I don't have any advice, I just wanted you to know that's about the size of my yard too. I've got three kids to crowd out of it with flowers :) If you post a pic of the package we might be able to id some of the plants.

I remember when i was a newbie and I asked a similar question.

I had seed packs that were marked "Garden Favorites" and it was confusing because the assortment included perennials and annuals.

Trudi told me to sow them in the container (sprinkle lightly) and plant out the hunks and I doubted it would work but i did it anyway. Well, that was one of the prettiest borders I ever had... the problem was, though, I never knew what the heck the flowers were!! LOL

Sow them, plant them out - what have you got to lose?
Have fun

Carrie

Haha, thank you for answering, I'm laughing, so you have three kids, a flower hobby and not too much real estate :) so I'm not the only coockoo here . We are renting so it's not even my house. Well, I live just once, so I might actually enjoy it!

Carrie, thank you for answering! That's why I bought the package, I wanted to be surprised! I have lots more packets of flowers with names, needless to say some might never make it in my clay half shade "garden" They also had "hummingbird mix" "butterfly mix" and others, but I picked the one with the prettiest picture. I believe the picture is a standard airbrushed picture, it shows sunflower, marigolds, daisies, zinias, dahlias, and lots of others that all disappear in a baby blue cloud. It's way more heavenly than I expect to get here. But I paid 2.99 ( that's not a lot for Canada prices) and I have a hefty pinch of seeds inside. So yeah, I 'm excited. I will do the hos style, the way to advise. If only the winter would end sooner! ( Btw, the groundhog saw its shadow and went back in the den, so no early spring for us this year)

Thank you again,
Adi

Actually, usually in small print somewhere, it should tell you what seeds are in there.

At any rate, I've got a few mixed packets, too, that I'm using for a slope, and I'm WSing many of them, and broadcasting the rest to see what happens. I'll plant them out in big HOSs.

I also did the 'spread the seed' route my first year of gardening, and while it served the purpose of creating a bed all season, I inevitably ripped it out in favor of more controlled WSing the following season, keeping only what plants I knew I'd like to keep (mine was a per & ann mix). The look was too 'wild' for the space I was using it in.

Having said all that, if you're not certain that you want to do the direct-sow method, definitely do them Winter Sowing. You've come to the right place.

Get some milk jugs and some potting mix, and go to town. You'll be so glad you did, and you won't have to worry if they'll come up, and you'll have great gardens!

adi, I'm renting too! And, I have to share my yard with four dogs! (one of whom eats EVERYTHING so it will be quite a challenge!)

I also bought one of the flower mixes - Butterfly garden - which is a mix of perinnials and annuals. I'm gonna take Carrie's advice and sow them anyway! Like she said 'what have we got to lose'!

I love this site. I hafta quit overanalyzing and just do it! What have I got to lose, right?

Good luck with your garden.

Cynthia

Oh did I forget to mention that I also have clay soil, a draining issue and part shade on all that? I do have a front yard around 10x15 or so and a strip between the house and the neighbors driveway. The front is full sun but mostly lawn. I do own the house, my extra will all go to my mom so I am sure to have room :)

Oh I was going to email you and be chatty, but yours isn't listed. Well I am curious to see how your yard comes along. If you want to compare spaces write me sometime.

Hi again, Thank you !

I am so amused at the answers, after being almost sure that I am half insane. My sweet dear husband ( we got married only one year ago) doesn't think I am entire. He is sure I lost my mind, pampering kitty litter containers and building Indian tents of brown boxes, for my roses. I'm sorry I didn't set up my email, I'm not the brightest with computers. I've been on the Forum(s) for a while now, usually when you see a smart(dumb) question it's me. I'll fix up the email, and promise to update on garden progress!

Ok, lets see if I can put a pic of my yard, last summer. Looks MUCH bigger than in really is, due to wide lens.This yard was never worked, just weeds and mud . ( still has a lot of this) And lastly, that 's my doggie!
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ohmigosh WHAT a cutie!
The yard looks fab too..really.
No advice just good wishes!

Cute pix! I love all the little white border fences.
The hydrangea bush is so pretty.It's pink, which means you have alkaline (sweet) soil, which is good.
Organic mulches and compost on your beds will improve the drainage issue. And if somebody in the family has soccer cleats, you could have them walk around the lawn after a spring shower to help aerate the lawn.

I wanna kiss that doggie....I really wanna kiss that doggie... He's a cutie.

Flowers look fantastic.. but I also want to pinch your dog's cheeks - so cute.

Carrie

Hi, yes, the doggie (100 lbs) is a bunch of love, but a big destroyer! The whole yard used to be his toilet room, and only weeds there, until I moved in last year. The little fences are "replaceable" twice a year ( dollar store stuff, breaks all the time), just so that I make the dog trip over them when he's trampling the flowers... they don't protect much, but better than nothing.

Anyway, I posted this to show you that this is the little space I have, for something like a trilion seeds that I'm planing to plant Haha, don't know where they're gonna go. The toilet space will have to shrink more. And to tell you that I have zero sense for color coordination, in other words I like all colors together.

I'll keep you all updated how my first year WS endeavors go, I sure hope in beginner's luck. I need it, my DH does't let me spend a penny more on this yard that's not even ours.

Ill have to reduce the size of my pics, sorry I didnt realize that they were so large.
Wish me luck WSing!

I love the color too. I have never had much at once here. Most of my plants were gifted perennials so I love them but have to wait. This is my first year WS and I want tons of color. I don't care if it is a riot. If it really works and the colors are everywhere I can refine next year :).
I tried those fences once, my dog laughed at them. I bought bigger ones and she walked through them, sigh. Your pup is adorable, I love the guilty look. We always fall for dogs that look so sad.

On a side note, I think you go to your preferences in your profile to fix the email. To have it show up here it has to be checked as public. I didn't do it that way on here at first either. Now I don't worry though so many nice ppl.

This is a great thread! I have packs of mixes I had no clue what to do with,but now I do! Thanks Carrie! :)

adiro,your yard is adorable! I love all the color you incorporated! I bet you find room for every plant you grow! ;) And that pooch of yours is such a doll! How sweet are those eyes? Geese,I want to squeeze him too!...lol...

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My point was my dogs lay on my shade plants but leave the ones in big pots alone. If the pots are too small you have to water daily; these big pots don't have to be watered any more than plants in the ground. I used soilless mix expert mix from wal-mart so soil drainage is controlled by the holes you drill in the pots. The impatients were sown inside and the coleus are from cuttings, but you could winter sow in these pots with plastic over them or transplant into them.

Wow, thank you!
Helen, those pics are gorgeous! You're lucky!
I have a few big pots too, that all did super good last year. I had a giant coleus, and my Dh wouldn't let me winter it in the house. At the first frost it promptly died, but not before I took two cuttings. They rooted fast in water, I planted them, and they even flowered indoors. I didn't save the seeds. but I have a 6 inch pot of bushy coleus now, enough to have a ton for next summer. So with my geraniums, actually the ones in the kitchen(my only South window) are a 2 foot jungle and flowering now. Sadly I let my impatients die, and I didn't collect seeds either Oh well, I 'll have other flowers this year!

I'm so sure WS will work, I actually spent my evenings reading old posts ( summertime posts) instead of watching the TV. if only spring would come sooner, I have so many plans and so much to relocate ( shuffle around)
Those are so happy pictures you sent me, yay, I can't wait for better weather!

adiro,look for volunteers from your impatiens in the spring,they reseed well as long as the soil where they were planted isn't disturbed,I bet you end up with quite a few! :)

Nice container garden Helen! :)