Here is something I’ve been thinking about: seed saving. I hardly ever save seeds. To me the plants are throwing their seed here and there and don’t need any help from me. But, if I were to be a little more in control, a little more selective, and a little more organized it would be a boon.
So, the thalictrum (meadow rue) is in full seed and I have been deadheading, if I don’t there will be millions of these lovelies come spring and we all know about too much of a good thing.
Thalictrum seed heads are beautiful. The cutting down of them is actually painful, the loss of all that beauty at a time of year when we are savoring every single second of available loveliness seems like a crime. There have been years that I didn’t cut them, thinking the warblers would make use of the seeds. Mistake. So this year I am diligent.
But there are those of you who save seeds. Well, sure. But when a plant sends out seeds it means that is the perfect time to get them on/in the ground. Thus, when you gather your seeds have pots of soil ready and waiting, sprinkle the saved seed on the surface, nestle the pot into a bed and let them wait out the winter. In the spring or thereabout, you’ll have nice little seedlings ready to be divided and placed where you want them. Simple.
But the thought of ‘saving’ seed from one season to the next, in an little envelope tucked away somewhere you may or may not remember until the coming growing season doesn’t make sense to me. Deal with it now.
We have a drainage ditch between us and our most excellent neighbors. This ditch requires attention and John is the one who gives it what it needs. On one of his strolls along the ditch he encountered a frog. How cool is that? It was a fleeting sighting but seen nonetheless and its the little things in life that bring joy. This prompted a flurry if investigation and, thanks to Alaska Department of Fish and Game we think John saw a wood frog, they are the ‘most commonly distributed amphibian in Alaska’. Let’s not forget that 15 years ago we had a mink in our garden.
Keep your eyes open, there is much to be seen here in the Far North.
 |
| Thalictrum seed head |
I also saw a wood frog, what a wonderful surprise, walking up Canyon Rim trail a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteCranes! I sometimes regretted that we were hemmed in by birch, no cranes ever landed in our yard. But a few days ago here they came marching down our driveway! I'm in love with fall! And your thalictrum.