I literally stumbled across winter sowing back around 2007 and was intrigued by the idea of it. I WS 500+ recycled gallon milk jugs of perennials and shrubs. Those plants are now thriving in my own & my neighbors' garden beds.

I'm loving my WS stokesia in bloom, in part because I love the electric blue ruffly 2-3" flowers each July but equally because I know they'll produce oodles of viable seeds when fall rolls around here in southern New England. Shasta daisies also tend to yield a quantity of seeds; my favorite is 'Crazy Daisy."

My last job was in IT (Information Technology for the uninitiated) so details were critical.

Generally, if you're looking for information, it's available on the Internet. If you want to research seed-germination information, check out the Clothier database. Seeds are listed by type (perennial/annual/tree/vegetable, etc.) + botanical name (you won't find 'daisy' but you will find Leucanthemum). The database will describe what conditions are necessary for seeds to germinate.

Stuffing your garden beds with WS perennials as well as annuals & vegetables is fun. I don't ski. What else is there to do (in New England) from January to April?

There's another professional title...Seed-a-holic. I'm proud to say I am a seed-a-holic and it's as much fun as planting and growing! I love to save seeds and share them.