There is a forum on seed growing with very helpful members. Also a great FAQ section. I found it very useful when I first started. Here is the link. Good luck!

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/seed

there is also a winter sowing forum ...

timing is key .... summer is not really seed time .. so you have plenty of time to learn ...

my default is when a plant sets seed .... then collect and store them .. or strew them around ... the problem with that.. is that they might not sprout until next spring.. by which time.. you wonder what all those weeds are .. that are sprouting.. lol ... hence winter sowing ..... which basically involves sowing the seed in containers in fall ... and so when they winter over and sprout in spring.. they are all in one pot ...

ken

its the first link.. plus a whole bunch of other links on topic ..

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=winter+sowing+forum&t=ffcm&ia=web

I, too, would look into winter sowing. It is a terrific way to grow your own hardy perennials with very little effort!

Right now is a perfect time to get foxgloves on the go. I sow the seed on the surface of a free-draining loamy mix, in 4inch pots. I sow the seed lightly, but a very fine layer of grit (I use fine flint chick grit), water from the bottom by sitting the pots in trays, pop in a cool place, not in direct sun, water with a fine rose or cover the pots with plastic or a cloche. The seeds will be up in 2 weeks (teeny, tiny seedlings) and can be pricked out when they get their first true leaves, ready for planting in their final places in autumn.

I have some foxglove seeds that I planted a few weeks ago in some long planters. They are coming up . I had good luck last year growing them from seed. They are blooming now and there must be about 20 or so. I want to try other perennials because my budget cannot continue buying so many plants from the nuseries. I have learned about Lowes clearance and yesterday found some lovely Veronica’s for 5 bucks at Walmart. I love bellflowers , the tall type , that’s one I want to try. I am going to try winter sowing. My favorite low cost nusery closed last year , how I miss their 3 for $10 plants.

I seeded deep plug trays and set them under row cover fabric last winter. Basically a cold frame with a permeable top so rain water can get through. I have planted about 40 of the plugs so far. This year i will add more perlite to the soil for drainage and use a mulch like Campanula described. The deep plugs will support the seedlings until they have a few sets of leaves.

This is a useful thread i bookmarked:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3773498/seed-starting-mix

I wintersow and established a huge perennial bed last year. I actually counted the plants (because I'm weird) and 80-85% were from seed via wintersowing. Wintersowing is easy easy easy, and planting the seedlings is so much easier than planting gallon containers. Also, the seedlings are already hardened off, so no need to worry about them getting any cold shock when planted out. I highly recommend it. Vendors like Swallowtail Garden Seeds have unusual seeds of plants that are often only found in nurseries.

Winter sowing is great for perennials. Sowing biennials now is great so that you get the wait time for the foliage only plant to stick around, and get the roots established. Foxglove are biennial for instance