Winter is traditionally horticultural ordering season; seed, plants, bulbs. Take your pick. Catalogues have arrived with their evil photos and delicious descriptions, emails regularly pop into your inbox tempting you to (with one click) enter their wicked world. Combined with opportunity aplenty to peruse at pleasure, this adds up to a very slippery slope. I am talking black ice and cold custard and Vaseline. Yes, that slippery.
I am resisting ordering more seed as I am expecting my Hardy Plant Society delivery soon (40 packets) and my seed tin is already threatening explosion. A couple of months ago I panicked at a 50p a packet sale and bought too many to admit to, including at least 5 packets of California poppies.
As for for plants, until I learn to look after them properly I am definitely not buying any more for myself. My fingers may have been crossed as I typed that. Metaphorically of course. Otherwise it would have been very tricky. And of course that excludes the species dahlias that will be arriving in the spring. And any other unavoidable accidental purchases or gifts.
However, the recent kind donation of a variety of terracotta pots has given me a valid excuse to buy some bulbs to fill them. To be more accurate, bulbs and corms. I’m ever keen to try things I haven’t grown before so for that reason I have chosen Bessera elegans, Chasmanthe floribunda, Nerine undulata, Leucocoryne ‘Andes’ and Zephranthes rosea. They won’t arrive for a few months, and by that time I am bound to have forgotten which beauties I picked. Even now I can anticipate the thrill of opening the box of delights.
The stragglers, like this dewed arctotis, are most admired on these dull days, for both their perseverance and optimism.
Off The Edge Gardening 
5 packets of California Poppies? Less than 100 seeds/pk and you were done. Germination rate 1125%. How many acres is your garden? Do you and Jon come from the same gene pool?
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I couldn’t choose, they were all so beautiful! (perhaps)
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There are so many varieties now! The straight species is best. You can not improve on perfection.
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I love the straight species too, but there are so many wonderful colours to choice from.
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There is a bit of National Pride associated with traditional California Poppy. The new ones just do not do it for us natives.
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I need more perseverance and optimism at the moment. Good luck with all your seed sowing 🙂 xx
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As spring gets closer I am sure your p & o will grow x
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I understand perfectly 😉 and over there you have such a wonderful bulbs selection available, who can resist? Actually, I also grew Bessera for one year or two, don’t remember well…
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It isn’t fair is it?! No hope whatsoever. 😦
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You are right about the thrill it is to open those packages of bulbs, corms, etc. Gardeners may not think of themselves as thrill seekers, but we are.
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We are definitely, not necessarily the hand-gliding kind of thrill though!
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I found myself smiling reading this post. xx
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Thanks Mike x
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I’m seriously contemplating digging up yet more lawn for Sarah Raven dahlias. The problem is I always say that and soon I will be at 100% plant and no where to walk or hang the washing…..
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What you need is hover boots! I am sure they exist.
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Who needs lawn? A serious waste of space.
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All these must-have seeds! What we need is another storey to the garden. After all we own the sky over us so it seems silly to restrict ourselves to the ground. Of course the ground floor would have to be artifically lit but it could be kept for shade loving plants. In fact why stick at two floors?
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Brilliant idea, it could make us a fortune (note the “us”) 🙂
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The anticipation of what to grow always taxes restraints of time and space, all part of the life of a gardener, professional and amateur alike.
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