I thought it would be fun to share some of what is growing in the greenhouse right now, anxiously awaiting spring. Come take a walk with me!
My friends who have small kids often take a picture of their child once a month next to the same stuffed animal, and it really gives a sense of how much the little one is growing and changing. My babies are so tiny I had to use a penny. Hopefully I’ll remember to do this again in a couple of weeks so you can witness how quickly they grow…

~ ~ ~

First up are newly germinated Alpine strawberries. Do you see them? So tiny! Eventually their berries and foliage will be used in floral arrangements.

Here are queen anne’s lace (Ammi majus). Their leaves are distinctive from most flower seedlings because they are so narrow and long.

The artichoke seedlings are gigantic compared to most of the others in the greenhouse right now. They put on big fat leaves right from the start.

The dianthus (sweet williams) are always so gratifying to grow with nearly 100% germination in just three short days. Off to the races with healthy little leaves. These will be some of the first plants to go into the field in about a month.

Growing two types of dusty miller for cutting. This one below is ‘Candicans’. It grows fairly fast for dusty miller. I love that you can already see the ruffled edges on the newest set of leave.

And here’s the second variety of dusty miller, ‘New Look’. It’s slower to grow from seed than ‘Candicans’, but I do prefer it for bouquets in autumn. It’ll take another six weeks or more before it’s ready to plant out in the field.

Oh how I adore feverfew. This variety is called ‘Balls Ultra Double’. It’s such a happy camper and growing quickly.

This is the other variety of feverfew, called ‘Virgo’. It’s much slower to germinate and grow. Also a lot more expensive to buy seed. Hoping this newbie to the line-up pays off.

Time for some perennial action. This is lambs ear. Hadn’t tried it from seed before. Turns out it’s easy, though a bit slow to germinate.

Speaking of slow to grow — say hello to the lisianthus. These itty-bitty babies were actually the first thing to be sown in the greenhouse way back in January. It takes them forever to put on any growth. I did have the best germination rate (92%) to date though so I’m pretty pleased with that.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, scabiosa (pin cushion flowers) are speedy to grow. Just a week and they’re already this big!

Some of the thousands of snapdragons starting to put on their first set of “true leaves”. The seeds are so tiny that it’s impossible to sow just one per little cell in the tray. Soon they’ll have to be pricked apart and bumped up to soil blocks. That will be a time consuming task.

Sweet peas are as charming as seedlings as they are as flowers. Their bright fresh green is so distinctive. These transplants will fill in some empty holes in the hoop house where the ones that were direct-seeded in the fall didn’t come up.

Some more perennials. These are Veronica spicata. Great germination rate, but staying pretty tiny. Hoping they’ll get a move on soon!

And there you have it! A dose of spring on a gloomy wintery day! More varieties and status updates to come….