Per the radar, we are overrun with snow right now, but nothing is getting to ground level - I did see some tiny flakes & mini-flurries while filling up the bird feeders around 4:30 (for the first time this winter). When I looked out the window this morning, a dove couple was hanging around - I’m sure they were the ‘lovebirds’ I saw every day last winter & were looking to see if there was any food at the feeders yet. Since snow is forecast (6-8”), I figured some black oil sunflower seeds would definitely make the birds happy. To the east, the forecast is for blizzard conditions - my brother may get 12-14” ... glad it’s not me!!
This morning I took a “trip” to FL via Onalee’s seeds at http://www.onaleeseeds.com/ . I ordered several packages of Hyacinth Bean Vine (purple) & my free seed packet will be the white HBVs. I gave seeds away last year to a couple of friends and not a single one came up for them (or for me). The seeds were from my dear aunt who puts EVERYTHING in the freezer .... including all her seeds. HBV is a tropical plant (frost kills it, pronto) so I’m guessing that’s why the seeds didn’t come up. All the friends who got formerly frozen seeds will get a fresh pack from FL & we’ll see what happens.
The website is fun to browse through - lots of flowers/plants to look at. My seeds went in the mail this afternoon & from reading customer comments, Onalee’s is first rate. I liked reading about her garden helper, Bob .... we have a similar garden helper next door - especially good at digging holes where he thinks there are moles. :-)
I got my original info from Gardenweb. Containers used all had lids, which kept out the wildlife. Lids had holes poked in to allow rain and air in. I had old tomato seeds, morning glories, squash, peppers, and some other flowers. In spring, when they started sprouting, took the lids off. Being Tennessee, we had some unplanned cold spells in between the warm days. This did not kill my hardy seedlings. Made the mistake of planting too many seeds per container so I lost some when separating. Veggies and flowers grew to be nice looking plants. My porch gets a lot of sun but if I try it again, will choose a wind protected area of the yard for the containers.
Thanks for the link.