Here we go Spring 2018!

So we are officially kicking off activities for our Spring 2018 flowers.  We have started some of our hardy annuals in soil blocks, kept company by a vase full of inspiration from our current gardens.

These hardy annuals are just that - hardy!  Hopefully in a few weeks we will have little seedlings that we will plant in our yet-to-be-prepared beds to winter over for Spring 2018 blooms.  So what do we hope to have?  Below is the list of what has been started in our soil blocks:

Plant Type	Color
Snapdragon - Potomac	Orange
Snapdragon - Madame Butterfly	Bronze
Ammi Daucus Carota Dara
Ammi	Green Mist
Helichrysum Double	Mix
Monarda Citridora	Mix
Dianthus Amazon	Neon Cherry
Dianthus Chabaud	Orange Sherbert
Dianthus Superbus	Fringed Pink
Calendula Officinalis	Yellow
Feverfew
Scabiosa QIS	Mix
Scabiosa	Fire King

I hope our germination rates are much improved for all of these this year... and I'm going to do a better job of tracking not only our germination rates, but how many of each make it to light, make it into the garden, winter-over, and begin producing.  Once producing, I need to document when we make our first cut and how many usable stems we get per plant.  I think that part (hopefully we get there!) will be a little harder based on my experience this year.  I need to be ruthless and really heed the advice of the pros and pinch some of these early if I want to have better more usable stems....  but it's so hard to make that first cut!

Next up, also to be planted in our yet-to-be-prepared beds, these will be direct-seeded into the garden:

Nigella Damascena
Bupleurum
Conslida Ambigua	Mix
Papaver Rhoeas	Red
Centaurea Cyanus	Florist Blue Boy

I fell in love with Nigella last year, commonly called Love-in-a-Mist.  Fantastic hardy little pink, white, blue and purple flowers with funky little seed pods.  I hope some will have self-seeded in my perennial bed, but regardless, we will be putting them in en masse in our cutting beds.  

And now I'm off to check our little seedlings for germination...