It's that time of year again when us gardeners are willing spring to come so the gardening season can really begin! We long for those green tips from our bulbs to emerge from the earth as the supporting act for the rainbow of colours that spring bulbs like tulips, daffodils, allium, crocus and others bring to our gardens.
Although we are not quite there yet, as these frosty January morning keep reminding us, there are a few things we can do that can keep our green fingers busy and become more prepared for the coming season.
Over the past couple of days we've been cleaning all of our seed propagators and seed cell trays after turning the shed upside down trying to find them all. A little tip for anyone who finds themselves buying bedding plants along the season and wants to keeps costs low for seed costing or even who wants to be a little bit more sustainable in their approach is to hold onto the plastic cell trays they come in and reuse them for seed starting each year.
After taking stock of all the seed starting equipment and making sure its clean, prepped and ready to go, it's time to move onto the fun stuff - the seeds themselves! Gather all your opened, unopened and half torn seed packets and your gathered seeds from your gardens! Gathering seeds from your gardens (or your friends and families gardens) is another great way to cut down on costs but still get to start and grow some amazing varieties in your garden. Some of our favourites to gather from are calendula, foxglove, straw flower, poppies and bunny tails! If you gather these as the growing season is winding down you can pop them into an envelope and keep them somewhere dry and dark until spring when you can sow them.
Planning out garden pots and beds for the coming season is an excellent way to get organised and bring some much needed colour and inspiration for the season to come.