I had it my first year Ws. Now almost done with my 4th.

I learned to keep my info records simple. That works for me.

Between Sept. and Jan. I get my seeds in order by kind. Right a list of what I have, divided by type include height and full sun, part sun, shade.

Beginning of Feb. I start WS and go till May 1st.

I have my lists that I transfer to a word document on the computer for long term records, but I like the paper in hand as I plant to refer to.

My gardens are well crammed and getting even more so this year and I don't do well designed either.

It's tall in back, medium in the middle, short in front.
Vines on the fence, arbor, trellis and in pots with support.

sun lovers go in the sun, partly ones go in part sun, shade lovers go in the shade.

I put alot of my plants in pots as well. I've found they do extremely well in pots, but do not get as large as they would in the ground and I can move them around to fill in bare spots.

Also found that sun lovers will do quite well in part sun too.

I found that the first year I spent too much time worrying about the little stuff, designs and looking good. That was easy when I bought what I wanted at the local nursery and knew where they would go.
Now I have far too many seedlings to worry about perfect gardens and perfect plans. It's out they go and in the ground. Fill in the gardens and they will be fine. If something isn't growing well in a spot, dig it up and move it to another; and if it's blooming and I don't like it, I take it out and put something else in it's place.

With wintersowing, there's always more from where one came from, plenty to fill in the spot or spots and jus too much fun with all the new seedlings to worry about perfect order.

After the first year with so many seedlings you'll start to see what ones look better in different locations. If the plant is too short where you put it, just move it, same if it's too tall.

Now's the time to start enjoying the seedlings and just put them in the ground as soon as it's warm enough for them. Then sit back again and be patient and wait for the beautiful show they will put on for you.

Fran

I can totally sympathize with you! My first year was just like yours. Totally overwhelmed and I've grown from seed most of my life!! Last year I put 7,000 sq. ft of new gardens (and a native Tallgrass prairie to boot). I worked hours and hours on my spreadsheets so that it would be easier. Well, it was in some ways and wasn't in others. This year I have no plans for my 600 - 700 containers except that I know more about the plants then I did last year. I am counting on this knowledge to help me when it comes time to plant. What might help you is to plop the containers in the gardens where you would like to plant them. I try to avoid this until right before time to plant that way, if I have to water, they are all together. Yes my yard looks like a "dump" for a few weeks but it made it so much easier to plan. All the neighbors would stop and ask what I was doing! A great ice breaker! All in all I think each year gets easier since my knowledge base increases. Yours will too, just give it some time.

Remember you can always move them if their not working out in their new homes. Do it early in the morning or a cloudy day for less shock. I'm embarrased to say I move something every week.

Someone here writes on their containers the height and width along with the name. Brilliant idea! I will definitely be doing that next year except I'll add on sun, soil and bloom color. I've tried to keep good records in a database but it needs updated with last minute purchases. I printed out all that info and look the flower up before transplanting. It would go alot faster to have that info on the container.

Fran describes me well LOL! I'm not a good planner by any stretch of the imagination (esp. color and texture) and I've become quite familiar with the spade. Stick and run...that's me! There hasn't been one spring or fall that I haven't moved plants from her to there or yanked and chucked something I didn't like in mid summer :D
I suppose I'll always be that way; it makes gardening pretty interesting and ever-changing. I'm afraid if I put TOO much thought into planning I might not like it so well anymore. I did finally get around to making a database this year but as far a graph paper...forget it! LOL!

You'll do well,

Vera

I'm not a very good planner :) I'm much better at, oh, there's a spot, stick it there! I do have a basic idea usually about which are tall plants and which are shorter and I do try to work within that basic guideline.

The longer I do this the more I see the wisdom in Trudi's plan, she starts at one end and just works her way around. The new sprouts need to be watered fairly frequently until they settle in. If I do the scattered approach I find that I let some sprouts die because I forget where they are.

Lisa

I think that Fran's advice about not worrying about "perfect gardens and perfect plans" is right on. I find that it is near impossible to really plan out perennial gardens. There are just too many variables to worry about. I will try to think a little about height and spacing. I will sometimes think about a general color theme for beds, but I don't worry too much about flower color except to try and mix flowers that bloom during different times of the year and try to avoid colors that really clash. I play more attention to foliage shape and texture than flowers when laying out plants.

For me it really works out well to grow my seedlings in pots or to grow them in a nursery bed. I can then create a bed without really thinking about the plants that I will use. I can then select and arrange plants to get a pleasing combination of foliage.

- Brent

I have no plans. I am plant collector so no " I want something 3 feet tall with blue flowers in this corner" for me.
I start with a plant. Once I see container ready to be planted out I go back to computer and google requirements- sun, shade, moist, dry, height, width. Then I take my tray and walk around my garden looking for spot that fits those requirements. Then I plant, water/ fertilize and go for the next tray. My first year there were times when I would walk for hours and still end up not planting anything.

Ditto lindalana

Some of my best combinations have come about by accident. Ok, some of my worst ones have too. But you can always move them.

Planning doesn't happen until (at least) the third year. The most important beds during the first few years are nursery beds. Very few perennials mature in less than 2-3 years, and it takes that long to get to know how they deal with your environment.

Once you've gotten that part down, the fun begins. Stuff you sow this year (perennials) will be going to nursery beds, or pots, and you'll mechanically tend them until they are mature.

Now it's time to build a new bed. Make the space, plan it out, and wander through your nursery beds as if they were the local retail nursery. You'll have tended and watched these plants long enough to know what they do, and how they get along in your garden. Dig 'em up and install them in the new bed. That's the best part.

If a plant doesn't work in your nursery beds, it probably won't work in your display beds, so assign it to the compost heap. Growing compost is a good thing for the garden.

I also found that wintersown plants (or spring sown...) are so much more hardy and so if you do have to move them around, they will perk up faster. Last year, I did mounds and mounds of profusion zinnias - but forgot to label some of them. When they bloomed and I wanted to switch colors, they didn't flinch. If I did that with store bought plants, I don't think they would have stood the shock in the middle of the summer - but my own plants I sowed had no problem being moved.... except the Malvas - they are tough to transplant.

Carrie

Roflol,
All the planning in the world isn't going to solve the problem. With WS you have so many seedlings that you have to just stuff them in somewhere and run away from them to get more.

I think the best piece of advice I got about what to do with all my seedlings was from a 3 year old who was helping plant seedlings 2 years ago.
He heard me moaning that I was running out of room in the garden beds to put all the seedlings.

He looked at me with that puzzled look a 3 year old gets and said "no more room?" He kept looking at me and got up and walked all around the front yard, came back to me and said "dirt, dirt everywhere, dig a hole and drop them in."
He then grabbed a container and my little shovel and started digging holes in the lawn, and all over, then he dropped seedlings in the holes.

I was laughing and laughing, then realized how right he was.
I had dirt all over the front yard, so where was the problem? I just started stuffing the garden beds with my seedlings.
I dug up some of the lawn, who needs lawns right? Just stuff them in where ever there is dirt.

Don't forget, there's always containers to put plants in too. Walmart has wonderful cheap pots that start at $.88 for an 8 inch container with a saucer.

When you get desperate, as my hubby did last summer, when he had to help get the seedlings in for me, while I recouped from surgery, I found, even an engineer can be creative with his pot plantings. He just followed my lead and stuffed seedlings into pots. When I realized what he did, well it was too late to make changes.

Some hubby creative planting pics

different types of zinnias in one pot. he read zinnia only.
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balsam impatiens in the top of the strawberry jar, he put alyssum in the sides of one and my strawberry plants in the sides of another and portulacca in the third.
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the remaining 4 seedlings of 4'oclocks. he just stuffed them all in a 12 inch pot. They bloomed beautifully too.
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duck taped the leaking birdbath, filled it with miracle grow potting mix and put the drumonndi phlox and petunias in it.
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the last malva seedling, in a left over pot.
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3 foot tall cactus zinnia in a 10 inch pot. He thought it would stay short cause it was so small. It grew quite well, with twisted and bent stems, but the flowers where full and normal and always facing up towards the sky.
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See, there's always a way to find more room, just dig a hole and put it in or fill a pot and put it in.

Fran

lol, I no longer feel so lonely about this!

I appreciate all the wisdom and encouragement in all of your posts. Each one gave great ideas.

This morning I vowed to get off my rumpus and document *at least* what has germinated, and start deciding where they can go *at least for now.* A la lindalana and gdionelli, I took down names and googled for expected size and sun/water prefs. I don't have to coordinate colors, but I do want to see what's in there so I want to try to put the tall ones in back and the short ones in front, and there are places where my hoses don't reach so I want the xeriscape-ables in those spots. So I have *some* planning that is already done for me I guess.

There are over 50 different varieties that have germinated so far (and nearly as many containers that have not yet germinated), not including tomatoes and peppers (and wow! I wish I could germinate Hopi Red Dye amaranth every other week just to see those ruby-red seedlings - they make me happy!). As I catalogued, I realized I must do something with some of these or they will perish where they are. So tomorrow I will start my long weekend of preparing some bed spaces...

Wish me luck. ;-) And thanks again *everybody*.

Terri

I'm sure most of us feel like you do when we first started. I bought most of my seeds this year. I use the cardboard from a 24 pack of soda pop and write all the info I need from the back of the seed packet, color, size, bloom time, etc. I have my milk jugs numbered. I take my cardboard outside and go to it. The cardboard survies the season and I'm not running inside for info or checking seed packets. This works for me.
Marcy