The distinctive umbels of Italian Parsley and Queen Anne's Lace are drying out and holding on to their many tiny seeds as more of this Summer passes.
Every umbel holds many seeds.
I collected many of the dry, brown umbels (which I think are so beautiful in and of themselves) on one of the hottest days we've had so far this Summer. I put them in to brown paper bags & tied them with string. A quick shake of these paper bags released many, many seeds which I tipped onto a folded piece of scrap paper. That fold makes it easy to tip the seeds from the paper into little jars or seed envelopes without spreading them everywhere but in the garden! (Morag Gamble from Our Permaculture Life has a tutorial on how you can fold your own origami envelopes for seed saving here.)
Many little parsley seeds
There are so many great reasons to save seeds from the plants that grow well in your garden. It saves money and the plants that grow from your own seeds will be well suited to your local conditions. This article, over on the Permaculture Research Institute's website, explains the many benefits of seed saving and this You-tube clip, posted by not-for-profit The Growing Club and featuring environmentalist and food sovereignty advocate, Vanada Shiva, explains why seed saving is really no small thing!
Little garden gifts for a friend.
(Apple motif & envelopes by Melissa Wastney.)
(Apple motif & envelopes by Melissa Wastney.)
Not only do the seeds you've collected from your own garden hold the potential of many free plants, they are such a lovely gift to share with another gardener. The drifts of Queen Anne's Lace, that add such delicate beauty to my garden, came from just two little plants that I purchased from my city farm's nursery. The Italian Parsley grew from seeds I found in the swap box at my local library's community garden. I brought them home and sprinkled them in the garden and not long after little parsley seedlings emerged. Now I, in turn, have passed seeds from these plants to a friend for her to plant in her garden. Generosity can self-seed in a garden too!
Do you save seeds from the plants you grow in your garden too?
Meg
I save seeds as well, nice to get something for nothing.x
ReplyDeleteI agree, Marlene. It is always lovely to collect free seeds or to propogate free plants from those already in the garden. I love the cycle of collecting seeds, planting them, tending them as they grow, harvesting, collecting seeds again so that the cycle can continue. I also love having plants that self-seed in the garden. The Zinnia flowers are finishing now and I just leave the flowerheads to die off and for the seeds to disperse where they will. It's always a joy to find a zinnia flowering somewhere unexpected! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteHi Meg,
ReplyDeleteYes I save seeds at every given opportunity, at the moment I have long red chilli and Italian parsley seeds drying on my kitchen bench. It’s a worthy pastime. Have a lovely day.
Fi
You'll have lovely parsley and chillies to add flavour to some of your delicious meals, Fiona. Pretty satisfying! Meg:)
DeleteOurs just self seed, Meg. Parsley grows like weeds here. I saved the seeds from some chilli plants we bought a while back and they are growing well now.
ReplyDeleteSome things, like Zinnias, basil and cherry tomatoes self seed here quite happily, Chel. The Queen Anne's Lace does too but I also collect seeds from it particularly to give away to friends. I don't have much luck with Italian parsley self-seeding though. Meg:)
DeleteA package of seeds in the post, or handed over with a smile, is positively the best gift ever. How lovely to bring that joy to another level with the beautiful little seeds bag. An avid seed collector here. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe little white bags came from a shop here in Brisbane called "Reverse Garbage". I'm not sure what they were originally for but I think they are perfect for stitching simple little motifs on. I thought the apple was just right for my gift of seeds. Meg:)
Deletei just collected parsley seeds this morning too! have heaps more on the plants yet, have a neighbour & friend who wants some seeds; i like collecting seeds but a lot of my garden(what's left of it) is self seeding. it needs a lot of work atm.
ReplyDeletegreat post
thanx for sharing
It's lovely that you have seeds to share with your friends and neighbours, Selina. I always enjoy sharing produce or seeds or flowers from my garden. Meg:)
DeleteI don't know why but I don't really collect seeds. Possibly because I'm hopeless at growing things from seed, I'm much more successful with seedlings.
ReplyDeleteI do a combination of both, collecting and sowing seed but I also buy seedlings too. Lettuce is something I can't grow from seed. Meg:)
DeleteSuch a lovely gift
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathy. My friend loved the seeds. Meg:)
DeleteYour envelopes and handwriting look gorgeousl! I save seeds, too. My favorites are hollyhock, larkspur, poppies, and amaranth.
ReplyDeleteThe little envelopes came in a parcel from Melissa Wastney when I ordered a treasure from her tinyhappy Etsy shop. I kept them and used them to put my seeds in. She has a tutorial on her tinyhappy blog for how to make little envelopes like these. Here is the link to the tutorial:
Deletehttp://tinyhappy.typepad.com/tiny_happy/2013/05/small-packages.html
Meg:)
Hi Meg,
ReplyDeleteI will be saving more of my seeds from now on. I am waiting on a few to dry off at the moment, and I saved some cucumber seeds recently :)
Love the little envelopes, I will take a look at the link you provided :)
xTania
Hi Tania. I made a few origami seed envelopes recently too from pages of an old calendar. Happy seed collecting! MegđŸŒ±
ReplyDelete