anyone else waiting patiently for their seeds/seedling to grow.

[JackieWeaversZoomAc]

I ordered seeds early Feb. They took 3 weeks to arrive so I planted them early March.
I have lots of tiny seedlngs in various stages. I potted some on too early and they have not made it - I have more to pot on this weekend. Some are doing ok.
I also received 72 perinnial plugs that I've potted on.

This is the first time I've ever grown anything from seed or tiny plug - and while I am really enjoying it, its going to be AT LEAST another month before they are ready to plant out in my garden.

So I'm thinking I won't really see any flowers or substanstial growth until next summer?

I am enjoying my seedlings and feel very protective over them. I guess I was wrong thinking I would get anything substanstial into my garden from seed this year? Or am I being impatient?

How are your seeds/seedlings doing?

What are you growing? Flowers, veggies?

My tomatoes, courgettes and sunflowers are all doing quite well and are in the cold frame hardening off now.

I have just sown cosmos, hyssop and something else (forgotten what) and are waiting for them to germinate.

It is still early, especially as it's been so cold. I wouldn't expect to start planting stuff out until mid May in any case.

My cold frame!

I love the look of your cold frame.
I've just been using windowsill and the sheltered/sunny bit of the deck.

I am growing perennial plants for garden - verbena, salvia, echinacea, foxglove, some grasses, sea holly etc.

My neighbour kindly gives me tomatoes, cucumber, corgette and pepper plants he growns in his greenhouse.

According to my seed log this is the comprehensive list of plants I'm trying by seed, and plugs:

Pennisetum macrourum 'Tail Feathers'
Red Hot Poker - Traffic Lights
Echium Pininana
Sunflower seeds
Verbena bonariensis
Deschampsia cespitosa
Achillea ptarmica, 'The Pearl'
Achillea millefolium, 'Flowerburst Lilac Shades', F2 Hybrid
Eryngium planum, 'Blue Glitter'
Salvia nemor osa, 'Rose Queen'
Echinacea purpurea, 'Baby Swan White'
Echinacea simulata
Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea
Geranium, 'Geranos', Mixed Hardy Species
PLUGS Achillea 'Cerise Queen
PLUGS Aquilegia 'Mrs Scott Elliott'
PLUGS Coreopsis 'Golden Joy
PLUGS Delphinium 'Dark Blue & White Bee'
PLUGS Dianthus 'Rockin Red
PLUGS Foxglove 'Dalmatian Mixed
PLUGS Echinacea 'Nectar Pink
PLUGS Geum 'Mrs Bradshaw'
PLUGS Salvia 'Salvatore Deep Blue',
PLUGS Leucanthemum 'Crazy Daisy
PLUGS Doronicum 'Little Leo
PLUGS Verbena 'Buenos Aires'.

I've also got some cammomile seeds just coming through and some corriander to plant in a large pot.

its amazing how many of these seeds are like dust! Nature is awesome

Wow, quite the list there. I'm doing:
Sweet peas - sprouted and 3 pairs of leaves
Chili pepper (from seeds taken from a friend last summer) - 4 planted, 2 growing
Basil - 2 pots - germinated but not growing at all!

Don't worry - it's still early, and all my stuff is way behind where it normally is, it's been so cold this year! Even the trees round here (yorkshire) are behind where they normally are.

I know - I went a bit mad.

I think the "Geranium, 'Geranos', Mixed Hardy Species" was a total wipeout and the Echium Pininana haven't germinated yet but they can take months apparently. Otherise I will have a few plants from each batch - I plan on giving some away eventually.

TonTon - is that the aldi one? It looks an awful lot like mine!

just after I posted the OP I caught some GQT on R4 in the car and they were talking about the slow cold spring and how everything is late.

my neighbour was talking about a possible spare greenhouse he might have & will look for as it may be suitable for my garden. I initially thought it a bit excessive but now I'm kind of hooked on these little seeds. I'm hoping he finds it ......

@Pootles34

Not Aldi, my local garden centre, but it was (relatively!) cheap.

Does the job though. Feel quite grown up owning a cold frame, let alone knowing what to do with it

This is the first year I've gone in for growing from seed and it's great.

And if you know people that you do swaps with that's even better!

It's still early in the season OP, sounds like you are doing fine!

You might be surprised how much quicker they well all grow once it's warmer.Those are all hardy and you'll be able to put them outside soon. However you are right in thinking they might not perform well this year. That's where annuals come in useful, to fill gaps until perennials are established.

I used to garden much further north than I do now and wouldn't even start courgettes etc till nearly June. Once the weather warms up it will race away.

You can use a clear plastic box outside as a cold frame substitute. I used it to harden off my sunflowers and have successfully moved them onto the garden now.

It's really an exercise in faith isn't it. You start off with some tiny dust like seeds and soil on the windowsill and they are gonna grow into giant plants that will be growing up into beautiful plants and make flowers in my garden.

Lovely morning here - off to have coffee with my seedlings

Slowly slowly. Here are my deck seedlings.

I've just reported a couple of houseplants too. It's amazing how they seem to sigh and get instantly bigger when repotted.

Geranium, 'Geranos', Mixed Hardy Species Don't throw them away. Leave the soil slightly moist and see what comes up next year. A lot of seeds from more northern regions need a cold period to trigger them into germination (they need to know that winter's happened and that they'll be germinating into the warmer weather of spring).

Foxgloves are biennial and won't flower till the second year anyway.

And as you've heard on GQT, it's been an odd year. The warm sunny days aren't a problem, it's the cold nights night after night. I think we're all nursing trays of seedlings which are just sitting there doing nothing. Once May is well under way you'll be astonished at growth rates.

Greenhouse is a great idea - it allows you to indulge in gardening in comfort on the nastiest days. What I appreciate most in mine is 1) electricity - so I can apply gentle heat on the few really cold (< minus 5) nights, and I can put a heater on if I'm working in there 2) comfy chair - to sit in while repotting, or just to sit in and enjoy the greenery on a cold but sunny winter's day 3) water butt just outside the door so I don't have to carry watering cans a long distance.

@JackieWeaversZoomAc

It's really an exercise in faith isn't it. You start off with some tiny dust like seeds and soil on the windowsill and they are gonna grow into giant plants that will be growing up into beautiful plants and make flowers in my garden.

Lovely morning here - off to have coffee with my seedlings

One of the most fun things I did was plant a packet of mixed Acer species from Chiltern. One of the results, a snakebark maple with lovely green and white striped bark, is now 10m high and flowers every year

I have had a couple of plants who didn't like where they were planted and so relocated themselves. A Japanese quince moved itself from one side of a wall to another!

I saw an interview with Monty Don the other week and he said that when you start gardening you think you are going to be the conductor of a great orchestra, but actually you are just the caretaker putting out the chairs.

Imagine growing a 10m acre from seed - what a fab feeling.

I like the caretaker analogy &wandering plants. As I teach DCre out 10 month old cats, you can't lead cats but you need to tune in what they are wanting to do - cuddle or playtime friends on what cats want not the dc.

Greenhouse is a bit of a long game - but I do have a concrete slab fir it to go on(where a playhouse used to be). I like thought of pottering around in it with coffee

Acer!

@JackieWeaversZoomAc

Acer!

Yes, I had this view of a huge field covered with individually tended seedlings! Then I realised you were talking about my acer.