Oh grow up

May 31st is the official start of the outdoor garden season in Alaska.  It's industry standard to wait until the holiday weekend to put out plants and flowers, but most of us get impatient and try to push it a week or two earlier. We're supposed to get indoor starts going in mid-March but I haven't invested in a grow light and we really don't have a good area for a mini greenhouse. So, all of my random seeds were started last week: cosmos, peony (not sure if these will grow well here), some other wildflowers and a really cool plant from Tennessee that my mom gave me last November. These all go outside during the day and come in at night.

A friend had given me these 12 petite planters with a different set of seeds for each month and I never got around to doing anything with them. Better late than never, right? I love the colors and how small they are - each can fit in the palm of a hand. Once the seedlings emerge and I plant them in a bigger container, I'll use these ceramic pots around the house.

I tested my flower knowledge by trying to match up the seed packet with the photo of the flower on the front of each pot. I only had to look up 3 out of 12.

 I took inventory of my growing collection of outdoor planters, pulled out the dirt we saved from last year's container gardens and made a shopping list for my 2011 flowers! Most came from Walmart, including two cute little perennial shrubs, because the cost and quality were pretty good. My geraniums are from Home Depot since Walmart's selection was pitiful. It was really windy yesterday when I went plant shopping and the wind was whipping up dust in the outdoor pavilion and knocking plants over, so I was in and out in a flash. 

The back of my car, all loaded up with fun plants! Can't wait to get my hands dirty this week.