Another week, another batch of seeds started.

My Swallowtail Seeds order arrived, finally–over 30 days after I ordered it, true, but the website did warn of 5 week delays. So I was finally able to get my Echinaceas planted. My Pinetree Garden Seeds order also arrived, slightly quicker than the Swallowtail Seeds order, and another small order I put in at Johnny’s arrived, all in the same week. So it was a pretty busy week of sowing.

My “Moon Garden” plants are, for the most part, started. I’ll be using the Fleurel dahlia as my centerpiece, with the White Swan echinacea, Snow White malva, Abyssinian Gladiolus (Acidanthera Murielae), and white African daisy in graduated rows leading up to it, and any ranunculus and gladiolus bulbs form my mixes that end up being white, all framed by a moonflower vine. I’ve also got night-blooming jasmine on order, but that’s not set to arrive until late May, so I need to remember to leave some space in the Moon Garden for it as well. All in all, not a bad start for an all- white garden.

Sowing 3/20/21:

Madame Butterfly Mix	Johnny’s Seeds
Dahlia, Unwins Mix	Baker Creek
Dahlia, Redskin Mix	Pinetree Seeds
Calendula, Pink Surprise	Baker Creek
Calendula, Zeolights	Botanical Interests
Lupine, generic	Joseph

Sowing 3/24/21:

Amazing Gray Poppy	Botanical Interests
Black Nasturtium	RH Shumway’s
Peach Melba Nasturtium	Botanical Interests
Malva, Snow White	Pinetree Seeds
Rainbow Loveliness Cottage Pinks	Botanical Interests
Hollyhock, Indian Spring	Baker Creek

Sowing 3/26/21:

Dahlia, Fleurel	Dutch Bulbs
ECHINACEA, GREEN TWISTER	Swallowtail Seeds
ECHINACEA, WHITE SWAN	Swallowtail Seeds
SALVIA, ROSE QUEEN	Swallowtail Seeds
SCABIOSA, FAMA DEEP BLUE	Swallowtail Seeds
Moonflower	Seed Savers Exchange
Madame Butterfly Bronze w/ White	Johnny’s Seeds

Sowing 3/27/21:

Basil, Lettuce Leaf	Baker Creek
Chamomile, German	Botanical Interests
Cosmos, Sea Shells	Baker Creek
Swiss Chard, Ruby Red/Rhubarb	Botanical Interests
Beet, Cylindra	Johnny’s Seeds
Beet, Bolthardy	Pinetree Garden Seeds
Salanova® Green Sweet Crisp	Johnny’s Seeds
Salanova® Home Garden Mix	Johnny’s Seeds
Delphinium, Sky Blue/White	Swallowtail Seeds
Hollyhock, Nigra	Trade Wind Fruit
Genovese Basil	Botanical Interests

The reason I start so many seeds is because 1) seeds are cheap, and I’ve already paid for them; and 2) I like to have variety. I’m not sure if I’ll end up planting all of these seedlings in my garden, but I want to have the option to do so. And despite overspending on seeds this year, it’s still cheaper than buying these plants already started from my local garden center (assuming my local garden center even carried all of these varieties, which is unlikely). But, mostly I just need something gardening-related to do right now while I’m housebound and healing.

So far, everything from the 3/20/21 sowing has germinated, and the Amazing Gray poppy from 3/24 has also germinated (poppies seem to germinate very quickly). I reordered the Madame Butterfly Bronze with White because it turns out that I hadn’t ordered the correct variety earlier–I had ordered a Madame Butterfly mix instead. So I will have a ton of snapdragon seedlings to choose from in about two months.

A note on dahlia bulbs: not all dahlia sellers are equal, apparently. The Fleurel bulb I ordered from DutchBulbs.com (again, very early into my dahlia purchasing) was way overpriced, and the bulb I received was clearly dehydrated, with the outer skin peeling off of most of the bulb. I planted it up in a pot anyway, but as of yet, it doesn’t show any signs of life. To be on the safe side, I ordered another Fleurel from Longfield Gardens, which was cheaper and actually includes three bulbs per order rather than just the one Dutchbulbs.com offers. (Also, the customer service at Longfield Gardens is amazing! Quick to respond and very flexible in rearranging my orders.) Once I get all of the bulbs I ordered and have them planted, I’ll write up a comparison of the five companies from whom I ordered dahlia bulbs.