This is for my twitter followers but whoever gets to the web site first is welcome to the free seeds. What you need to do is put $12 or less worth of seeds in your cart and then enter coupon 55 on the first page of check out. One order per residence. It will let 10 people use the coupon for the next 24 hours. If you want to make a big order you can enter 15 in the coupon box for 15 percent off you entire order. Shipping is free. If you keep your order to $12 or less it will cost you nothing. If you are happy with your purchase after you receive it leave a comment here or give me a shout on Twitter at cheapseeds.

Go to www.cheapseeds.com to get the free seeds.

It is the perfect  time to start planing your perennial flowers like blackeyed susan, puple conflower, blanketflower, and shasta daisy.

If  you live in Minnesota you have to pay the tax.

In some climates, having a garden is made difficult by late frosts and early snows. Starting a few seedlings indoors can make it easier to get a spring garden started when it gets warm enough outdoors, but it can prove difficult to start a whole garden that way. A greenhouse can supply seedlings with all the sunlight they need while protecting them from the cold weather. With some simple shelving or bakers racks, even a very small greenhouse can be used to start hundreds of seedlings to fill a flower garden. They can then be transplanted outdoors when the conditions are right.

Some gardeners love to grow flowers or herbs that will be available all year. By using a greenhouse, they can keep their flowers safe from the winter weather in order to provide cut flowers for the table even after the first frost has killed off many of the outdoor flowers. For herb growers, a home greenhouse can make it possible to grow herbs for most of the year, providing fresh herbs for cooking during months when they would otherwise not have been available.

For some gardeners, a home greenhouse can allow them to grow plants and flowers that they ordinarily wouldn’t be able to grow in their climate. Flowers that need a consistent heat or a high humidity level often flourish under greenhouse conditions. This greatly expands the type of flowers that a gardener can grow, adding interesting specimens to the garden.

We just started selling the Snap & Grow™ greenhouses that are a snap to put together. We also Carry the The HobbyGrower™ Enthusiast™ Special Edition.

We give away $50 worth of seeds and a gavanized potting bench with each greenhouse. If you have ever been interested in having an easy to construct and easy to care for hobby greenhouse you will love these.

Keep Gardening. Jeff

Transplanting seedlings is something that many people do in the springtime to jumpstart their flower gardens. In many climates, the last frost or free comes late in the year, making it hard to plant flowers outdoors that will bloom in their first year. If you live in a cold climate and haven’t been able to plant seeds outdoors yet, planting seeds indoors can be done quickly and easily, giving your plants a head start on this year’s growth.

One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to start flower seeds in biodegradable seedling pots. These are usually made from pressed peat moss or a similar formulation, and they allow a plant to be transplanted directly into the ground when the weather warms up enough to plant them outside. Simply dig a hole and place the pot in it, or break up the pot a little if it’s still stiff to allow the roots to reach the outer soil. This means no stress will be caused to the roots of the young plants. It also means that you can skip the sometimes difficult process of digging the seedling carefully out of a pot and trying to transplant it without breaking the roots.

Another reason to use biodegradable pots for your transplanting is that they are better for the environment than using plastic pots. They are made from natural substances, and they biodegrade directly into the soil, leaving the soil fertile and ready to nourish the roots. Plastic seedling pots are generally throw away after one or two uses and add to landfill waste. If you have tried peat pots before and didn’t like them, another option is to try paper cups instead of plastic. This lessens the amount of waste that you will throw away, and the paper cups eventually biodegrade.

Many gardeners start off their spring flower beds by tilling the soil. This is not necessary for all gardens, but there are times that tilling is necessary for successful gardening. Tilling should be done only when the soil is relatively dry and is warm. If the ground is still frosty, the tilling should wait until the last of the frost is gone. The soil should be at least 60 degrees when it is tilled. If the soil is too wet, it will not be broken up well by the tiller, and you could even damage the machinery. To test whether or not the soil is too wet, pick some up and try to make a ball with it. If you can make a mud ball, the area is too wet for tilling. If the soil falls apart, it is dry enough for the tiller.

Once the soil conditions are right, a garden tiller can be used to break up the grass and weeds that are standing between you and the flower garden that you want. The tiller will move best in rows, much like the movement of a push mower. Go over each row only once with the tiller. Only go as deep as you need. Going too deep brings up dormant weed seeds that will begin to grow if they end up on top of the soil. Using a shovel or fork to turn over the soil is also an option if you don’t have a tiller.

Once the rows are completed over the area that you want tilled, the remnants of the plants will need to be removed from the soil. Depending on how large the space is, this can be done either with a rake or by hand. All of the roots and seeds that remain in the soil should be removed in order to prevent them from growing back and encroaching on your new flowers.

If you have planted early flowers this spring, you may soon need to deadhead them to ensure the best growth of your plants throughout their growing season. For many flowers, deadheading helps the plant to produce more flowers. In many cases, it allows the flowers that are blooming to get more light than if they had dead flowers blocking their sunlight. It also sends more of the plant’s energy to the newer stems and flowers rather than to a stem that has a dead flower at the end. A plant depends on its dead flowers to drop its seeds into the ground. If you cut off the dead flower before it drops, you will encourage the plant to try again by producing more flowers.

Deadheading a flower properly really depends on how the flower grows on the plant. If the flower grows at the top of a long stem that will grow no other flowers on it, deadhead it by cutting at the base of that stem rather than closer to the dead flower.

If the flowers are one stalk that contains a lot of flowers, it’s important to use sharp gardening shears to cut the dead flower close to the base of the flower in order to avoid damaging the stalk and the flowers that are already on it. For some types of flowering plants, making larger cuts may be necessary. If you have a plant that is bushy and has a lot of tiny flowers on it, it might be a better use of your time to simply cut off an area that has a lot of dead flowers rather than to try to cut out each individual dead one. You might end up cutting away a few live ones in the process, but you will save a lot of tedious work. The best way to keep from having to deadhead the flowers is to cut them when they are fresh, put them in a vase and bring them into the house to enjoy them.

A beautiful flower perfect for spring planting is the purple coneflower seeds. This flower is extremely hardy and is resistant to drought, making it a great flower for gardeners who live in dry areas or who don’t have a lot of time for watering their gardens. They will tolerate partial shade as well as full sun. The purple coneflower produces large flowers that have an interesting arrangement of purple petals that point toward the ground. In the center of the flower is a large reddish cone that grows into the large, colorful focal point of the flower.

The seeds can be planted anytime that the soil reaches a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees and the threat of frost is over. Choose an area that has well-drained soil for planting purple coneflower. The seeds should be planted at a depth of about 1/8″. This can be done by gently pressing the seeds into the soil so that they are barely covered. The germination time for purple coneflower seeds is about 15 to 30 days after planting.

Once the purple coneflower has sprouted, you can expect the plant to grow quickly and to bloom for a long period. In most parts of the US purple coneflower will not flower the first year. It will however flower for the next 15 to 25 years. I have purple coneflowers I planted from seed that have been growing in the same place for 15 year. The average bloom time for this flower begins in June and runs all the way through October. The flowers grow on long stalks and make perfect cut flowers for your flower arrangements. These tall flowers grow to a stunning height of up to 3 feet and can be cut with a long stem. Once the purple coneflower is cut, it will last for about 5 to 7 days in a vase before wilting. When mixed with flowers of contrasting colors, it makes a stunning and unusual cut flower that will stand out in any flower arrangement, or it can be used on its own in a coneflower arrangement. Purple coneflower is one of my favorites. The only thing I do to keep them looking good is mow them down in the fall. Make sure you pick the seeds heads off if you want more seed to plant the next year somewhere else. Keep Gardening.

Here is a great way to start a compost pile for your flower garden. Spring is a perfect time to start a compost pile to use as natural mulch for your garden flowers. To start, choose an area in your yard for the compost pile to grow. For the best results, the areas should be enclosed and should measure at least 4′ by 4′. A compost pile that is smaller than this may not be large enough to compost properly. Some people use chicken wire to create a composting area. Others use wooden boards to enclose the compost. There are also bins that are made specifically for compost piles.

The area you choose should be warm to make the composting process faster. If it is in direct sunlight, it may get too dry and not decompose properly. The right spot is warm but not in direct sunlight. It should also have plenty of air circulation, but some protection from strong winds should be provided.

The key to composting is to add the right materials and to allow the warmth of the climate to make the decomposition of the materials go faster. Left by themselves, it can take leaves as long as two years to decompose. But with an effective compost pile, this process can be shortened to about three months.

To start your compost pile, start by adding yard waste such as leaves, branches, vines and grass clippings to the pile. If your grass clippings or weeds have seed heads developed, these should not be added to the pile. Food items like fruits, vegetables, egg shells and coffee grounds are great composting materials, but avoid adding meat, dairy items or fish to the compost pile. These can attract unwanted insects as well as local wildlife to the compost pile.

If your grass or plants have been treated with chemicals such as pesticides or herbicides, those plant clippings should not be added. These chemicals may take a long time to decompose, and they could potentially harm the plants that you want to nourish with the compost.

To make the decomposition of the items go faster; add a little water to the compost pile regularly. The compost should not be wet enough to make it muddy, but it should be kept moist most of the time. When the compost is ready, it will smell like dirt and have a crumbly consistency like soil. It will be dark brown in color and it will be full of nutrients to nourish your garden flowers.

One of the most enjoyable things about a spring garden can be the butterflies that are attracted by the flowers. Many people plan their flower gardens to attract the highest number of butterflies possible. There is no one best way to attract butterflies, but any gardener can expect to see plenty of butterflies in the spring if they plan a garden that includes plenty of colorful flower varieties.

One of the easiest ways to attract butterflies is to plant a variety of wildflowers. These flowers tend to be hardy and easy to grow, but they are also a favorite of butterflies. Their bright colors attract butterflies as well as hummingbirds to a flower garden. Wildflower seed mixes can be used to create a surprise array of different types of wildflowers. These are perfect for large areas like meadows and untended areas that could use splashes of color.

Other brightly-colored flowers will attract butterflies in the spring as well. Brilliant bursts of color, especially ones that are large and easy for butterflies to see, will attract them to come and sip nectar in your garden. Some of the best butterfly attractors are large, bright flowers such as Columbine and Purple Coneflower. One way to build a garden that butterflies and hummingbirds can’t ignore is to plant flowers at various heights. Small, ground-covering flowers like Creeping Thyme can be planted alongside taller butterfly attractors like Orange Sulphur Cosmos. And for a taller flower to act as the backdrop of your butterfly garden, try a few Indian Spring Hollyhocks. These are spectacularly tall flowers that grow to as high as 7 feet. These flowers will attract any high-flying butterflies that happen by for a snack.

To keep butterflies around your flower garden for as long as possible, plant flowers that will bloom during different seasons. The hummingbird season may be relatively short, but butterflies can stick around sipping nectar from your flowers until the fall. By choosing flowers like Indian Spring Hollyhocks that will bloom through the fall, you can extend the time that you enjoy visits from butterflies.

To attract butterflies in the late spring and early summer, plant fast-germinating seeds that bloom early. A few of these include Annual Phlox, Zinnia California Giants and Perennial Tickseed. These early bloomers can keep the butterflies full of nectar and the flowers that bloom later in the season, like Cosmos Pinkies, will keep them coming back for more.

To grow Blanketflowers, choose a sunny spot that gets full sun exposure. Plant the seeds 1/8 of an inch deep in soil that has adequate drainage. Allow the seeds to germinate for anywhere from two to six weeks. The ideal soil temperature for Blanketflower seeds to thrive is 70 to 75 degrees, but any temperature from 68 to 86 degrees will result in germination. Spring planting can begin in the spring when there is no danger of frost. These flowers love the heat and thrive in hot weather. The Blanketflower will bloom during their first year in most areas even if they are planted as late as the early summer. They can be planted in the fall, but a fall planting will likely not result in blooms the first year.

The seeds should be planted about 5 to 10 inches apart for best results. The soil should be damp when the seeds are planted, but don’t overwater. The seeds are planted so shallowly in the soil that watering them too heavily can result in lost seeds.

The Blanketflower needs little care once it has sprouted, making it a favorite among gardeners with little time to care for their flower gardens. These flowers are very tolerant to droughts and need little watering, though regular watering will lengthen their blooming time. With regular watering, the Blanketflower can continue to sprout huge crimson blooms through September.

In addition to their drought tolerance, Blanketflowers are also rarely bothered by pests or plant diseases. Avoid overwatering to keep them free of fungus growth. The center cone of the flower contains seeds and the plant will reseed itself year after year. It’s perfect to use as a cut flower for indoor arrangements because its long-lasting blooms will keep blooming for as long as 12 days.