Aren't seeds a wonder? It is hard enough to imagine all the parts of an oak contained in an acorn, let alone all the flowers, stems, leaves, and roots of a petunia in a seed as tiny as a grain of sand. Yet, this miracle of life happens all of the time. You can be a part of it.

Welcome to "Success With Seed," the site that helps you grow vegetables, flowers, or anything else from seed. If you are new to seed-starting, begin with seeds that are easy to grow. There are plenty. You can graduate later to the more finicky seeds that need special handling. Look in the "Flowers" list or "Vegetables" list for horticultural information.

This spring, give yourself a gift of time. Get out in the garden and start digging. Dirt washes away the cares of the day. Physical labor stretches your body and clears your mind of everything but the weed to be dug or the beauty of the flower just emerged. Some people call these actions "chores." Gardeners call them "therapy."

What kind of feel do you want to create in the garden? Hot colors show best from a distance. They shout, "Look at me, look at me!" Street side, they draw oh's and ah's.

A bright and vivid combination in my garden has been ‘Marguerita' sweet potato vine, paired with a chartreuse and pink tinged sun coleus, Solenostemon scutellarioides and a rose pink pentas, Pentas lanceolata. Subtle? No. Eye-catching? Yes.

Silvers and blues, maroons and blacks, cool down the look near the walkways. They whisper, "I'm down here. Quiet."

Summer snapdragon, Diascia integerrima (syn. D. integrifolia), bloomed last summer, non-stop. Its airy spikes of blue-violet flowers are a colorful addition alongside plectranthas oeriendahlii and burgundy grass, all planted together in a dark blue pot. It is a keeper. This year there will be more summer snapdragons in my summertime garden.

Check out the Step by Step instructions in the Sow & Grow section on this comprehensive website. Success with seeds comes easily, once you know the method.

--posted by Anne Moore on March 5th--