make a new plan, stan

 Our late-autumn skies have been amazing - brooding and atmospheric.

We'd had snow by this time last year, multiple times, but this year remains a bit warmer and mostly dry.  We've had some beautiful frosts...

...and early morning fog.

It's been perfect weather for working on outdoor projects.  Our back frost-free faucet area, for example, was dilapidated...much like everything else back there when we moved in!  Todd dug up the posts and sunk them deeply in gravel.

He wanted to stabilize them and also make them more visible, so that we didn't accidentally bump them with our cars.  But, being the thoughtful person that he is (💕), he also thought it would be nice for me to have another place to plant some vining flowers.  So he dug and mulched the base.

He's going to attach lattice around the top in the spring and it will be vine-ready.  Hooray!  Will I plant Hyacinth Bean 'Ruby Moon'?

Maybe Thai Double Blue Butterfly Peas?

(Photo courtesy of Baker's Creek)

One of my unusual Morning Glory varieties, like 'Picotee Blue'?

(photo courtesy of Seed Needs)

I've also got plenty of Black-Eyed Susan Vine...

...and Corkscrew Vine, yellow:

(photo courtesy of Plant Attraction)

I have a few months to decide!  I've been trying to do all of my spring planning now, so that I can take the winter "off" from it but still be ready to jump in February.

Dahlias are wrapped and stored, and so are my geranium roots:

I need to hurry and get my perennial seeds planted before the weather takes a turn.  Perennial seeds need what's called cold stratification, or a period of chilling to loosen the hull of the seed.  I tried doing it in the freezer last year and got no results.  The freeze/thaw cycle of late winter is perfect for this, so I gathered up my seeds...

...and tried to fill the new bed.

Most seeds are just pressed into the surface and then dusted with a covering of sand/peat moss to keep them from blowing away.  I'd planned on doing it yesterday, since Sunday is my only day off, but after losing a palmful of apricot and white foxglove seeds in 30+ mph winds, I called it a day. I'm going to have to squeeze in the work sometime this week.  

At least the planning work is done.  Since I'm an active seed trader, I have a lot of seeds.  A LOT of seeds.  I have filled three 3" binders:

I have to look through my binders and honestly determine:  how many 'Cherry Caramel' phlox plants do I want next year, especially if I have 12 different varieties of phlox to choose from?  Do I want to plant a few of each, or go heavy on 'Cherry Caramel', which is clearly the superior phlox?

(isn't it dreamy??)

(photo courtesy of Floret Farms)

Once I decide that, I move on to:  am I going to plant one round in early spring, or am I going to plant two rounds (one early spring, one early summer) to prolong the grow period?  If I do that, my first planting should be smaller.  Then I need to check the seed's needs.  Does it need cold stratification?  Does the seed hull need to be scarified (nicked)?  Does it need light to germinate, or complete darkness?  Does it take 5 days to germinate, or 3 months? Is it cold-tolerant, meaning that the seedling can (and should) be set out in mid-April instead of mid-May?  Can it ONLY be directly sown outside, since several types of flowers hate being transplanted and might die off if I try it?  These questions need to be asked for EVERY SINGLE VARIETY.  

Then I had to compile a list, and put everything on Google Calendar, to help me keep track.

I'm mostly doing this laborious process now because I need to know how much soil I need, how many heat mats, how many grow lights, and how much shelving.  I don't want March to come, suddenly get SIXTY Google alerts for seeds that need to go on the heat mats, and discover that I'm short.  

Also, detailed processes appeals to this Type-A planner.  :)  This is where every second of my free time has been spent for the past week.

I also ordered my spring ranuculus and anemones:

(photo courtesy of Johnny's Seeds)

(photo courtesy of Floret Farms)

Once I finish planting those perennial seeds, I'm finished and can join Claudia in a little relaxation!

I can't wait.  Have a great week!