Garden-pedia Joins Seed Keeper Project
 The 6th annual Seed Keeper Projectbegins Monday,February 1, 2016.The purpose of the project is to recognize school gardens in all 50 states and bring attention to their usefulness as a classroom setting.
Each winning school garden will receive a Seed Keeper Home Farmer seed storage system, a certificate of recognition, a Seeds of the Month Club membership for one year, and a copy of Garden-pedia by Maria Zampini and Pam Bennett. The person(s) nominating the school garden will be mentioned in the letter accompanying the certificate.
How the Seed Keeper Project works:
- Beginning February 1, The Seed Keeper Company will post 10 states each week for 5 weeks in alphabetical order on The Seed Keeper Company Facebook page.
- During the week, social media followers will be encouraged to nominate a K-12 school, or any type of school, and post it on the FB page.
- If there is no clear winner based on nominations, The Seed Keeper Company will draw a winner using random.org at the end of that week and announce the winner on the FB page.
Please nominate a school garden, and good luck!
2016 Pantone Colors of the Year:
Rose Quartz & Serenity
Not one but two shades – Rose Quartz and Serenity have been chosen as the 2016 PANTONE Color of the Year.
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, says, “Joined together, these two colors demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer, embracing rose tone and a cooler, tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace.”
 Ironically, UpShoot represents a new series of Delosperma calledJewel of Desert which includes a color called Rosequartz!
There are 9 colors in this series of ice plants. These low water/drought tolerant perennials provide an extended blooming cycle, flowering from May to winter and are hardy to Zone 6b.
Look for them at your local garden centers this spring!
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Indoor Gardening
If you’re like me and live in a cold region, you’re not doing much gardening outdoors but that doesn’t stop you from enjoying plants indoors.
AND you don’t have to be a plant expert either! Goodness knows I have (and still) kill my fair share of plants accidentally. But, I seem to be getting the hang of indoor gardening in my old age!
Succulents – like the magnetic pots pictured above which I just got from Arizona East – are simple since they take little water.
I also love my Medinilla magnifica. I got a blooming one at the beginning of July and the bloom only now fell off. It has a new flower, too!
For tips on houseplants, I suggest following my friend Lisa Steinkopf, also known as “The Houseplant Guru.” You can also find her recommendations at your finger tips on theArmitage App.
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Winter Reads
Despite the cold and snow, spring is less than 60 days away! Here are a couple of good books from my garden writer friends to curl up with on the couch in front of the fire.
Jonathan Bardzik’sSeasons to Tastecookbook offers recipes by season, focusing on when ingredients will be available fresh from your garden or at farm markets.
If you’re like me, you’ll have more than you can eat from your garden. So you have a choice: don’t let it go to waste but instead either give it to your family/friends, donate it to the local food bank or preserve it for use in the off season.
Preserving, whether by canning or freezing, is not as hard as you might think and Daniel Gasteiger proves it inYes, You Can! The benefit of enjoying fresh foods during the off season is well worth the little time and effort it takes to capture and utilize every veggie, fruit or herb you painstakingly grew.
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