Why not start some seeds?

I purchased some seeds a couple weeks ago from a company in Newfoundland.  http://www.seedsandmore.net/
They offer a great selection of annuals, perennials, flowering shrubs and tree seeds with cheap shipping throughout Canada.  This is the second time I ordered from them.  A few years back I bought some japanese maple seeds (Acer palmatum) which arrived in great condition and many of them germinated in the first season.  Here is what they looked like last fall.  They are currently in a pile of leaves under about 4 feet of snow.  I guess we will see how they did in a couple months.

This year, I purchased a castor bean collection from them.  It contains 4 varieties of the same species Ricinus communis but 4 different subspecies.

 The patterns and coloration on the seeds were surprising.  The castor beans I have seeded before were just a matte black color.  These were quite fancy.  Despite their wonderful looks, the seeds are highly poisonous.  I believe there is no known antidote for the ricin toxin??  So keep away from pets, children etc... 

One thing I love about the castor seeds is the quick germination time.  I have seen them swell up and begin germination after 24 hours in hot water.  I labelled 4 different cups A-D and added 4 seeds to each.  I will save the rest for years to come.  I half filled the cups with hot water and placed them and the seeds in the heated seed starter tray.  I will plant them in pots tommorow.  I will use a 4 inch pot to start with because the castor plants grow so fast.  I am really excited about the zanzibariensis variety because of the 15+ foot height possibility.  Can't wait to grow a monster like that in my small backyard.

 I also bought some japanese black pine (Pinus thungergii) seeds which I will cold stratify in the fridge for a couple months before sowing.  Since I was a return customer, they also threw in a free pack of Mexican Weeping Pine seeds (Pinus patula).  As the name suggests, these trees are not hardy but I may try to germinate a couple to grow indoors.  I love anything free.

While I was in the grow room with the camera, I took a shot of a new shoot from a Phyllostachys bissetii plant that I bought as a rhizome last fall, but it came with a short culm.  That culm survived (despite being wet packed for over two weeks) and this is the first new shoot for this plant.

I'll update on the progress of the castor beans in about a week.  Based on previous experience, they should be a decent size by then. 
TC