Canadian gardeners are blessed where winter is concerned. This is the perfect time to start many of our favourite flowers and vegetables from seed indoors. We also have this time of year to peruse the many quality seed catalogues and websites before placing an order for our 2012 stock.

Where flowers are concerned, none perform better than the ever popular geranium and petunias. Start them in the month of January or early February. Seed racks are in the garden centres and hardware stores this time of year with fresh stock for the 2012 season. While retailers are generally quiet, this is a great time of year to get in there and look over the new selection and buy while it is at its best.

If sitting by the fire and cozying up with a seed catalogue suits you, go for it. Canada has a wonderful pedigree of seed catalogues that goes back more than a century and a half.

Some of my favourite seed companies include:

• McFayden Seed Company
• Vesseys Seeds
• Dominion Seed House

Other Canadian seed sources include Floribunda Seeds for heritage and medicinal seeds. For the best selection of bulbs and British seeds from Suttons Seeds in Canada go to Garden Import .

This is also an excellent time of year to take cuttings from your existing geraniums. Take cuttings at a leaf nod, about 10 to 14 centimetres down the stem of the plant.

Leave the cutting out of the soil for three to seven days to allow it to "cure." The cut end will callous over and the leaves may shrivel up -- but have no fear!

Use a rooting hormone gel to start your cuttings in a soiless mix. Keep them in a sunny window and moist, but not constantly wet.

Come May, plant your rooted cuttings in the sunny garden.

Have fun!

Visit MarkCullen.com for more information.