As the weather seesaws between warm and rainy, or bitter cold and snowy, I dream of days to come. We are under mounds of snow, and yet, it’s the time of year when dreaming of warmer temperatures, green grass and colorful garden beds keep me going. I love to spread out all the seed catalogs, bring out my seed packets from last year, and reflect on what went well and what didn’t. The flowers I plant here at home are for the fresh flower arrangements I leave at Squabetty for every renter and of course to grace my own windowsills. Last year, I realized how far overboard I went with seeds when transplanting them into new raised beds. I ran out of room and had to over plant. I could not bear to kill them. But kill them I did - some anyways. Lesson learned - in the process, the mini marigolds, over towered by way too many thriving cosmos plants, suffered a slow and agonizing death - not enough soil for their roots, not enough sun for their blooms. I really did not need 16 huge cosmos plants, nor 26 marigold starts. So this year I start with plans for building two new beds, just in case. I consider the flowers I liked and the ones I likely won’t try again - at least this year. And as is always the case, I want to try some new varieties. My favorite from last year was either candytuft or scabiosa. I know where it was planted but the popsicle stick markers, telling me which was which, did not last well enough through the season for me to be able to read them in October when I started winterizing the beds. Another lesson learned: map on paper where I plant each variety. Lots of lessons to keep me thinking, growing and dreaming through the cold winter months.