February's Indoor Garden

Flowering annuals are also worth trying from seed started this early. These are the bedding plants you'll see in all the garden stores later in the year, the ones that flower throughout the season - salvias, impatiens, marigolds, etc. They won't be ready to move outdoors until all danger of frost is past, but like some of the perennial herbs they grow so slowly at first that they won't take up too much space in the meantime. I confess that I usually wait on the marigolds (Tagetes or Calendula) and plant them directly outdoors in May. They flower soon enough, so why use up precious indoors plant space? But salvias are slow to get going and adapt well to being grown indoors.