Sharing Seeds

Look at all those seeds just waiting for a ride on a summer breeze!

It's ironic: what is a success story for a weed can be a bit of a horror story 

for the average gardener. 

All that progeny just looking for the smallest opening- 

that empty patch of soil in amongst all those fancy garden flowers!

Plants in the garden can sometimes seed prolifically too. 

Let it slip your mind to cut back your chives in June and you may live to regret it!

Even though I am fairly vigilant, it seems I am forever 

pulling out little chive seedlings.

Sunflowers seeds seem to work in league with backyard birds. I started with a few plants two 

summers ago and now sunflowers are popping up all over the place.

Sadly other garden plants never seem to self-seed. 

I'd be thrilled to find some Balloon flowers seedlings (Platycodon grandiflorus) sprouting along the white picket fence, but in all the years I have grown them, I haven't found a single one!

So this year I decided to collect the seeds and give them a helping hand. 

Maybe if I give them a perfect growing conditions, they'll be more successful.

Seeds can be amazingly beautiful. These floss on these wildflower seeds is as light as air. 

In amongst the wild yellow tansy, they sparkle in the sun.

On the other hand, these False Indigo (Baptisia) seeds come in rather 

sinister looking packaging.

And these clematis seed heads make me think of hairy spiders.

They're kinda creepy don't you think?

It seems to me that the appearance of some seeds must be a matter of survival.

It is hard to believe that something this pretty...

...could become something this ugly.

But actually, it's a really clever strategy.
Who would want to eat something that looks this unappetizing?

It's foxgloves that have got me hooked on growing flowers from seeds.

They're biennial so you have to grow them the first summer to have flowers in the second.

Canterbury Bells

I have also fallen in love with biennial Canterbury Bells, annual Lavatera,
and the delicate white and blue flowers of Love-in-the Mist (Nigella).

This fall I have been harvesting seeds to make more of my favourite plants. These Allium 'Millenium' were one of the most beautiful flowers in my garden in mid-August.

So I saved some seeds for myself and some to share with gardening friends.

I've dried them and now they are ready to go into my homemade seed packets.

I use small coin envelopes (# 3 coin envelopes available at Staples) for my seed packets. 

I even created my own seed labels using a 2" x 4" transparent Avery mailing label (Avery 18663). It is super easy to download a template and print up your labels on a home computer.

So friends will find in their Christmas cards a mix of seeds that might include 

some 'Baby Joe' Pye Weed and....

....seeds from Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium altissimum 'Prairie Jewel'. 

I know that the plants grown from my Helenium seeds will not be true to their fancy hybrid parents. (They will only come true when propagated from cuttings.)

But it could be interesting!

 Who knows what will pop up next spring: perhaps a through 

back to the hybrid's parents or grandparents?

Some plants I already have in such abundance there is no need to collect seed.

I am sharing these seeds too- this time with the birds and other creatures
that inhabit my garden each winter.

5 Ways to Dress-up a Basic Evergreen Wreath

Basic evergreen holiday wreaths are available here at most grocery and big box stores.

One of the best thing about these store-bought wreaths is that all the hard work is done for you. 

They're also affordable- I picked this one up at Walmart for $12.98. 

But, they are a little ho-hum. 

So for fun, I gave myself a little assignment: 5 ways to dress up and personalize a basic, store-bought evergreen wreath.

The first thing I did was to give my wreath a bit of a haircut. As you can see, it was looking a bit like a shaggy dog! You could barely see through the centre.

The first design I came up with was themed on birds and the color blue.  

How-to in a nutshell: (For more detailed instructions and a materials list, click this link.) Insert some boxwood sprigs, dogwood branches and red berries into your store bought wreath and allow them to catch in the mix of evergreens. 

Take some white craft paint and dry-brush "snow" onto the pinecones and branches where snow would naturally collect. Once dry, use florist's wire to tie the pinecones into the wreath.

Remove the rope hanger from a little cardboard birdhouse ornament, poke a hole in the bottom and inserted a florist's pic. Add a dab of hot glue to secure the pic onto the birdhouse. 

Insert the birdhouse pic into the wreath and allow it to catch in the evergreens. Clip 3 bluejays and 3 little bluebirds onto the dogwood and berry branches (I found these at Michaels craft store).

Finally, attached a blue bow with some florist's wire. 

My next idea was to use a mix of fruit and berries to add a little pop of color to all that green.

How-to in a nutshell: (For a more detailed how-to and a material list, click this link.) Take some white craft paint to dry-brush "snow" onto the pinecones. Once dry, use florist's wire to tie them into the wreath.

Insert some boxwood sprigs to add a some leafy texture. 

Next, add in red and orange berry branches and allow them to catch in the mix of evergreens. 

Apply a dab of hot glue to the bottom of the yellow and red mini-apples (I found these at Michaels craft store). Insert a florist's pic into the hot glue and hold it for a minute or so until the glue sets. Insert the finished apple pics into the wreath. 

Attach a red bow with florist's wire. 

I think roses are a lovely holiday flower. This wreath combines white roses with red berries.

How to in a nutshell: (For a more detailed how-to and a materials list, click this link.) Take some white craft paint to dry-brush "snow" onto the pinecones. Once dry, use florist's wire to tie them into the wreath.

Insert some boxwood sprigs red berries into the store bought wreath and allowed them to catch in the mix of evergreens. 

I bought a stem of little white silk roses and a stem of white forsythia (I found these at Michaels craft store). I cut the large stem into a number of shorter branches and inserted these branches into my wreath. 

I did the same for a stem of pearl berries and glittery gold eucalyptus (also found these at Michaels craft store)- cutting one large stem into several smaller branches. 

I then added the smaller stems of pearl berries and glittery eucalyptus. 

Finally, I fastened a white bow with some florist's wire. 

My third wreath is inspired by the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song that has the refrain 

"and a partridge in a pear tree". 

Okay, this probably isn't a partridge, but it is close enough.

How to in a nutshell: (For a more detailed how-to and a materials list, click this link.) Take some white craft paint to dry-brush "snow" onto the pinecones. Once dry, use florist's wire to tie them into the wreath.

Insert some boxwood sprigs and red berries branches into your wreath and allow them to catch in the mix of evergreens. 

Apply a dab of hot glue to the bottom of the yellow mini-pears (I found these at Michaels craft store). Insert a florist's pic into the hot glue and hold it for a minute or so until the glue sets. 

Insert the finished pears pics into the wreath. 

Gather three feathers together in your fingers. Hold them at the top of a florist's pic and wrap the fine wire around and around to create a feather pic. Insert several feather pics around the circumference of the wreath. 

Clip on your partridge.

Attach a red bow with florist's wire. 

I thought that my final wreath should have a garden theme- this is a garden blog afterall- so I decided to do a red ladybug wreath with a pretty plaid bow.

How to in a nutshell: (For a more detailed how-to and a materials list, click this link.) Take some white craft paint to dry-brush "snow" onto the pinecones. Once dry, use florist's wire to tie them into the wreath.

Insert some boxwood sprigs and red berries branches into wreath and allow them to catch in the mix of evergreens. 

Take a single large stem of glittery eucalyptus (found at Michaels craft store) and cut it into a number of shorter branches. Insert the shorter eucalyptus branches into your wreath. 

Take a large branch with gold glitter (found in the floral department at my local grocery store) and cut it into a number of shorter pieces. Add them into the wreath allowing them to catch in the evergreens.

Take the red wooden ladybugs (found in the craft section of my local Dollar store) and apply a dab of hot glue onto the back. Place them on the gold branches and hold them in place for a few seconds until the hot glue has set. Note: If you can't find ladybugs, festively colored butterflies might be fun (look for butterflies at Michaels)

Attach a plaid bow and jingle bells to the wreath with some florist's wire. 

While I was working away making these holiday wreaths I came up with at least 

five more themes...ah well, maybe next year!

Have a wonderful weekend!