I prefer plants, but if I had a greenhouse, I would start more plants from seed. With our short growing season, by the time the ground warms up enough to plant, things barely get big enough to bloom, before it's time for frost.

That's one reason I am doing more shrubs and perennials. What annuals I do use, like cosmos, petunias, stock and alyssum, I like to set out when they're already blooming.

So far, bush beans and peas are the only vegetable I've started from seed that always produces before frost. Pole beans, corn, squash, etc...I really need a greenhouse :)

In my zone, I have time to wait for a plant to mature. It happens pretty quick. I say seeds. But they're also cheaper and easier to store.

Seeds? What are they? LOL!!! I always prefer the whole plant and nothing but the plant. It definitely goes back to the short growing season. Token, my folks are in NC and it never ceases to amaze me at how fast everything grows. A shrub from a cutting is full-size in just a few years.

I actually did set up an indoor seed-starting area this past winter and did some winter sowing. I have to say it was quite successful so I will be starting more from seed but probably annuals and then some plants that I may want 6 or 12 of, or something interesting and definitely many, many zinnias.

I prefer to buy plants because I have had such disappointing results when I have tried to start things from seed. I haven't tried winter sowing though. I do wish I could get seeds to grow to maturity, as it seems that there is a much wider variety available from seed.

Totally Confused

Half of my garden has perennials, mostly the roses..some Blue Salvia came up and some other plants which took me by surprise.

I would much rather buy plants because I'm also impatient and I can place them in the bed much better than waiting to see where and if new seeds come up. Plus, I get instant gratification if they're already in bloom!

Next year I do plan on planting several varieties of seeds because my husband grew a wildflower garden by seed this year and I ordered some specific seeds I like which I know will come up.

I like buying plants, but I have a hard time finding the specific sweet peas, zinnias and cosmos I like. I'm particular about colors. So those I start from seeds.

Definitely a plant person, but I do plant some seeds.

Annette

I am trying more seeds this time than usual. We'll see what happens.
kay

I buy some plants because I cant help it when you see the stores bringing them in. I have a greenhouse because my growing season is really short so starting seeds (annuals & perennials) really gives me a pick up in the early spring. I use seeds for my veggie garden except for onions (plants) I also order some perennials, have them shipped to me early and transplant them into larger pots for planting later in the spring. How has the weather treated everyone this year? I had a frost Jun 17 and ones expected for tonight. 2 months and 2 weeks frost free this crazy year!!!

I really enjoy starting seeds. It's one of my favorite parts of gardening. I don't always have the opportunity to do it. I winter sowed 3 years in a row and it was the most fun in the garden I'd had in awhile. I probably produced more than half the perennials in the garden from seed. Lots of annuals too. I used to start all my vegetables from seed under lights in the house, but only for about 5 years, then I stopped. Because of trees maturing around us, I have less full sun so my vegetable garden is smaller and I only need a few tomato/pepper plants. I start beans, peas, basil, squash from seed too. I've grown native plants from seeds I bought at NEWFS. Much cheaper too. One packet of seed produced 54 seedlings of viola labradorica.

I do buy plants. Some annuals that are very slow to grow from seed. Pentas, specialty salvias, fuchsias, begonias. Then others that have a lot of cultivars that you can't grow from seed, like coleus, caladiums. I also buy perennial cultivars that I want, like 'Fragrant Angel' echinacea, 'David' Phlox, native plants.

I had to skip winter sowing last winter and I really missed it and will be doing it again this winter if I can.

I do about half and half, used to start more from seed when I was younger and wanted things in different colors and more old fashioned flowers than I could get at the local nurseries.Now the nursery carries alot more of what I want.
roseberri

I would say I love both ways...I love to winter sow a lot of stuff especially for things that are hard to buy. I also love plant shopping though and am sometimes impatient!! So I do both plus this year I am hoping to get a set of lights set up on on outside porch so I can try growing under lights again too...I love all kinds of growing!!!

For me it depends on the effect I want to create in the garden. If I want a lot of flowers, I go seeds, especially with annuals. This does not always work:last year I wanted a display of coreopsis and gallardia in my new front garden. The coreopsis co-operated, sort of, but it was shorter than advertised. I ended up with one gallardia plant. On the other hand, if I buy perennials on-sale, I can usually divide out more than on plant.
I must say though, the thrill of new growth in March is addictive!!

Nancy.

Funny you should ask about starting seeds. This past winter my grandson and I started a mess of seeds. Veggies and flowers. We did well with some and not so well with others. Some are extremly easy while others take real talent. Today we started some hollyhock. I grew some a few years back that were 12 feet tall. Some of the really easy ones are sunflowers, zinnia, marigold, 4 oclock and rose of sharon to name just a few. I also have plants in my garden from garden friends all over the country and Canada from seeds traded. Well happy gardening. Don't give up on starting seeds just start out slow. It's a great way to introduce kids to gardening. My grandkids love to start seeds. Even the 14 yr olds.

Deep South

It depends. Some seeds grow large plants quickly and others don't.

Perennials from seeds will sometimes take two years to bloom and some bloom the first year.

I love some self-sowing plants like echinacea, flax, California poppies, nigella, salvias, tall verbena, cosmos.

I hate some self-sowing plants like ornamental grasses, bronze fennel (must have that for butterflies, though), some chaste trees, baptisia (hard to pull even the small volunteers).

-Cameron, it wasn't funny, but I had to laugh at your post! My seed started Nigella was such a failure. You guys are going to crack up at how pitiful these little things are...
{{gwi:740698}}
I still have half my seed left, so maybe next year I will try using the winter sown method (in spring) to start some. Maybe that will be better than direct sowing. Could have been our strange spring stunted their growth.
Same goes for the bronze fennel, which is only about four inches tall, LOL! Guess there is always next year for them too ;-)
CMK

CMK - your nigella looks good compared to mine!! Maybe it was just a bad year?? Mine this year was from a packet of seeds, usually I have had volunteers from the year before in the old garden!! Oh well, next year.

Nancy.

When I started gardening I had to have one of everything, which meant many different annuals started from seed. What a lot of work!

Recently, I have limited myself to a few plants that I can direct sow in late fall and then again in early summer that always come through for me. I can't afford to buy enough bedding flowers to fill in between the perennials, so seeds are the only way to go. I give in every summer, however, and buy some vincas to replace the paludosum daisies, because vinca seed is so expensive I might as well.

I prefer to start from seed, but I always buy a couple plants just because I like them. I like to save seeds from my existing plants when I can and re-sow them in following years. I figure eventually I should have just about everything I want and won't have to buy anymore plants. As the years go by and my knees get more and more stiff, I am inclined to let the seeds fall and grow wherever they may.

And for all of you who would love to have a greenhouse I can tell you, it doesn't make gardening easier or simpler. It complicates things greatly.

You're better off starting seeds on a rack in your kitchen or living room. Get you some grow lights, a plastic sheet and a humidifier. Hang the lights on the rack, place your seed trays under them, throw the plastic sheet over it all and scoot the humidifier under the edge of the plastic. Use string or clothes pins to secure the corners of the plastic. Connect the grow lights and humidifier to a power strip with a surge protector and turn lights on in the morning and off at night. Your little seed farm will thrive.

In a greenhouse, you have dryness/moisture issues, sucking and chewing insects, mold/mildew, heat, cold, light. You need an absorbent floor or a drain system. You need shade cloth for the hot months, insulation for the cold months. You need to run power to run lights, fans, heaters, coolers, and misters. You need to run water or schlep a hose in or carry heavy cans or pails. And, dig this, it's another room that you have to CLEAN!!! It's a full time job taking care of a greenhouse.

OK, I know, I was just supposed to say 'seeds' or 'plants.' I like both. Cheryl

I always buy plants as well as start seeds. Some seeds can be a challenge and one has to be prepared for failure at times. I especially like plants that grow easily outdoors from seed, and like many self-seeders such as peony poppies, columbine, perennial flax, lamb's ears, and a few others. Perennial self-seeders are a great way to get a lot of plants for nothing and I've had good success deliberately seeding purchased perennial seeds also. I don't plant seeds in the house or under lights altho used to. I plant them in the spring in flats outdoors, pot them on, and then in the garden when they have a good chance of surviving. I have many that will go in the garden very soon. I also sometimes direct sow perennials in the garden but there's usually a lower germination rate as I don't tend them the same as if they are in pots.

I love shopping for plants too and every year find some surprise plants at various nurseries and plant sales. I'm rarely looking for specific ones but prefer to buy on impulse. I'd have a difficult time to decide on specific plants and might not be able to find what's on my list anyhow. I usually just go looking for plants for a specific place, such as shade plants, hardy shrubs, or a particular color. Kinda serendipitous! I have a mental list of plants I've seen online and want and when I see them either in seed or plants in the stores I get them.

There's a charitable organization here that sells flats of annuals quite inexpensively so well worth buying rather than seeding in this short season. They also sell donated perennials which are usually very hardy and sometimes a bit aggressive (which I don't mind - in zone 3 some aggressiveness is OK).

My greenhouse is becoming a 'playhouse' and may never see a plant!

Like many others have mentioned, I start certain easy annuals and some perennials from seed. Actually, many self seed themselves (sweet alyssum for example) and I don't even bother to buy seeds any more. If it's easy to start from seed and doesn't take years and years to mature I'd rather start from seed than waste my money on a nursery plant.

I also divide established plants that need frequent dividing like iris for example, but usually end up tossing what I don't need or have room for.

If a perennial can be grown from seeds, I do it. Annuals always from seeds and most directly sown.

Once in a while, if I want a special variety, I will buy a plant but not often.

I also grow a lot from seed,mainly because i like lots of flowers and i'm frugal.Besides which when you go to buy a plant,it's always the same ol,same ol from year to year.I like to try different things,especially if someone says"you can't grow that in your zone",then if i can find it ,i'll try it.My sisters and i live on opposite coasts so we trade as well.
Kathi

Oh, I like plants! I love the instant gratification. I also enjoy the shopping part--I appreciate getting to know a plant before I buy it. It's like inviting a semi-permanent house guest--it's nice to know you like it.

Plus, when I've tried seed, I always end up accidentally "weeding" in the wrong place and end up with (you guessed it) no plants.

So count me in for plants!

Winter sowing perennials from seed is just an amazing way to stuff my flowerbeds rather than plant the one specimen of a perennial I can afford at the nursery. I went a little nuts this year and ended up with nearly 500 WS milk jugs but my flowerbeds went from a "one-here, another-there" look to a bare-spot challenge trying to find a few inches between plants for just one more. I'm planting multiples of hollyhocks, 4 different Echinacea, gaura, rose campion, peony poppy, dianthus, blackberry lily, globeflower, rudbeckia, coreopsis, lady's mantle, astilbe plus lots of others too numerous to mention. I harvested two different types of dogwood tree seeds and have multiple new trees that are a foot tall already. The tomatoes & annual flowers grown from seed in milk jugs have been spectacular. Most seeds I either harvested myself or received in trades.

Did I buy any perennials on impulse? Sure, but only a handful and only things I wasn't sure I could winter sow. If it sets seeds, I'm going to winter sow it. My daylilies from seed I sowed last August bloomed this year too. I'm sold on seed and get a kick out of harvesting them from my own plants because I know I'll have even MORE blooms next year, all for the cost of potting mix to put in the milk jugs. It would have taken me another 10 years or longer to add all the new perennials to my garden that I added this year alone for no more than the cost of 2 compressed bales of professional growers mix.

BTW - blooming 1st year from seed were double pink hollyhock, dark burgundy hollyhock, mallow 'Vulcan,' white chelone/turtlehead, foxglove, peony poppy, agastache rupestris, gaura 'The Bride,' ballon flower, hardy hibiscus, buddleia, & Maltese cross.