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As you may have noticed - we love our gardens. We are also mothers so love to manage our budgets as efficiently as possible. We have been collecting and storing seeds for a little while now. It's easy, it's completely free and they are great to share/ swap/ gift with friends.
We have been surprised by how often friends and family buy a packet of seeds for a plant they already have. When a plant does well in your garden, there is usually a way to collect the seeds or take a cutting. While 'propagating' can seem complicated, mostly it's a pretty easy process
We were recently at the beautiful Enchanted Gardens in Whitstable, Kent where they are growing all of their pollinator friendly plants as organically as possible, collecting their own seeds and selling plants and seeds from their beautiful gardens.
They have inspired us to collect more of our own seeds, so we thought we would share with you some plants you can collect seeds from super easily:
Collect Seeds From These Plants Super Easily
Hosta - If you leave the flower on a Hosta until it turns brown, the seeds all drop out. The resulting plants may not be the exact same as the 'parent' plant, but they are hostas all the same.
Foxglove - We LOVE foxgloves. They are so pretty and bring height to a border. When the flowers start to turn brown, just pull off the stem and keep in a brown bag/ envelope until the seeds all fall out. Alternatively let them seed themselves and collect the little seedlings the following spring. They transplant easily and flower the following year.
Buddleia - Collect the flower heads once the flowers have faded, add to a brown paper bag/ envelope and the seeds will all fall out - easy!
Sunflowers - These have to be one of the easiest to collect. Just wait until the back of the flower head turns brown, snip the head off and pull out the seeds. Perfect for next years flowers. While you can eat sunflower seeds, if you plan on harvesting them to eat - grow a variety specifically for eating.
Tomato - Again, super easy. If you have tomato plants growing this year, you can simply slice up the tomato, put it on the soil et voila - next year a plant will grow. Alternatively remove the seeds, dry them out and store them for next years planting. You can use the same method for cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins etc,
Allium - Ever noticed the black balls at the end of the flowers when they are finished flowering? That's the seed. Just snip off the stem and keep them in a brown paper bag/ envelope until the following year, They germinate quickly but will take approx 2 years to flower. Like the Hosta, you can't tell what you're going to get - but who doesn't love a surprise?
Bluebell - We have been sending out Bluebell seeds recently with orders. They are so easy to collect from current flower stems, just shake the faded flowers and they all fall out. Keep them for the following year or sow them directly. These will take approx 5 years to bloom, but in 5 years time you could have hundreds of Bluebells filling up your garden!
It's such an easy thing to collect seeds from your own garden. You get next years plants for free and can always share/ swap with friends to expand your plant collection. It's always worth googling 'how to propagate...' when you get a new plant. It can be so simple!
Did you see our recent video on propagating plants? Arianne has a whole host of plants she is growing from cuttings and seed. Take a look:
Do you collect your own seeds? Do you propagate? Do you have any great success stories or any suggestions for us? We would love to try your ideas.
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Hoping you are all happy & healthy,
Keelly & Arianne xxx