Thursday
I was thinking while sowing seeds how useful my new tidy tray and pump mister have been, both of which I've seen Laura use on Garden Answer. I've seen Monty Don also use a soil mixing bin on Gardener's World. His looks to be a DIY project made out of wood, and I was thinking about making one at some point until I saw the plastic one that Laura was using. As for the pump mister, I had never even thought of that until seeing Laura using one. It works so much better for getting seeds underway than a watering can does.
Neither one of those products is specifically endorsed by Garden Answer, but just seeing her using them inspired my purchases. It got me thinking about how many other purchases I've made due to watching her videos. I wondered how someone can make a living by posting YouTube videos, but it is starting to become pretty clear to me. I have made quite a few purchases and I am just one of over a million subscribers. The sponsorships and the revenue brought to them must be quite significant.
One of the things that I've noticed about the Garden Answer videos, is that there are sponsorships but it is never done in a way that is pushy or infomercial like. Every single thing that she endorses are things that she herself finds extremely useful. It also seems that she sung the praises of various products even before she had any kind of sponsorship from the specific vendors.
The first item I purchased based solely on her use was Espoma Biotone. Every time she planted anything, she tossed a bit of it into the planting hole. After a while, I started wondering what it was and then went out to specifically look for it. I've used Espoma products in the past - mostly Holly Tone, Tomato Tone, Bulb Tone... Anyway, I now have Biotone, and like Laura, I toss it in every planting hole. Funny story - I purchased quite a big bag of it, so I put a little of it in a tote instead of carrying that big bag around the gardens. Early on, I had left the tote out in the rain. The Biotone turned into a mushy very stinky blob that was the consistency of a fresh cow patty. I was planting a half dozen astilbes and intended to use up that last little bit. I am overly sensitive to odors, and oh my if anyone could have seen me! I was kneeling on the ground over the holes I had just dug, tossing in the stinky stinky wet mushy Biotone, and vomiting at the same time. Extra fertilizer??? YUCK! Lesson learned, KEEP THE BIOTONE UNDER COVER 
Espoma is one of Garden Answer's sponsors now, but Laura and her parents' garden center have used and sold Espoma products for many years. Great products.
The next thing I purchased was a retractable hose called Hose Link. It is expensive, but Laura claims it is a game changer. Years ago I switched from traditional heavy garden hoses to light weight ones, and they are much easier for me, but they are so hard to roll back up - twisting and turning into figure 8s to the point of extreme frustration. After one such frustrating episode yet again with the 100 foot hose outside the garage, I marched right into the house, went online, and ordered it. Oh my, she is right, it is a game changer. A week later I ordered a second one for the opposite side of the house outside the walk out basement. Absolutely love them and actually smile to myself at how easy it is every time I pull the hose out and retract it back 
Then I purchased the "Laura" version Power Planter auger and the powerful Dewalt battery powered hammer drill that she uses. Another game changer. Great for planting bulbs, but also great for making general holes for planting perennials.
I've gone on to purchase the Felco 2 pruner. Laura warns that they are sharp, and they are. Right after I got it, Bonnie and I were working in the gardens and she looked over to see me sitting on the back patio wall with my hand upraised and looking sheepish. I had been holding the annuals that I was going to deadhead in my left hand, pruner in right, and wouldn't you know it, the slightest snip got my left hand and sent the blood gushing. Not enough to need stitches, but another lesson learned 
Anyway, by far the best pruner that I've ever had.
Then there are the Greenstalk vertical planters. Again pricey, but I can't wait to plant strawberries in them and have fresh strawberries on the small deck outside the kitchen. I will also be purchasing 'Seascape' ever bearing strawberry plants this spring based solely on what Laura plants.
Although not specifically sponsored, there are seeds and plant selections I've been making based solely on what I see in her gardens. Starting geraniums from seed, digitalis 'Pink Gin', cucumber 'Suyo Long', onion 'Walla Walla', just to name a few. I also want to make raspberry raised beds that look like the beds she made and get 'Fall Gold' raspberries. She also plants 'Heritage', but says the family favorite is 'Fall Gold'. There was a short video clip of her little girl, two and a half years old late last summer, with Laura holding out 'Fall Gold' raspberries in one hand and 'Heritage' raspberries in the other. Little Samantha Grace went right for the 'Fall Gold', ate every one of them, and then left, leaving the 'Heritage' untouched. The preference couldn't have been stated any more clearer than that 
Tuesday
We got a lot of rain yesterday and it continued heavily into the night, but at some point it turned into snow. When I woke up this morning the ground was covered and the snow continued to fall for hours. By early afternoon though, the sun was out and the snow started melting.
I spent the morning sorting through my old seed stash, adding to my spreadsheet of what to sow when. Then I headed out to the greenhouse with more seeds that are supposed to be sown 10-12 weeks before last frost. I started with dichondra, asarina, and two kinds of columbine from my 2024 purchases, and then sowed two additional kinds of columbine and one kind of perennial salvia that were packed for 2019 from my old seed stash.
I already foresee that the biggest problem will be jockying for space with heat mats and grow lights in the house. I tried googling to see what kind of temperatures seedlings need to grow once they have germinated. I'm hoping the things that were sown first can rotate out to the greenhouse, making room for newly sown flats in the house. I couldn't really find anything informative other than a few mentions that they can take lower temperatures, but no specifics. I think that the onions, foxgloves, columbines, and perennial salvia should do fine out there, and in fact would probably prefer it. The unknown for me is how the annuals will fare. I have two weeks before the next round for things to be sown at 8 weeks out.
The geranium seeds that I sowed on Saturday evening are starting to germinate. There was one this morning and two more when I checked about an hour ago. That is a mere three days! So exciting!
Monday
I went to the annual Mid Atlantic seed swap on Saturday. At this point, our group is much smaller than it has been in the past. There isn't as much interest in exchanging seeds these days, but we all still look forward to the get together for the Chinese buffet and the social aspect of it. On the flip side, this year I actually do have a much greater interest in sowing seeds and I picked up some thai basil seeds and a nice selection of tomato seeds.
I've also purchased a number of seeds from mail order sources for both flowers and vegetables. On Saturday when I got home from the swap, I laid out my 2024 purchases and made a spreadsheet of what seeds to sow when. At the top I listed the last frost date of Apr 24, then started counting back with the date for 12 weeks out, 10 weeks out, 8 weeks out, 6 weeks out, 4 weeks out... Then I arranged what I have in order of when to plant. I'm already a bit late for what I should have sown at 12 weeks out, which would have been Jan 31, but I'll sow them now along with what should be sown at 10 weeks out.
Just to whet my appetite, I sowed geranium seeds Saturday night. I've been watching the YouTube Garden Answer channel every morning, I'm absolutely addicted to these videos, and so many things that Laura does pique my interest for trying myself. One of them is growing geraniums from seed. I've never been much of a geranium fan, always thinking of those bright red cheerful flowers that are too bold for my garden color palette, but now I realize that there are muted pastel shades that appeal to me. Laura makes it look so easy and foolproof. I purchased two different varieties from Swallowtail Seeds - the Maverick Quicksilver packet only had 10 seeds and the Tornado Bicolor Duet packet only had 5 seeds. Easy enough to see the seeds and a small enough quantity to seed in individual cells. For comparison, Laura planted well over 100 and had nearly 100% germination. If I get 15 actual geraniums to germinate and grow, I'll be a happy satisfied seed sower 
On Sunday I headed out to the greenhouse to truly start the seed starting marathon. Even with the disappointment of not having the heat needed to germinate seeds in there right now, it is so nice having all the supplies at hand and a dedicated work space. I got 3 kinds of onions and 4 kinds of foxglove sown. Then I carried the sown flats from the greenhouse into the house. I've never tried onions before so that will be fun to see what happens with them. I love foxgloves and even though I've never had any success, I keep trying them. I am optimistic that with due diligence and attention that success statistic will change.
In the next few days I plan to get dichondra and asarina seeds sown. Last year was the first time I ever saw or even heard of dichondra. I bought a few pots of it and absolutely loved the silvery green foliage for spilling out of containers.
Right now I have a plan in place for the 2024 purchased seeds, but I also have a seed stash with seeds dating as far back as 10 years or more. I hope to make a huge dent in getting those sown too. My goal is to clear out my seed stash and starting fresh next year. Who knows if any of that old seed is viable, but if there is any germination at all, great. I know it is way too ambitious to have that many seed flats going, but I never seem to do anything in moderation
Saturday
I spent all day working outside yesterday. It felt great. I didn't actually get to the tasks I had planned, but I did get quite a few other things done.
I never did get all of my bulbs planted last fall, so I spent time potting them up in containers. Most bulbs need 10 weeks of cold weather and I'm hoping they will still do ok even with this late planting. As my friend Jill always says, they "might not" survive or bloom, but if you don't plant them, they "definitely" won't Anyway, it is worth a try. I've been planting tulips in containers for several years, treating them as annuals, so that was a given. What I also potted up were iris reticulata, alliums, hyacinths, and six different cultivars of daffodils - none of which I've done in containers before. If those do grow, I'll move them "in the green" from the containers into the ground later this spring.
I also spent time getting my new greenhouse in order. I've been stashing supplies in there for months. All those supplies are now organized and the working area is ready to use. My intention for the greenhouse is for starting seeds, but until we get 220 power run to it for the heater, I can't keep the temperature high enough for seed germination. I've shifted gears for this season and will start seeds in the house and then move them to the greenhouse when it is warm enough to keep them growing. There are some seeds that I'll treat as "winter sowing" and do directly in the greenhouse though. I'll also use the greenhouse as a working area to sow everything and then carry the sown flats into the house. It is great to have all the supplies set up in one place and so convenient and easy to work on. Instead of moving the heavy duty shelving unit that I've used in the past back into the house, I remembered that I had several light weight "greenhouse" units that I got from Aldi years ago. They are plastic, have four 24 inch wide wire grid shelves, and a plastic cover that goes over it - hence the "greenhouse" designation. I cleaned those up and moved them into my living room. I'm ready now to get the seed starting underway.
River was outside with me all day long. For a good portion of it I was in the greenhouse and he was happily doing dog things out and about. At one point I had gone to the basement to find some small storage boxes for odds and ends, and I heard his pathetic persistent barking. I came upstairs, looked outside to see what the heck he wanted, and saw him standing outside the greenhouse door wanting in. Crazy dog thought I was still in there and wanted to join me. The look on his face when I came out of the house was priceless
Clutter always seems to accumulate, and clutter outside is nothing new. I spent a few hours decluttering, whether it be putting things in their place or loading up for taking to the dump.
It is amazing how many hours can be eaten up with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. At the end of the day I did another walkabout with Bonnie when she got home from work. We discovered two more snowdrop cultivars poking up, so now the loss of named cultivars is primarily just those that I think were due to tractor damage. I was happy that 'Blewbury Tart', which is my favorite cultivar so far, is still alive 
We are having a string of fairly mild days, well mild for February. There is nothing like a bit of warm weather and the first blooms of the season to motivate me to get winter gardening tasks started.
The first of the snowdrops and hellebores are blooming. I've been gradually adding to my named cultivar snowdrop collection. I've gone through the cultivars readily available from the US bulb companies. They are limited though. There aren't many places that sell a wider selection in the US. Carolyn's Shade Gardens is one of the few. She sells single bulbs in the green. They are pricey, but despite that they sell out fast. Over the years, I've been purchasing a few at a time. Most are planted in the Fern Bank, a berm which runs along part of the circle driveway.
Yesterday I looked to see which cultivars have made an appearance. At this point, I'd say only half of them have survived. There is a twelve foot section where four of the five cultivars that I purchased in 2018 have disappeared. Not only are there no snowdrops to be seen, none of the original mini blind plant markers are there either. Suspiciously similar to the width of the tractor and suspiciously where Mike would have driven the tractor through as a shortcut when working in that area. Such a bummer.
I am trying a new plant marker method this year using slate. They are bigger and more visible and readable than the mini blind markers I've been using. Hopefully they will stay in place much better than the mini blind markers, and even if they do get uprooted, they are big and heavy enough that I should be able to find them and put them back. Time will tell. Anyway, I made labels yesterday for the nine cultivars that have made an appearance. If nothing else, they do look pretty.
As I was walking about, I noticed a few hellebores are already blooming too. Not many at full blooming stage, but all have flowers emerging. Time to cut the ratty foliage back. That is quite the effort with the number of hellebores I have. It is the first gardening task of the season, and one that I look forward to doing. It is also time to start raking out the accumulated leaves from the gardens. I always start with the Fern Bank where the snowdrops are blooming, and then progress to areas with hellebores. I was reading that the snowdrops should receive fertilizer high in potassium as soon as the tips emerge. I may be a tad late for that, but I'll do that now too.
I was planning to make a run to Hagerstown to the Amish food market today, but the weather is going to be so nice that I'll get started on gardening tasks instead - raking leaves, cutting back ratty hellebores foliage, and fertilizing the snowdrops. Ahhhhh gardening season 2024 has begun!
