It is beginning to be the time of year to begin thinking about seed saving from your favourite flowers in the garden. To get the best quality seeds, start by flagging your largest, most beautiful flowers for seed saving. Allow them to stay on the stem as long as possible, drying out until they are just about to burst open. They are ready to be cut and saved at this point.
The rest of the flowers can be cut or deadheaded once the bloom begins to wither and turn brown. Flowers benefit from deadheading as the energy normally spent on producing seed is put into strengthening roots instead.
The Helping Nature Heal method
Mimic nature with seed saving methods and sharing the abundance of nature generously:
LEAVE: Scatter some seeds randomly as nature would to ensure the natural spread of the plants. You may want to just allow them to fall on the ground or intentionally plant them.
SAVE: You want to ensure the seeds are well dried and stored in a dry place or freeze them for the winter.
GIVE: Share some seeds with community gardens, friends and neighbours.
Rosmarie’s favourite book on seedheads is called Seedheads in the Garden by Noel Kingsbury. The beautiful photos above are taken from the book as well. You can purchase it through Amazon or other bookstores.
You can learn more about seed saving at our upcoming seed saving workshop at the DesBrisay Museum in Bridgewater, NS on Wednesday, September 25, 2019. Click here for more information or email office@helpingnatureheal.
