...and what shall I do when winter comes?
Dear Shadegardeners,
It's late July, and I am already worried about life w/o flowers, i.e. late
fall and endless winter. Early spring this year was wonderful, with
seed-grown Thunbergia and Morning Glories climbing up my office window,
lobelia and pansies starting to flower inside, but I don't know whether
those would do well in the dead of winter where there's only so much
natural light to be had.
So my question, and I'm asking it here because you all know so much about
plants who can live with little light -- which plants flower inside during
the winter? I'm not thinking of houseplants, most of which I simply don't
like much (but will try to keep out of dormancy my fantastic tangerine
double begonia and bring some impatiens cuttings inside)? Are there any
annuals that, if started from seed in early fall, will flower in winter? Or
are they dead set on their seasonal clock? My study is spacious, windows
all around (it's a former enclosed sunporch), and once the leaves fall it
gets light from East, South, and West. Can I, for instance, get my beloved
Cosmos to grow inside? When's the earliest I can start forcing tulips and
daffs?
I'd be interested in your experiences --
silke
