Thursday, September 27, 2012

COLLECTING FLOWER SEEDS



The seeds that I had casually in early summer thrown onto an area of bare yard have grown into a vibrant and informal garden. That part of the yard had always been a problem -- rank grasses and weeds would grow high soon after my as-infrequent-possible mowing. So this spring I carefully covered the area with tarpaulins to destroy the weeds and after about two months I had, with little trouble and no toxicity, a perfect spot for anything I might choose to grow.

The flowers which include cosmos, black-eyed susans, bluets, and an unnamed orange flower have begun to produce seeds. Instead of buying a seed mix in the coming spring I have begun collecting the seeds in a large envelope. Fragrant nicotiana, feverfew, and hollyhock seeds have also found their way into the collection. I look forward to casting the seeds into a wider area and to converting that part of the yard to a borderless annual garden that will look like a field of wild flowers.

Temperatures here have reached 0 Celcius during the night but we haven't yet had any frost damage. I might try to extend their season by protecting them against the frost, if only to be able to collect more seeds.

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