Hello from Washington State!
The new year means it’s time to be spending hours in the garden shed, getting the growing going!
1. In the fall I dug and potted these 30+ pelargoniums that I had started from seed last year. After pruning them a bit, I’ve kept them at about 40F with some LED lights — and they have thrived. They’ll fill out a large border nicely when transplanted. This is my first experience with keeping many potted annuals (annuals in our area) alive.
2. Also in the garden shed, Hubby felt inspired to create a simple tool rack for storing our longer implements. Previously we hung them on hooks. Maybe he was getting tired of being knocked in the head as they tumbled? I’m not complaining.
3. Spending time down in the shed means my seeding mix is pre-moistened and ready to go for the weekend. I’ve wanted to share the excellent product I use for many purposes, including starting thousands of seeds. It’s made mainly from recycled paper products, is peat free, and has served me well for three years. I’m such a fan of PittMoss that I bought enough for the 40 new trainees in the 2025 class of master gardeners here to use in their lessons. (I add a small amount of perlite for seed starting.)
4. Stepping out of the shed, it’s time to pull some carrots for supper. They are wonderfully sweet, if rather muddy.
5. On the way up to the house, I noticed just how well the ranunculi are returning in two wine barrels!
6. In the kitchen, it’s the return of Jammin’ January, with raspberry on the agenda. Our canes produced a bumper crop of which I stored about 12 pounds in the freezer just for this.
I hope all are finding the energy to delve into new projects this new year. Special greetings to all the Six on Saturday participants! Read more worldwide gardening contributions by following this link.
Gardens at Coppertop 
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