Saving Seed

Each year I make a point of saving a few seeds, but this year I thought I might make a more concerted effort.

In chatting with a few friends, I realized that some people do not collect seeds because they are unsure what the seeds look like and how to save them.

Now when I started looking for info to share, I came across Mr. Brownthumb.  He has several great blog posts including one on making a kit for collecting seed.  Now I am not as organized as he is, but I do collect some of the same seeds.

The largest family of flowering plants is Compositae (Asteraceae). So if you are hoping to save the seed of flowers from your garden these are probably the ones you are trying to save.  The Aster family includes asters, sunflowers, Black-eyed Susans, rudbeckias, daisies, gazanias, calendula and zinnias.

Another place to look up information on seed saving is the seed saving forums on Garden Web.

The largest family of flowering plants is Compositae (Asteraceae). So if you are hoping to save the seed of flowers from your garden these are probably the ones you are trying to save.  The Aster family includes asters, sunflowers, Black-eyed Susans, rudbeckias, daisies, gazanias, calendula and zinnias.

 

Zinnia of the Compositae family

I experiment with various annuals each year, trying a new basil or two, growing a different dill or a unique nasturtium color combination.  When I discover a plant I want to try again, I will save the seed.  I could say it saves you money buying seed in the spring, but I cannot say seed saving has ever saved me from spending once the catalogs arrive.

You want to save seeds when you have a good year and this was a very good year, which got me to thinking about being more organized.  You want to pay attention to the weather report and harvest before a rain or highly humid day, moist air can cause a dried seed to expand and crack ruining it for spring germination.

 
Where are the Seeds?

On herbs it is hard to miss the seeds as they tend to be obvious, like on dill or basil.  But flowering herbs like Nasturtiums are a bit harder to locate.

Plants in the Mint family may produce many tiny flowers among a stem, like basil or Anise hyssop.  These are a spike of tiny flowers each with a seed nestled back at the stem. Collect these seeds by shaking them inside of a paper envelope. Cutting off the stalks and hanging them upside down also helps release the seeds inside.  Of course this assuming you let them flower which I do not always do, clipping the flowers off as soon as I see them.  However, come September I choose the best looking plants and let them flower and go to seed so I have seeds to collect.

 

With Coneflowers like Echinacea or black eyes Susans. (Aster Family) the center of the flower is black and is actually made up of smaller flowers that each produce a seed.  You will be capturing that entire center as the seed head. Compositae flowers, like those of calendula and zinnia, have tight bunches of petals, with no “eye,” but the seeds develop right in the center.

With a flower like a dandelion the ends of the petals are the seeds so you want to collect the flower head before the flower is entirely faded, because it will blow away in the wind taking your seed with it.

As you see the key to flowering plants is to look near the petals.  The colorful petals attract the pollinators, then once pollinated die back or fall away leaving the seed exposed so it can be scattered.

Nasturtiums have a very open flower that does not develop a seedpod, instead the seeds hang below the flower in a little bundle.  But all you have to do to find them is sweep back the plant flowers and they will be hanging underneath.

Alliums, or chives, are a flowering bulb, but the attractive puff ball flowers do produce seeds as well. You want to cut the flowers before they drop, but after they seem spent.  If you wait too long the seed will scatter before you collect the flower head.

Seeds from vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers are found inside among the flesh.

Saving the Seeds 

To save seeds you need containers to keep them in while collecting and those to store them in once collected and separated.

I generally collect in paper bags and paper envelopes so any moisture in the seeds is not trapped in a plastic container.

Once the seeds are dry, then I place them in a new envelope or other sealed container to improve their longevity.  If I have a collection of envelopes, I place those in a canning jar or a coffee can.

Record the information about your plant when you harvest the seed, plant name, soil conditions, and height of the plant.  You have to do it when you harvest because even 15 minutes later you will forget what you cut from where.

Don't crowd too many plant stems or seed heads into a small envelope when you're harvesting seeds.

To dry the seeds after I collect them I spread them like my herbs on paper towel in cardboard trays.  Or I leave them in the paper bag I used to collect them.  You want to remove as much plant matter (leaves, petals, etc.) as you can to avoid mold.  If leaving them in a paper bag you want to shake the seed heads to keep them evenly drying.  I will actually stir those on the tray with my fingers occasionally.  You only need a few days to get the seeds dry if conditions are right. 

Once the seeds are dry place them in small envelopes for finally saving.  You can use a plain envelope. Or you can make a specialized one or even a decorative one.  If you like a reminder of what to put on the envelopes of seed, try this template for seed envelopes.

Once you have all the envelopes labels, place them in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid to keep moisture from coming back into to the seed damaging its germination rate.

Traveling to Janesville, WI and the Rotary Gardens

On the fourth of July my husband and I traveled to Wisconsin.  Part of the trip for me was a stop at the Rotary Botanical Gardens is Janesville, Wisconsin.  I drag the hubby, who is not much of a gardener, really to see gardens all the time.  He tolerates it because he usually gets to pick the lunch spot afterwards.

This time, however, he enjoyed the gardens as much if not more than I did.  He was impressed by how much they could fit into a small space, only about 20 acres.  The best part was as a non-profit location they have sponsorships of various types.  Most obviously the benches.  Yet what a perfectly appropriate and tasteful way to accomplish it.  Each bench has a garden theme saying carved into it!  They were fun to find, enjoyable to read and perfect placed for taking a seat to enjoy the views.

I loved that this place was open on a holiday! We arrived just as it opened so we could see all of it and ended up staying longer than planned.  As you exit the visitor center you enter the formal garden.

This just happened to be where the Herb Gardens were located.  Maintained by the Janesville Area Herb Society, there are three different herb gardens. A Sensory Garden, a Medicinal Garden and Culinary Garden.  Each had a somewhat formal design and center statue, but the herbs used and presented had nice variety.

The Sensory Garden - see the clay tiles, they each held a scented herb.

Culinary Herb Garden

My husband and I probably spent an hour looking at all the formal garden patches.  They were each a different theme, like Italy or France in addition to the three Herb Gardens.

There is a lake off to one edge of the Rotary Botanic Gardens that has a public boat launch, so there were a few people out with canoes and kayaks in the water.

Like the Chicago Botanic Gardens they had an orientation map with cut flowers to give you an idea of what was in bloom that day.

A pergola and patio near the lake gave great views.  It was sunny and warm that day, but we found great shade in the fern and hosta gardens.  And some tranquility in the Japanese Gardens.

The "Cliff" garden I think this was called had a striking assortment of plants among rocks.

One of the special features of the Rotary Botanic Gardens is the transitions.  You never feel hurried from one garden to another and most special, the transitions are never abrupt.  You just move from one garden to another with relaxing ease.  The decorative features are picturesque and I had to have my Kodak moment on the crooked bridge.

One of several water features

The trails were attractive and easy to walk and most were accessible by all abilities with only a few not made for wheelchairs.  There was a sculpture garden, an idea garden and a Scottish Garden too.  It was while we enjoyed the sunken garden that we found out that the location was originally a BMX bike race course before being acquired by the Rotary.

Idea garden with sculptures in the background

A planted bench in the Highland Garden.  That red dot is my traveling stuffed lady bug.  She is a photo hog!

The Sunken Garden had a spectacular arch that had been rescued from the Parker Pen building along with other sculpture and architectural items salvaged from historic buildings of the area.

The two items which we still talk about long after the trip was a parsley hedge used in a seasonal garden and an arching elm tree called a  Camperdown Elm that we have decided we must own.

Camperdown Elm which was arched over the walkway

My husband even fit under the arch!

We started with herbs and ended with herbs, as the last place on our trek around the grounds took use to a seasonal display garden that sported these cute parsley hedges, that my husband still talks about.

Parsley hedge

The Rotary Botanic Gardens are just a short jog off Interstate 90 in Janesville, WI and I recommend the detour if you are anywhere near it.  You will not be disappointed.  I took a number of images of the herbs in the Gardens, so check back as I will be sharing more from this wonderful location.

An ABC of herbs from the Klehm Arboretum

In June on one of the fine days we had before the rains started, my husband and I decided to visit the Klehm Arboretum in Rockford, IL.

There were several things there I just loved.  Beyond the experimental garden where they had different plantings and garden ornament which I always love to tour, there was a maze garden and children's garden of ABCs.

I loved this garden because it was a mix of common names and scientific names and they did not even stretch too far to find something for each letter.

For E they used Echinacea, it was too soon to tell it if was the purple variety or not, but that was my guess.  For F they chose Floss Flower Ageratum houstonianum.  I guess I never knew this name for this plant wish is a "Miller," like Dusty Miller, but then I saw it at the Rotary International Garden in Janesville, identified with this same name, so now I think this may be a Midwestern name for it and I still harken back to my Ohio roots when iidentifying plants by common names.

H was a lovely planting of  Hen & Chicks in a ceramic pot with the checks spreading down to the ground.

J was a plant I had never heard of called Jewels of Opar.  What I discovered was it is Talinum paniculatum,  a succulent subshrub in the purslane family. Or in the vernacular, a species of Portulaca or Moss Roses.

Lamb's Ear stood up for L, with Marigolds for M.  Nepeta (catnip) was used for N and  with O being Oenothera or Sundrops.

Windflower represented W, but I was too early to see it flowering.It has a small white pointed five petal flower  Anemone nemorosa is thought to be the flower the Adonis turns into after having been torn to pieces by a boar in Ovid's 'Venus and Adonis.'

R was a stand by perennial Rudbeckia, I suspect the usual Black Eyed Susans will be blooming here soon.

X was Xanthoriza simplicissima, Yellow Root, a shrubbery that you cannot even see in this photo because it is is so small.

But I found it in another image....

for Y they used the herb Yarrow and Z was for Zinna, one of my favorite flowers.....



The Klehm Arboretum is 155 acres of trees, plants, shrubs and flowers nestled into the south side of Rockford Illinois, at 2715 S. Main Street.  During the Summer they are open 9 am to 8 pm and the admission is very reasonable.  I took more than 100 photos during our trip, so I guarantee there is more to see that what I have shared here.



It rained... There was flooding!

As many may know heavy rain hit northern Illinois last week.  Although I can say that I did not suffer any damage or loss at my home (I still live in an apartment on the third floor!) my gardens were not so lucky.

This is the DuPage River, west branch overflowing near my garden.  The first pangs of panic struck when I saw this on my drive over!

I could get up the back entrance to the garden space, but I could not actually get to the garden.  Of my 3/4 of an acre about two-thirds were covered with water.

This is a view from the edge of the garden back toward the road.

The garden rows are underwater and the berm by the road that keeps out the winter salt may be keeping the water in...

It think I have shown the fence before, that is it in the foreground, beyond the fence is the worst part of the garden where you cannot even see that there are rows of plants planted in there.  After taking this photo I left.

My heart was heavy.  I have had this rented land since before I moved into the apartment and we have lived there for 12 years now. I moved all of my personal plants here when we moved so that I could return them to a garden when we finally decide on a house. It gets wet and soggy sometimes in this space and one cannot always go there in April because  it is muddy and I want to avoid compacting the soil, but it has never been like this.

I was at the Garden Clubs of Illinois Convention over the weekend so I have not yet been back to see if the water has receded, but I expect much of it has.  I decided to allow my obligations from keep me from returning and getting upset.  If the plants do not get air they will die as they did not have much growth to sustain them because of our unseasonably cold Spring.

I am lecturing tomorrow night, so I will not have many follow up photos to post, but I will share an update when I have one.  For now I think I have a few pre-programmed posts which will pop up and I will take a few photos at my program tomorrow, but I do not have much else to share as my excitement for Spring is a bit impaired.

I would like to say that I am thankful that I do not have this garden issue and a home issue like so many others around my area do, so I will be grateful about that!

Herb and Scented Plant Sale 2012

The Oak Park Conservatory (courtesy of their website)

Yesterday was the Herb and Scented Plant Sale held at the Oak Park Conservatory.  It is the major fundraiser for the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory.  Friends and I have been going to this event for about 20 of the event's 23 years.  We have only missed a couple.  This year I brought along two new friends,  Emily and Kassie.  Emily started herbs in her garden last year or the year before and I have been sharing some of my knowledge with her.  I love the fact that she grows much of her garden from seed which I have not been doing recently so it is great to swap stories about how certain things work from seed.

I have to say the event was as organized as it always is. The smooth flow of people, the plants organized alphabetically by botanical name, the pricing clear and volunteers galore to help you shop and give advice. 



Kassie & Emily with a Purple Sage plant.

The person they had answering questions about shade plants was especially out going and personable.  We had a wonderful time sniffing plants, choosing and imagining different places to plant them.



There was even help to get your car loaded provided by a local Boy Scout Troop.  This is Collin, the young man who watched over my plants and help me load them into the car.

My disappointment really came with the herbs, or should I say lack of herbs.  They had all the stand bys, dill, cilantro, thyme, basil, oregano, etc. but unless you count Lemon verbena, there were no exotic herbs to speak of.  I came home with a record of ONLY two trays of plants. 

I purchased a replacement lemon grass and bought another Lemon verbena, because you can never have too many. I did get another Mojito Mint (I did not being in  he one from last summer that was on the patio) and picked up a French thyme to replace the common thyme that died in the winter.  Then I got my old stand by of Basil Genovese and calendula and a Prince Rupert lemon rose scented geranium, but then I spent my money on a tomato plant, some peppers and a cucumber because there were no more herbs of interest.

I was unable to get even the most basic one step above ordinary herbs which I looked forward to purchasing at this event because of the quality and hardiness in past years.  There was no lemon or purple basil, no scented thyme of any kind, only three basic varieties.  They offered Bergarten and Purple sage, but none of the golden varieties.  They did not even have Rosemary ARP which is the best one for Illinois gardens, nor did they have the prostrate rosemary I was hoping to get to try to make another rosemary Christmas tree with like I did a few years ago.  They only had three types of scented geraniums and those I could get just about anywhere.  I think the flowering plants were definitely popular, but maybe it is time for me to look for another show to find the tender perennial herbs I need to replace those that sometimes do not make it through my Illinois winter, like scented thyme and tri-color sage, because this show offered only what I could get at the Lowes or Walmart.  Now I know that I am supporting a good cause and that is important to me, but so was getting plants I could not find any where else and for me that was missing this year.

As we were leaving my friends asked why I did not buy more flowers.  I realized that for them the show was perfect and successful, but for me as someone who has been coming to this show for over 20 years, the sale was a disappointment.  It was good to know that others would not think so because I believe in the preservation causes of the Conservatory and its Friends group, but I realize that perhaps staff changes that occurred in 2010 and 2011 have relegated the Herb and Scented Plant show to a less important place which resulted in a less than interesting selection of herbs.