Seedlings already started: kohlrabi, broccoli raab, Hy.broccoli, parsley, lavender, cilantro, leeks, onions, scallions, some lettuces, male, red and green cabbage,.and celery. Already wintersowed/direct sowed some carrots, radishes and shallots under low tunnels. There are also some lettuces, kohlrabi, and arugula that survived our winter without protection that I went ahead and covered for spring as well as a handful of broccoli plants. I'm not sure if they will head after overwintering but I don't see why not so I'm protecting them as well. Next week ill start the rest of the lettuces and then cauliflower, di cicco broccoli and a few others indoors. Those will all get transplanted out under double. Cover end of Jan/early Feb at which time ill also direct sow beets and spinach and more carrots. I still have a couple frames to construct so I need to get a move on. I'll be starting time, peppers.and eggplants end of Jan also. All my cucurbits ill start in Feb for may transplant. Hopefully all my nightshades can go out in April assuming I got spring stuff in early enough. Peas will also direct sow in feb, which will then hopefully be done in time for may/early June beans. I can't wait for.it to be march! Hope to be getting my first harvests by then!

I am not a fan of peat in container potting unless it is a small portion and well mixed in. If you have too much peat in one spot within the pot it can dry together and repel water. I learned that the hard way and nearly killed a couple of potted figs last year. I would probably mix half native soil and half well aged compost for nutrition. You will also have to water fairly regularly in a pot like the above poster says and keep the soil moist but not wet. I have had more problems under watering than over watering potted plants. The pot will absolutely need drainage as well.

Thanks, everyone! Re rose sizes - Wollerton Old Hall, grafted, will start its third year in my garden. I grow it freestanding - its 6 feet round and is only 5 feet tall as the canes have arched over. It will make a great climber. Strawberry Hill is 5 years old and also grafted. I grew it as a shrub and the pencil thin canes couldn't support the trusses of flowers. When it started throwing out canes 6 feet long, I started growing it as a climber by fanning the canes against a fence. It's definitely much better grown that way. The canes are thin and pliable, and if it weren't for the thorns, training this climber would be a dream. Unfortunately, it doesn't get too many laterals. The laterals are long so have to be tied back. It blooms on the ends of canes. It's now 8 feet wide in either direction, and only 2-3 feet deep. Flower size varies from 4 inches to 2 inches. Let me know if there are other roses you want to know the size of, Iris_gal. Nik - PAoK has powdery mildew and blackspot all through the year in my garden. Does that help to disenable you ? :-) Catspa - I started growing Austins for instant gratification and to be replaced once my tea roses were big enough. Well, the teas grew backwards and most of them died, and more than 7 years later the Austins continue on in my garden. I'll PM you. I'd like to know more about what you observed with your Madame Antoine Mari. I checked the roots of Mel's Heritage and there were no visual indications of any problems. I don't have gophers here. I had a daylily blooming in March which has flowered for the last 10 years only in August. In case you are interested, my post on Mel's Heritage is here.

Well, this thread has turned into a wealth of gardening information! Some of the plants I have read about, others are completely new, which is wonderful. Gyr_falcon, your yard and plants are gorgeous. I wish I had your gardening passion, it shows in your pics. I lived in SoCal most of my life and have never seen the plant species you have (that I can remember anyways), it's really lovely. MsRose. I too am jealous of your Echinacea, they are one of my favorite flowers. I see now that they can grow in our zone too! Beautiful roses as well. I was thinking about trying the double knockout, so I'm a bit disappionted to read kswl's and javiwa's posts about them dying. Robo!!! You just simply rock! You're so generous with your pictures, advice and information, thank you so much. I'm feeling pretty lukki that we're in the same zones too, your gardens are so pretty! I find it very hard to believe that you are a beginner and/or a lazy gardener! Our previous owner was a landscaper by trade and ignored his own gardens, add that we are not gardeners and had a ton of inside work to do too and here we are. During her first visit, my sister told me we have bleeding heart in the back which are in shade, then my dh found some berry bushes in one bed which are very thorny, we had hostas and day lilies in the front but I'm not sure if they will grow back this year. Some daffodils and tulips are trying to come up, but a guy who cleaned our leaves for us dropped them all in the beds and the are buried. We have so much clean up to do it is overwhelming. We did transplant some forsythia bushes on the side of the house last year and they are starting to bloom. So far on my list I have red twig dogwood with a base of lemon grass set along the border of the property to help with some privacy from the road, hydrangea under the front window, a mix of blooming perennials in front of the deck and I really really want a Japanese Maple which is my favorite of trees. There is just so much to choose from. I will look into the azaleas as well. hee hee. I drive for work and have had my eyes on the yards. Lots of flowers starting to bloom, it really is so pretty.