In preparation for the upcoming Wylde Center Seeds and Scion Exchange book pop-up (details here) I am getting some of my own wildflowers ready Spring planting. Part of that prep includes looking at Lisa Mason Ziegler's Cool Flowers: How to Grow and Enjoy Long-Blooming Hardy Annual Flowers Using Cool Weather Techniques. Recommended by a flower vendor when I was doing a popup last year, I ordered this book and kept it in storage waiting for the right time to display it.
That moment has come because Ziegler's book (kind of a classic considering it's been in print for over a decade) is a combination of specifics of what, when and how to grow annual and perennial flowers. It includes detailed instructions on how to grow them from seed. This is important as Ziegler writes:
Starting your own plants at the right time is the only way to be sure of having a fabulous hardy annual garden. It is almost impossible to find the plants you want in the fall or early spring unless you start them yourself. If hardy plants are available at all on the retail market, it is seldom in the variety you want or at the correct planting time for your garden seeds yourself is the way to go.
Last year was the first time I grew some of my own plants from seed and I am expanding my operation this year. Ziegler's gorgeously printed book with its inspirational colorful pictures and easy-to-absorb advice, gives me hope. But you know about hope— it springs eternal.
Note: If you cannot make to the Exchange, you can purchase Cool Flowers online from the Destination: Books Bookshop portal located here.
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