A couple years ago I did a big seed order and started lots of seeds indoors. Truly, lots of work and not such a big jump on the season that it made a huge difference, in my estimation. So this year I decided to, first, do an inventory of what I already had (brilliant plan), then, choose seeds that could mostly be sowed outdoors, and finally, that I actually had a spot for (brilliant plans two and three).
Above is the array of seed catalogs and reference books I used to select what will again be too many seeds. And yes, the selecting is at least as much fun as actually growing them.
Thompson & Morgan: Lemon gem marigold and Italian white sunflower. These can go hither and yon in the front, the sunflowers in the sunny bed.
Pinetree Garden: purple Trionfo Violetto bean and round black radish. In the raised bed (radish) and on a teepee (beans).
Johnny’s: Ruby Moon hyacinth bean, Heavenly blue morning glory and lemon gem marigold (I got confused and ordered them twice, but no matter). The two annual vines to wreath around the mailbox (MG) and to add a purple accent to the pink bed at the side of the house (HB).
Kitchen Garden Seeds: Yaya carrots, Genovese Basil and Shirley poppies, plus fingerling potatoes. These will go in the raised bed along with the Tuscan kale I “imported” from Italy. The potatoes will probably go in the potato bag again, but I’ll pay more attention to water this time. I promise.
White Flower Farms: because they are too hard to start from seed, three verbena bonariensis and one Bonfire begonia, both plants I had admired in Oxford. Here’s the Bonfire begonia in the greenhouse at the Botanical Gardens in Oxford
and here’s the verbena at Darwin’s house
The begonia in a pot, and the verbena to twine amongst everything else in the sunny border.
Caroline's Garden and Travel Record 