Seed saving and such

I am happy to report that I'm on the mend and Julian seems to have come through these past 10 days unscathed. Turns out it was "just" a sinus infection but its honestly the most ill I've ever been in my life. I missed five days of work and cut short my birthday weekend in Va. to return to the doctor first thing on Monday morning. The lingering cough is now my only remnant... that and the undone house chores.

Speaking of chores and one that is made particularly difficult by a lingering cough - I've been trying to be intentional about seed saving for next year. I've collected seeds from all over; from the Sarah J. Duke Botanical Gardens (prickly pear cactus and water iris) to South Middle School where our church meets (cosmos, zinnias, misc wildflowers).

In total, I have amassed seeds of coneflower, columbine, redbud, oak, zinnia, cosmos, daisy, butterfly weed, iris, daylily, marigold, cilantro, sunflower, dill, basil, clematis (what a weird seed!), prickly pear, rose, peas, lettuce, and snapdragons. I keep them in bead bags I get from the craft store and them file them away in an old floppy disk storage box. I am always entertained by how the seeds are a perfect fit for the archaic and seemingly obsolete box.

There is no better way to get free plants and often they are colors and varieties that I'm not likely to come by in a garden center. I don't know why but I always seem so shocked at the cost of seed packets - $3.50 for tiny little grains of dust? Besides, acorns are not just nuts. They are FREE OAK TREES, people. Plant them!

In addition to being free, I'm really enjoying that the seed collection process adds a new awareness and appreciation for the season. I grow basil every year but, just yesterday, I took the time to sit down and dissect my browning basil plant to figure out how the plant works and where the seeds come from. Fascinating.

It is tempting to look in the garden and be discouraged by the end of the growing season but this year I am looking out my window and there it is - seed season - happening right before my eyes. Love it.

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Linking up with Little House in the Suburbs .