What a beautiful and inspiring post, Lisa! ☺I think you have perfectly captured the emotions and excitement so many of us feel about gardening and growing flowers. Thanks so much for watching, for planting flowers, and for sharing these lovely words with all of us! 🥰

I am RIGHT there with ya!! Can't wait for planting day!

So happy you found this discussion helpful! Yes, it is so important to order the right amount of seed to avoid a big disappointment when you are ready to sow 🙃Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment! 🤗

Thanks so much for the positive feedback, William! So glad you enjoyed it 😊

So happy you are enjoying the "Seed Talk" series, Kaila! Perhaps you have already listened to our last episode (titled "Seed Talk: Cool Flowers Direct Seeding FAQs, Part 1"), but in that show we discuss tips for determining when to sow your seeds outdoors. So excited to hear that you are sowing larkspur and some other cool flowers! Your hard work now will pay off in the form of a gorgeous garden come springtime ☺Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to leave a comment 🤗

So happy you enjoyed it, Patrina! Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to comment! ☺

Such a great idea, JLP! 💡 Thanks so much for watching and for sharing this tip! 🤗

Hello! Thank you so much for your kind words - we are thrilled you are enjoying the "Seed Talk" series of podcasts and The Gardener's Workshop's resources in general. I spoke to Lisa regarding your question, and she cannot recommend a particular source for that information. As you mentioned, the number of stems per plant varies greatly depending on growing conditions, the grower's experience, whether a plant was pinched, etc. That would be great information for you to track during the growing season, though! Thanks again for watching and for taking the time to comment - we really appreciate it! 🤗

Hello, Vernelle! We use an organic, slow-release, dry fertilizer made from composted poultry manure. You can search for "Complete Organic Fertilizer" on our website if you are interested in purchasing or just want to see the label 🙂Best of luck with your cool flowers - I am so excited for you to see the results of your hard work come springtime! Thanks so much for watching 🤗

So thrilled you are enjoying the "Seed Talk" series, Susan! You will be so happy you planted cool flowers come springtime 😊We would love to hear what you are growing 🌱Thanks so much for watching and for commenting! If you ever have any questions, please let me know 🤗

@@LayneAngeloTGW direct sowing in pots- does that work? Bachelor Buttons, Bells of Ireland, have several poppies but need to learn, I think they need cold cold for sowing. Is delphinium scatter sown as larkspur? I plan to put Bacto and fresh home compost over a couple hard clay beds, would that work for snaps? My back deck gets the most sun but it’s north facing. (Works for tomatoes in summer. Have kept ornamental kale there til Feb hard freeze) Condo HOA thinks I’m sketchy already but I did get row cover as I have fall vegetables in the side brick courtyard. Saving cardboard boxes for protection of perennials in pots and grow bags on back deck. Would the cardboard even insulate pots? Everything’s an experiment but I’m compelled to garden! With 4-5 hours summer sun. I have a ton of violas 4” but no buds yet. The other Hardy annuals will be very early spring seedlings from growlights once I can work the compost.

@@Waterlily480 Hello, Susan! It sounds like you have a lot of interesting experiments going on, which I love! A general rule of thumb when growing in containers is that the plants need to be hardy one to two zones colder than your actual hardiness zone (depending on the particular growing conditions, container size, etc.). Just keep that in mind, and remember to take good notes so that you can fine-tune your system going forward. Unlike larkspur, it is not recommended to direct seed delphinium. Delphinium seedlings are best started indoors as transplants, lightly covering the seed as you sow. If you can remember to report back on how these experiments go, we would love to hear about it! Thanks again for watching and for sharing your gardening adventures with all of us 🤗

Thanks for all your help and honesty. Scaling back to mostly very early spring plant. I did my spring veggie greens that way last year. I’m experimenting with container veg against a wall & row cover. & fall root veg on the back deck. Will try bachelor buttons and I have viola & calendula experiments already. Maybe more, it’s next to brick wall on heated garage. Maybe Cardboard box insulation & row cover but Feb is the hard freeze month.

Thank you, I so appreciate your kindness. I am trying to push my zones a little but gardeners have to try. Hard to deal with all the hard clay and the HOA. Lol.

This would be a great idea for a "Seed Talk" episode, Gayle! Thanks so much for watching and for suggesting this topic! 🤗

Great idea, One and Done Seed Talk. How to plan those crops & Lisa's list.

@@lisafeck1537 Yes, I love this idea, Lisa! 🙌

Great question, Van! In general, this depends on the flower (whether it is "one and done" or "cut and come again"), pest and disease pressure you may be experiencing, the time of year, etc. I would love to do an in-depth discussion of this in a future podcast episode 🎙Thanks for this great idea, Van! 🤗

Hello, Van! In zone 9a, you can fall-plant cool-season hardy annuals that are hardy to zones 9 and lower (i.e. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, etc.), which actually includes all the cool flowers we sell ☺Lisa's book "Cool Flowers" lists many of the flowers we talk about, their hardiness zones, and their preferred planting methods. The book is currently out of stock most places while more books are being printed, however I believe an electronic Kindle version is available on Amazon. Another option is to reference our website (The Gardener's Workshop), which lists the hardiness zone and the preferred planting method for each seed we sell. If a seed can be started either way, the planting method listed first is the generally preferred planting method. Hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thanks so much for watching, and have a great day! 😊

Hello, Janell! Remember that very early spring is another opportunity to plant cool flowers! It is never too early to start planning for that 🙂 Thanks so much for watching 🤗

@@LayneAngeloTGW this might be a stupid question but you are Fall planting for cutting in the fall , correct? This is not a fall planting that winter over for spring. Bulbs you can winter over but annuals like larkspur do not over winter. Again zone 5b I’m a first year grower I appreciate your help. 🙏

@@janellnerida8239 Great question, Janell! Amazingly, these are fall plantings that will winter over and bloom in the spring 😃This group of annuals is called cool-season hardy annuals (aka "cool flowers"). These flowers survive (and actually thrive) in cool to cold conditions. Each of these cool-season hardy annuals has a hardiness associated with it. Which cool flowers you can plant in the fall depends on your hardiness zone. In zone 5b, you can fall-plant cool flowers hardy to zone 5 or cooler (i.e. 5, 4, 3, etc.). You can also plant any of the cool flowers in very early spring (although if you live in an area that moves from cool spring weather to hot, humid summer weather very quickly, the success of very early spring plantings can vary). I would highly recommend you watch our very first "Seed Talk" episode called "Seed Talk: Cool Flowers FAQs", as we took an in-depth look at the entire cool flowers concept in that episode and discuss what to plant and when. Hope this helps, and thanks so much for the question! 🤗

Standard household freezer temperatures should be just fine. Thanks so much for watching! ☺

Hello, Amy! Did you sow the seeds on Thanksgiving this year, or last year? Poppies can take 14 to 21 days to germinate. Also, when is your first expected frost date in the fall? We recommend direct seeding six to eight weeks before that date to make sure there is still enough warmth in the soil for the seeds to germinate. As discussed in the podcast, poppies are very tiny seeds that need to be surface-sown, so it is imperative that you sow when there is not a lot of wind and be careful about washing them away with water or walking on the bed and inadvertently burying them. Even though they are surface-sown, however, it is still important that the seeds are firmly seated in the soil. Hope this helps! 🙂

Layne! Thanks for the response I sow the seeds last Thanksgiving. 😀

Hello Layne, I sowed the poppy seeds last year on Thanksgiving.

@@amytran9718 Hopefully you will try again in the future, using the tips outlined above and in the podcast! Poppies are tricky for a lot of people, so please do not be discouraged 🤗