Karen and Bev ... fabulous photos.

Karen -- love that red coneflower.

I came home for a week, some of my plants are already fading, while others are still going strong.
I've been taking photos -- but they are not as good as in yrs past.

give some away... but mostly for myself .. I always like to do a variety to see what grows best year to year

Thanks Terese:) I should be taking more pics, but have started back to work now...I tend to collapse when I get home.

i'll cmail you onewish.

Hi, Terese. Nice to see you. My garden looks to be circling the drain now, too. We need some good, soaking rain.

Karen

these were from an RU a few years ago... from happy ring

we are very dry here too. looks like rain Wed & Thurs ... we shall see.
I'm heading back north soon -
- then i'll be a seed-pickin' fool when I get back.

I do have some flower beds up there too that i'll be harvesting from - have to remember to take seed envies with.

I know that one... envelops in one pocket ... marker in another... and pray I don't drop them once full

sometimes i'm really organized .... i go out back with my large market basket filled with glass jars & caps, paper and a pen/pencil. then i can write down what the seed is, and put the slip of paper in the jar.

sometimes, when i'm pilfering - i only have baggies, and hopefully i can recall what is in the bag. Have gotten some NoIDs that way. Thankfully - some seeds are obvious, but lets take Cosmos for example... is it Cosmic Orange, or Sensation Mix. I even have some cute lil Limara Lemon this year. Will definitely have to have the pencil on hand -- but i do think the seeds are smaller.

the other one that usually gets me are the Agastaches. I have so many. I usually have to find the plant tag to see which is which.

but -- it's one thing i love about Fall.... it's like, "Let the games begin"

I've gotten really bad about saving seeds. It's a job I really hate. Often I'd rather just buy what I want the next year. Saving your own is a good frugal thing to do. And sometimes those open pollinated things can give you nice surprises. But sometimes they produce stuff nothing like the Mom, something I don't even like.

And I get so sick of that mess in my house. I hate every phase of it- collecting them, drying them all over the house, bringing bugs into the house, cleaning them... I guess it's one more symptom of my lazy approach to gardening.

Karen

I do hear ya on the clutter. thankfully DH has not complained about it yet. I try to keep it as tidy as a can, but not always easy. I have one large Longerberger basket on top of my frig [keeps the cat from jumping up there] -- so i think as long as everything stays in the basket, and not scattered all over.. .i'm OK.

I usually only harvest seeds once i know they are dry... sometimes i will leave the jar, lid off, on a window sill and hope it doesnt spill, cat snooping .... but other than that, i normally dont have seeds laying around.

I've read enough stories of drying seeds and a beloved pet gets into them, needlessly spilling seeds everywhere... that i can do without.

I am severely trimming back my seed gathering. Most of it is for me next season, a few to trade ... I just dont have the time anymore, or room.

We shall see what i limit myself to WS-jug-wise next Jan/Feb.

My garden is so closely planted, it's almost impossible to save seeds that will come true to the parent. I have tried pollinating/isolating blossoms with dismal results. It's just easier to buy or trade for the seed I need. There are a few things I don't mind planting crosses of....zinnias can be beautiful when planting seeds saved from hybrid parents. Tomatos, when they are something totally different are not such a fun surprise. It has given me a new appreciation for why seeds sometimes cost as much as they do. I'd rather pay the price than do the work involved.

I'm with you, Linda. I've also gotten some not-so-hot tomatoes from saved seeds. I I got some weirdo zinnias, too. One year I grew Dreamland Coral zinnias. They were beautiful until the powdery mildew got them. I saved same seeds and grew them the next year.and not one resembled the mother plant. Some were 5' tall and some were only 8" tall. And one was the most butt-ugly bright orange thing I'd ever seen.

Karen

>>And one was the most butt-ugly bright orange thing I'd ever seen.

OH Karen... that's funny. I think i've really only done Zinns two years. Last year i threw a lot of seeds.. .but with the dry spring... barely a handful germinated.

This year i got some good ones, and 2 yrs ago we [the neighbor and I ] had tons of them in all various colors and sizes.

I've saved some seeds from zinnia Wowie Zowie--the progeny were not quite true, but just as beautiful. As expensive as those seeds are, I was quite happy with my "knock-offs".

I do have a few plants I save seed from--I have a beautiful dark/black scabiosa that I just love. It took me forever to even figure out where the seed was, and when was the best time to pull the seed head. But, I now grow them every year and they are one of my favorite annuals. I also grow "Dragonhead" every year for our "tea garden", and I try to save seed from that because it is rather difficult to find for purchase.

Yeah, I do save some seeds. I keep some from my green-eyed ruds every year, and Yvonne's salvia. And if there's something that I want to start the next year and I'm fairly sure it will be similar- like my lobelia cardinalis or salvia coral nymph. I just don't save seeds from everything like I did for a few years.

I don't even trade seeds that much any more. Lazy, lazy, lazy. And then, I've been burned on trades, too, receiving seeds that weren't ripe or packets of nothing but chaff. I'm sure the trader meant well and they were honest mistakes. I just sent emails and said thank you to each trader. I'd never point out the error and make a person feel bad about it.

If there's something I really want, I tend to buy new, commercial seeds.

Karen

Karen -- funny you mention Lobelia. I was just looking up the "blue" [i got them from BlueSprial] have never been able to germinate the "red" ... too bad, i'd love to have some.

I love Scabiosa. I had White one year, and each year after, have not been able to germinate seeds. I had Blue, Yellow, and a Wine color. Zip nadda nothing. and they are so pretty.

as for trades.. i get into group trades. I do a few single trades, but mostly where someone contacts me first. I don't seek out anymore because i can get whatever I need in the big "swaps".

Though i also have a few good friends who i trade with regularly.

my guess is the Giant California Mix

Sorry you missed the swap this year, Allison. Your contributions would have been fabulous according to your pictures here!! Hope the puppies are doing well.


I can't remember if this Hibiscus Pink Luna Swirl was from my winter sow group or from the seeds that I started indoors. Any, I only had 1 of the plants survive until I could get it in, but I think that it was worth it.

Thanks Allison, here's the photo

puppies are doing well... think your photo is missing Teri