Have you tried it? With foxgloves? My garden was until this afternoon awash with dying foxgloves, their seeded stalks blowing back and forth in a strong breeze. (note to self - watch out for an invasion of tiny foxglove plants while the soil is warm).
At two o'clock my gardeners turned up to mow, edge, weed, cut back and generally tidy my plot. As usual I sat on Priscilla and watched proceedings. Both D and J were invaded by foxglove seeds - in their hair mainly. Foxglove seeds are minute - about the size of the working end of a pin.
I had promised my grand daughter some seeds from them so together D and I shook a stalk on to a sheet of white paper on the bench in the garage. I have just poured them into a thin paper bag, cut it down to size and sealed it well and folded it to fit into a small plastic 'purse' which held a specs cleaning cloth then sealed that with sellotape, put it into an envelope and stuck two second class stamps on it. It will go into the mail box in the morning.
One thing is for sure - they will escape if they can. Nature is wonderful, seeds are programmed to be hell bent on getting to somewhere fertile where they can do their job properly.
The garden is looking a lot tidier, I still have a lot of flowers out and D cut back things like hardy geraniums, santolina, alchemilla mollis. All the foxglove stalks are in the green bin and tomorrow in green-bin-day - so somewhere there is a site which will receive millions of foxglove seeds in a short while. Somebody somewhere is in for a colourful treat next Summer - lucky things.
If I had sent all the seeds to my grand daughter that somebody could probably have been the whole of Glasgow where they live. I will swear, hand on heart, the total would run into millions.
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15 comments:
We've never collected the seeds, but we do spread them. When we cut back the flowering stalk we lay the whole thing along the base or top of a hedge. They've multiplied wonderfully.
Love collecting and spreading seeds. Hollyhocks and poppies mostly.
I hope the drugs squad does not look in the envelope.
I collect foxglove seeds and aquilegia every year oh and Welsh poppies
Gifting Foxglove seeds is a great way beautify the landscape. I remember driving in the English countryside and seeing Foxgloves growing in great swaths at the roadside. They are very beautiful and unexpected. In the US, they do not grow as freely.
One of my favourites! I collect them when the dead heads have dried well! I love the act of shaking the dried heads into paper bags and seeing the thousands of seeds fall out! I’ve scattered some and I’ve sown some in pots; they’ve germinated quickly. I love to have them in the garden but even more, I love to see them in the wild. 😁
I would dearly love some fox glove seeds if anyone wants to divest themselves of some!
I love foxglove.
I love foxgloves, too, but not having a garden of my own, I don't collect seeds - although I could use them for my windowsill pots.
Foxgloves are a good plant for the bees to feast upon. Nothing like the fat bum of a bumble bee covered in pollen sleeping inside a foxglove. The other wild plant that has millions of seeds is mullien but you never see a bank of them.
What a lovely way to spread the pleasure of having certain plants in one's garden. My garden was quite small so I'd let things seed themselves and then distribute the seedlings to other gardeners. I well remember my delight when, after years of trying to get them to grow for me, the hellebores began to have babies. They were everywhere.
My friend Pam asked for Foxglove seeds and I was happy to oblige. She also wants some of my Mullein seeds - she may come to regret both! I am busy saving seeds here from Nasturtiums, Aquilegias - earlier in the year - Lychnis coronia, Foxgloves have been spread about the wild parts of the garden, and I have one Hollyhock (pink double)which I will save seeds from and spread about for more in the future.
BB - I let my Aquelegia seed themselves and then get my gardener to pull up the ones I don't want to keep once they have flowered. Unfortunately, as I am sure you realise, I have given no thought to the bees working the garden for their own ends - what comes up is always a total surprise. Lovely to keep hearing from you - once I remember how I shall add you to my side bar (I am 90 now and easily forget things like that!)
Heather - everywhere is the right word
Tasker - thanks - my laugh for the day! I wrote seeds on the envelope as it was rather lumpily suspicious. Now I wish I hadn't !!
Thanks. Lovely day here in The Yorkshire Dales.
On a smaller scale, this year I am saving the hundreds (thousands?) of Night-Scented Stock seeds for sewing in the window box next year. The plants are from a good strain I think.
Is it sowing, not sewing????
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