So . . . I want to try starting sweet William, baby's breath, balsam camellias, and candytuft in the flowerbed now. I have had little success with annuals. What is the best way for me to sow them?

I also will be sowing cosmos and zinnias but I know they are not hard to get going. All my love-in-a-mist disappeared. I don't think it's because it was too cold as my neighbor's is coming up.

Thanks for any advice!

Are you positive that baby's breath and candytuft will do well in your climate? They don't in my zone 8a climate. I have had limited success with candytuft, but it doesn't persist more than two or three years. If you're going to the trouble to grow perennials from seed you at least want to know that they can make it.

Seed starting is a rather exacting science. Yes, some plants are super easy to start outside, especially if you sow enough seed: zinnias and marigolds certainly fall into this category. Balsam, too. However, most seeds, in my experience, require proper timing, proper light, proper temperature, and proper equipment to be started successfully. Perennial seed is rather costly. If you don't have the time to give them the attention they need, you'd be better off to purchase one or three plants, and then divide them as time passes.

I would suggest that you spend this season reading and learning about seed starting, sow some easy seeds in your garden for this year, and then work to be genuinely ready to give it a try next year. I hope this doesn't sound too negative, but I truly believe you'll have a much better chance of success if you start simple and work up to the more difficult stuff gradually.