Hanging out in the bad part of town? Nope, Seedy Saturdays are when like minded gardeners all get together to swap, and buy seeds. The best part is most times the seed is open pollinated, and from organic origins. Seedy Saturdays are being held all over, so check out your local garden center newsletters and join in the fun.
I attended my very first Seedy Saturday the other day, and came back with some interesting seed choices. The school gym where it was held, was packed with local vendors. It was easy to see the most popular, since they were the ones with the line ups that stretched into the next tables. After waiting in line for more then a few minutes at a very busy table it was our turn to peruse the selections. Rare, heirloom, and unusual varieties, with only a few minutes to choose it was a little bit of grab ‘n go at times.
My Sister was elbowed out of her spot by a rather exuberant gardener, who butted into the line up, but who can argue with enthusiasm like that?
There were hundreds of people and all of them looked so eager to find that perfect pack of seeds. Everything was available from beets to spinach, cosmos to poppies, and anything else you could grow out here.
That’s another good thing about Seedy Saturdays, the seeds are usually acclimatized to your area, and you are more likely to have success with them.
Has anyone grown Anise Hyssop, with it’s purple flowers before? I vaguely remember a gardening friend telling me she decided to grow that instead of lavender, but I may be mistaken.
I also got some New Zealand Spinach, and very unusual poppies, I am a HUGE poppy fan, can’t wait to see those babies bloom. Double pink, white with purple centers, and blue nigella, love in a mist, do you know how hard it is to get a true blue nigella?
So here I am planning my garden, and watching the snow gradually fade off of the lawn. The front yard is already landscaped, so I should be able to fit some more flowers in, but the back is a bare canvas, no beds, no plants….
A gardeners dream.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
17 comments:
At 5 degrees above zero and the ground covered in at least a foot of snow, I TOO am thinking of spring and those wonderful and exciting garden seeds! I should be getting my Carmen pepper seeds and Early Girl tomato seeds in the mail today. :-)
Hey Jen!
Sounds like you had a wonderful Saturday!
I've planted some early green peas (garden peas, English peas, whatever you call them). Hoping they will grow and produce quickly before our cool weather turns to hot, hot summer. We still have some below freezing temperatures at night, but the days are quickly warming up. Are you planning to try veggies or just flowers this first year in your new place?
I am excited for your bare canvas to grow!
Lea
Mississippi, USA
Those flowers are gorgeous. We still have snow, ice and a very hard ground frost.
Jen, I love the idea of local seeds. What a perfect way to begin your new garden....so excited for you! :)
Lucky you! Your snow is fading! It's been snowing here all day. groan. Beautiful photos. Having a blank slate in your backyard will be super for planning and planting. Something to look forward to. ~ Pamela
Boy! Do I know what you mean! I am always on the look out for new plants. 300+ (52 different daylilies) in our yard now. Hardly any the same. We like to travel the state to find new ones. With gas prices this year I don't know how far we will go though. Some of the plants we have took 5 years for them to hit the local nurseies after we bought them O.K. did that sentence make sence? We have HUGE flower beds! We need to bring in mulch this year. One year we brought in 20 yards! Let's just say that we hauled mulch for awhile! Actually a weekend and a couple of days before or after work. I love those pictures you posted. Just beautiful! My husband laughs at all the pictures I have in my Picassa albumns. ut then again he just backed all of them up on discs for me. Without me asking. Nice to see what we started with and how they have grown. plants and beds. O.K. before I take all the space I will end here. lol
That event sounds right up my alley! Nice score on the poppies!! I'm itching to dig in the ground too but we have interior remodeling to do on the home we're about to move into. Once the weather warms up, I'm going to have to allow myself some outside garden time to keep me motivated to finishing the indoor tasks. Cheers, Jenni
I have Anise Hyssop! Nice herb with a licorice scent. Grows easily here :)
Oh, what fun! We spent our day at the grocery store. BORRRRING! Gorgeous Pink image, btw!!
I love looking forward to planting season. Our azaleas are in full bloom right now and we wish we had planted a few more. We forget that if Florida...Spring comes early! Hope you have a wonderful week! ♥
I'm sure your "blank canvas" back yard will be a masterpiece once you are finished.
What a great idea. I will have to check to see if we have any of these events..I love the blank canvas..it is a dream...and I grow anise hyssop..it is a native and a great flower.
If you grow Anise Hyssop..leave it lots of room..mine got about 30 inches tall. It was Okay..but I would grow Lavender instead if I had to choose between the two. Anise Hyssop can look weedy..the flowers are not real impressive either. The Poppies sound wonderful..and have you had luck growing Nigella?
Blank canvas in the back..how is your sun back there..part sun? Now that could be fun for you..and I bet you are wishing that snow away:)
What a fabulous idea. I will definitely have to check to see if they have a seed exchange here :)
You are going to have so much fun planing and planting your gardens this year. I think the seed exchanges are such a great idea. None of those around here that I know of. Like I need more seeds. LOL!
Oh, by the way. If you ever want any seeds from any of my flowers all you have to do is let me know and I will mail them up to you.
I am checking on this. I wonder of any of our local growers do this. What a brilliant idea!
blessings,
karianne
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