Seed-Saving 2008

For weeks now, as flowers have faded, I have been collecting seeds. I have dozens of packets stored up for next year to plant or share with people.

I recommend this activity to any gardener, even those who just like to buy flats and install them.

Saving seeds means really taking a close look at your garden plants and learning to marvel at the myriad shapes of pods, capsules or clusters of seeds. I have a lot of Forget-me-nots that produce shiny black seeds, but this year I bought a mixed packet that included Chinese Forget-me-nots, which have funny little burr-like seeds. The sprig in the middle has those seeds.

To the left are green pods rescued from my neighbor's Morning Glory vine. On the right are the brown seeds that come out of the dried pods.

The big star of the garden this year was Cosmos, both fancy pastel and golden-orange varieties. I have so many seeds from them that I gave up on packets and began using plastic pill bottles for storage.

If it looks like your garden budget will be tight next spring, don't worry. I'll be around with seeds to share.

--Bernice Paglia