SEED SAVING FOR NEXT YEAR

I love collecting seeds from favorite flowers to grow in next year's gardens.

Seed saving is the practice of keeping seeds or other reproductive material from flowers, vegetables, grains, and herbs, for use from year to year. It’s a rewarding pastime, a great way to save money, and the most economical way to produce new plants for the garden. It’s also a nice way to share well-loved plants and flowers with family and friends.

Rather than deadheading all flowers after they bloom, I let some go to seed. Watch for pods on the stems, wait for them to dry, and cut them off before they break open. Shake the seeds out onto to flat surface to dry completely, then store them in labeled envelopes in a cool spot for the winter.

Here is one of the pretty poppies I grew this year – so crisp and white. This poppy has long stems and delicate white blooms. It’s also long flowering and easy to grow.

This is a poppy seed pod, which is what’s left on the stem once the flower blooms and the petals fall off. As the seed heads turn brown with ripeness, it’s time to cut them and harvest the seeds.

We’ve collected many poppy seedpods from the garden – poppy seeds also come in various shapes and sizes.