Saving Summer Seeds

One of the most fascinating pleasures of gardening is seed saving. Collecting seeds is a continuous endeavor, you can't be in a hurry and you cannot be a tidy gardener. You'll have to let things go a bit and enjoy the cycle and seasons of the garden. Each flower has its own unique, self-contained seed pod where the seeds are stored until they are ready to scatter. As the summer sun heats up, the pods dry and rattle and crack open, spilling hundreds of  seeds effortlessly to the ground.
This morning, one of my favorite neighbors and I spent a couple of hours meandering in the garden. We collected calendula, zinnia, sweet pea, sunflower, hollyhock and delphinium seeds. If you look closely, you will notice seeds in an amazing array of shapes and sizes. We noticed spirals, hooks, spears, and round disks!   The birds are already starting to collect their seeds!

 In my garden, the hollyhocks and delphiniums are especially prolific, coming up every spring, ready to take their place in the garden beds. Hollyhocks are magnificent, but need to be kept under control. They have huge stalks and take up lots of valuable space in the garden. I like to seed them along the back fence ( if I can help it). The delphiniums are dainty, and don't demand as much space, they are much easier to work around. Although, not pictured, one of my all time favorite re-seeders are zinnia's. They are easy to grow and last all summer long.

Make sure that the seeds are dry before storing. You can use a paper bag, and shake the seeds loose from their pods. Let some seeds drop to the ground for next year (you can't really stop that!). And, share them with someone you love!  We like to put them in a little glass jar and store them in a cool, dry place.

My lovely neighbor collects a little of each color, she knows exactly what she wants!

Don't forget to look for bugs, they are everywhere!

 My neighbor and I thank you for meandering with us ... Let us know if you'd like to swap a few seeds.

  Have a wonderful Summer Day!