I had big plans for my kitchen garden.  I even made an extensive spreadsheet and shared it on my blog.  Don’t try to find it. After everything I’ve already learned this season, it needs hella revisions.

Me, as a creep: (opens trench coat) psssssst! Free plants?

They’ll do well in your garden! Guaranteed. And I bet you’ll like them, since you already have them…Whatdoyasay?

You, nervous: Suuuuure

Also me, but normal: Great! Because…

We’re Dividing Plants! (Don’t run away!)

You’ve been told what plants to buy. When they failed, it was “I don’t have a green thumb.” When it should have been, “Maybe this plant doesn’t fit my conditions.” 

Or maybe you bought high maintenance plants (hey there, roses) that you didn’t have time to care for. Instead of a whimsical haven, you got an overgrown death pit. 

Solution? Start out with some easy plants, ones that aren’t picky.

This is a follow-up to Seed Stratification: Part I - which helped out those of us who were feeling ambitious and/or caged in over January or February, even early March. In our desperation, we made gardening happen by stratifying perennial seeds. Unfortunately, it only took 20 minutes, so then we were sad again.  

But now it’s April, any remaining sadness can be tucked away for next winter. It’s time (perhaps past time) to take those stratified seeds out of the fridge.  Your significant other can finally stop taking out the yogurt container and being audibly disappointed that it's not actually yogurt. Little does he know that it contains a little something of the future.

I love this approach for several reasons. One big one is germination rate. Not every seed sprouts, and when you sow seeds in trays (rather than individual cells), any seed that wants to grow has the chance to do so. Seeds that fail don’t waste soil, pots, or space.

My Grinch heart broke the heart-o-meter when I saw the first snowdrop pop up yesterday. Then a few more appeared. And then there was peace on earth. They’re still standing, too, miraculously uneaten by rabbits.

Ummmm…Stock up on supplies? Soil, mulch, compost, seed trays; garden centers are quiet this time of year, which means no crowds!

Toward the end of the month, start crawling around the garden with a magnifying lens, searching for the signs of life. (optional)

There’s surely a botanical reason spotted bee balm lives in the Monarda (bee balm) family. It has those open-mouthed flowers that, clustered together, resemble a chorus of overenthusiastic carol singers. Honeysuckle and some salvias share a similar flower shape, but they live in entirely different plant families

Hi, Cosmos.

I’m Ellen. It’s not that I’m obsessed with you. It’s just that I want to cut off your heads and put them on display in my home for all my visitors to see.

It’s not just me, either. Gardeners and floral enthusiasts everywhere feel this way. And I think it’s because you’ve landed squarely in the sweet spot in the Venn diagram of bold, lovely, and stalwart.