a one day
tropical vacation, for just the price of admission.

Early Seed Starting

January , 2016

I  received Larkspur seeds in the mail this morning - I ordered them from
Eden Brothers seeds.  1/4 oz. of dark blue and 1/4 oz. of lilac colored.
These gorgeous flowers are cold weather annuals: {bloom and die in one year)
Cold weather annuals like to be planted April 1, here in Connecticut.
They are 2-3 ft tall dark blue , white, pink or lavender colored flowers, They
bloom in June and July - looking a lot like delphiniums, because they ARE - but not
perennials.