GROWING IN THE SNOW

Here in chilly zone 5b, I start all of my perennials, hardy annuals, and even certain vegetables in January and February, with no grow lights, no heat mats, and no seed-starting kits. How?

By winter-sowing the seeds. Winter-sowing is a nifty method of outdoor seed-germination (invented by Trudi Davidoff of Wintersown.org) that involves nothing more than miniature greenhouses (made from recycled containers) and Mother Nature. Winter-sowing is the easiest, the greenest, and the most cost-effective way to achieve summer beauty. Learn how to build these greenhouses and start your seeds now, while you're buried in snow!

Kevin Lee Jacobs blogs at A Garden for the House. He was introduced to gardening when he was no taller than a delphinium. Today, his home in upstate New York features formal rose gardens outdoors and lavish window gardens indoors.