I already received my orders from T&M, Pinetree Garden Seeds and Valueseeds, and I fell prey to the seed racks at Agway yesterday. I also have seed from a couple exchanges, so I'm well set for seeds. I'm going to start winter sowing next week, mostly annuals. I've got a nice little (??) assortment to play with:

Assorted hosta crosses (from Brooke in KY)
Nasturtium 'Alaska Salmon Orange'
Johnny Jump-Ups
Poppy 'Oriental Red'
Foxglove 'Excelsior Hybrid Mixed'
Zinnia 'Will Rogers' (scarlet, tall)
California poppies (orange)
Nicotiana 'Eau de Cologne'
Orange Thyme
Nasturtium 'Black Velvet'
Cosmos 'Sensation White'
Viola 'Penny Orchid'
Amaranth 'Marvel Bronze'
Nicotiana 'Heaven Scent' (this and the next 4 from MMQCHDYGG)
Zinnia 'Profusion Apricot'
California poppy (white)
Shasta daisy 'Alaska'
Sweet Pea 'Old Spice'
Morning Glory 'Blue Star'
Pansy 'Denim Blue'
Pansy 'Luna'
Campanula carpatica (blue)
Zinnia 'Orange King'
Zinnia 'Enchantress'
Snapdragon 'Golden Monarch'
Snapdragon 'White'
Nasturtium 'Alaska Mix'
Marigold 'Safari Tangerine'
Strawberries 'Ruegen' (alpine)

This past week I finished a lasagna bed in the front yard (for daylily seedlings). Today I think I'll take down Christmas lights, and edge some flower beds. It's just too nice to pass up.

I made a pass around the yard the other day and I have tulips coming up along with daffs and the alliums are up. The coral honeysuckly is putting out new leaves and it is blooming. The Helleborus is blooming. Snapdragons are still going (haven't died off yet). Daylillies are coming up and one salvia from last summer is still hanging on. I am almost afraid to think of what will happen a little later this month and next. I have all my seeds ready to go but I am waiting until the end of the month to start sowing.

Penny

While doing garden cleanup yesterday, I got a real surprise - a LIVE GRASSHOPPER! In JANUARY, in UPSTATE NY. I have never ever seen such a thing after living here for going on 21 years. Unbelieveable. I should have taken a picture of it to prove I wasn't hallucinating, but it hopped out of my hands several times and got lost in the still green grass and plants. . . .

Laurel

You got me beat, Laurelin. You must have alot of space to plant in.
I won't start planting until next month and then it's what I can start inside. I haven't got into the WS'ing. I just can't convince my brain that it will work. I'll continue to start them on the windowsills and move them to the greenhouse in March.

LOL, dirthappy, no, the funny thing is that I DON'T have a lot of space left in my yard! I won't use the entire package of anything (except the nasturtiums and probably the pansies) - I'll have a few of many things for filler, not a lot of many things. But, if I get overenthusiastic and my cups of seedlings overfloweth, I'll share with friends and family. Finding homes for the annuals won't be the difficulty - finding homes for all my daylily seedlings and new daylily purchases WILL be. Fortunately, a good friend with a seriously large open yard has offered to let me create a border of daylilies at her place. A few other flowers will probably sneak into the mix as well, just for variety, you know. . . .

Laurel

I've got iris popping up. Dianthus, mexican hat, hollyhocks, and quite a few others never died back. I'm enjoying seeing a few hints of green in my otherwise barren landscape.

Tracy

Well I can say I have Iris popping up b/c mine have never died back they are all still green.
Dirthappy
Wintersowing works great up here. I do start some of my more tender plant seeds in the window sill but I will even winter sow some of those. Last year I wintersowed red yucca and cannas and they did great.

Penny

Does anyone think this weather is going to hurt the plants or cause them to not bloom at their regular times? I have dutch iris, TB iris, italian arums and alliums sending up shoots. Won't the FOOT AND A HALF OF SNOW we got last night here in Syracuse kill off the leaves?

It won't necessarily harm them, if it melts quickly. If it stays on them for an extended period of time, then they won't look as good . . .

I've had lots of stuff sprout early before (bulbs of all kinds) and not be harmed by later snow - it's prolonged severe cold WITHOUT snow that would concern me more. I suspect the alliums would just put up new foliage if the current growth gets frozen back. I don't know about the arums - I have no experience with them. I am little concerned with my clematis, since some of them started to green up last week, and now it's finally getting seriously cold.

At least now I think I can start winter sowing, though.

Laurel

Dirthappy,
Please , please, please try a container or two of winter sowing......you will be amazed ! The plants grow so much stronger and healthier than inside and it is so much easier than spending your late winter and spring tending to plants inside......Can you tell I'm a believer????LOL Kareen

Well, I haven't nosed around closely enough to see if I have grasshoppers, but...

My lenten rose is about to bloom. My hyacinths are coming up, they're even further along than my crocuses, daffs, and tulips. I have new growth for lupine, columbine, and jacob's ladder, as well as jupiter's beard. The coral honeysuckle never stopped blooming. The iris are all shooting up. There are fresh leaves on the black-eyed susan. There's two inches of snow on everything from two days ago, but it's supposed to reach 41 today so that should take care of most of it.

The three-year-old asparagus fern I overwinter in the garage never went dormant. The snap dragon with it is still blooming -- yes, in the garage. My fuchsia seems to be hanging in just fine in the garage as well, which it never survives.

It's strange.