I love Poppies!

This spring we are making a new flower bed just for my Poppies. We rarely used our big fire pit so we have filled it with dirt and are planting Poppies in it.

I have started over 20 different Poppies from seed so this should be fun! Please bare with me as this is work in progress until some of the Poppies bloom.

Alpine Poppy Papaver alpinum hybirds
Black Beauty - Peony Poppy 'Papaver somniferum' Annual - Full Sun Height 3' - Spacing 1' Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms in Summer
California Poppy 'Eschscholtzia californica' Hardy Annual - Self Seeds - Full Sun Height 12-18" - Spread 6-8" Attracts Bees Blooms Spring to Fall
Celandine Poppy or Wood Poppy 'Stylophorum diphyllum' Perennial - Zone 4-8 Partial to Full Shade Height 12-18" - Spacing 12-18" - Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms early Spring and Summer
Champagne Bubbles 'Papaver Nudicaule' Perennial - Zone 2-7 - Full Sun Height 18-24" - Spacing 18" Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms Spring & Summer
Fringed Pink Poppy
Hens & Chicks Poppy 'Papaver somniferum' Annual - Full Sun Height 3-4' - Spacing 2' Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms in Summer
Iceland Poppy 'Papaver nudicaule' Biennial - Zone 2-9 - Full Sun Height 18" - Spacing 12" Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms Spring & Summer
Ladybird or Flanders Poppy 'Papaver commutatum' Annual - Full Sun Height 12-18" - Spacing 12-18" Attracts Bees Blooms Spring - Summer
Lavender Poppy
Oriental Poppy - Papaver oriental Perennial
Pink Peony Poppy 'Papaver somniferum'
Princess Victoria Louise Poppy 'Papaver orientale' Perennial - Zone 3-8 Height 2-3' - Spacing 12-18" Full/Partial Sun Attracts Bees, Butterflies & Hummingbirds Blooms Late Spring - Early Summer
Purple Lilac Wonder Poppy
Red Peony Poppy 'Papaver somniferum' Annual - Full Sun Height 3' - Spacing 1' Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms in Summer
Setigerum Poppy - Wild Opium Poppy 'Papaver somniferum' Annual - Full Sun Photo Compliments of - http://www.stridvall.se/la/galleries.php
Swansdown Poppy 'Papaver somniferum' Annual - Full Sun Height 2-3' - Spacing 9-12" Attracts Bees & Butterflies Blooms Mid Summer
Venus Poppy
White Cloud Poppy

I’m not positive which Allium this is, but I am going to go out a limb and say it is an ornamental onion ‘Allium Senescens’ Thanks to Joe the on the garden web forum ‘Name that plant’ for the identification. The plant stands about 2 – 2 1/2 feet tall. The flower heads are about 2 – 2 1/2 inches across the middle. Many seeds were tightly packed in the flower head. It’s too bad I missed it in bloom. Oh well, this summer I will get to see it’s beauty.  The image of the flower is from Wikipedia and attributes go to Meneerke bloem for the use of the photo.

Allium 'Senescens' Ornamental Onion

Flower	Dried Flower/Plant	Dried Flower/Seed Head
Seeds	Seedling	Germination
		10 days to sprout

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Flowers, their seeds and seedlings

One of my goals for harvesting seeds is to get involved in seed exchanges as well as to sell them. In preparation I have started testing them to make sure they will germinate. As soon as the seedlings have their true leaf I will post the images. Hopefully these images will help some of you identify your seedlings. Please let me know what you think.

Flowers, their seeds and seedlings

Seed Germination

Flower	Flower Image	Seed Image	Seedling Image	# of Days
Allium - I'm not sure which Allium this is. Plant is about 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall				10
Allium schoenoprasum 'Chives'				4
Allium tuberosum 'Garlic chives'				6
Amaranth "Love Lies Bleeding"				3
Aster Pot 'N' Patio Mix				2
Betony Dwarf "Stachys minima'
Bishop's Flower 'Ammi majus'
Calendula officinalis "Pot Marigold" Yellow				4
Campanula persicifolia 'Peach Leaved Bellflower'				9
Centaurea cyanus 'Bachelor's Button'				2
Centaurea Macrocephala "Great Golden Knapweed"				4
Columbine Dwarf Blue				15
Columbine 'Pink Tower'
Delphinium				9
Delphinium Dwarf				15
Foxglove 'Digitalis'				8
Gaillardia Goblin 'Blanket Flower'				7
Grass Ornamental 'Hare's Tail'				20
Heliopsis helianthoides scaba ‘Summer Sun’				9
Heliopsis helianthoides "Loraine Sunshine"				5
Hollyhock 'Black' Alcea				10
Hollyhock 'Miniature'				8
Lamb's Ear "Stachys byzantina"				5
Lupine				7
Marigold 'Boy 'O' Boy'				5
Marigold 'Inca II Yellow'				5
Melva Zabrina
Mullein 'Verbascum thapsus' Photo attrribute to Forest & Kim Starr				7
Nasturtiums Tropaeodum 'Whirlybird Mix'				5
Onopordum acanthium				3
Poached Eggs - Limanthes Douglasii 'Sulpher Yellow'				29
Rudbeckia 'Hirta'				7
Shasta Daisy				7
Stocks Mathiola incana 'Vintage Mix'				7
Sweet William 'Mixed'				3
Tanacetum parthenium 'Feverfew' Golden Chrysanthemum				6
Thalictrum flavum glaucum "Meadow Rue"

These beautiful Peonies are from my son’s yard. I believe the plants have been established where they are for at least 25 -30 years.

Today I plan on starting the process of planting these seeds. I have read that it takes at least 3 years to get a flower on the Peony plants.

Shasta Daisy “Chrysanthemum maximum”

An old time favorite flower for your garden

Plant will grow 2-3 Feet tall

Zone 3-9    -   Perennial   -   Attracts Butterflies

Blooms during the summer

The colors of the Rudbeckia are always changing. They are very interesting to watch as the summer goes on.

In the middle picture I have cut a seed head in half so you can see the small black seeds hiding in the seed head . It is a very tedious job picking the seeds out of all the other stuff.

The Bees just love the Lambs Ear

Lambs Ear seed pods and seeds

These Delphinium are in my sons yard and they have been established for 20 or 30 years. I think they are stunning and so do the bees. Some of these plants stand 6-8 feet tall.

Delphinium Seed Pods and Seeds

Thank You to everyone who helped name these flowers

1) The Mystery Flower	1) The Mystery Flower
2) Shasta Daisy	2) Seed head from Shasta Daisy
3) Calendula officinalis	3) Calendula officinalis
4) Coreopsis	5) Matthiola incana/stocks
6) Sunflower helianthus	7) Straw Flower helichrysum bracteatum

Sea Holly Eryngium – Flowers and seeds

Here are pictures of  3 of my Hollyhocks  Red, Black and Pink.

Seed Pods        Seeds             Seed

Thses are just a few of my Hollyhocks. I will have to wait until next year to post pictures of the others.

“Magnus” or “Doubledecker”

Echinacea        Seed Head          Seeds

The Rock Garden is my favorite flower bed.  I love all the Alpine plants. It will take me awhile but I will eventually add the names of most of the plants.

Poppy  Papaver

“Pink Peony”

What a pleasant surprise this Pink Peony Poppy was!

Poppy  Papaver somniferum

“Black Peony or Black Beauty”

This Black Peony Poppy was my biggest surprise !  What a beauty!

Poppy  Papaver nudicaule

“Champagne Bubbles”

Champagne Bubbles is an old favorite and has been in my garden for a few years.

Rudbeckia hirta

Black-eyed Susan or Gloriosa Daisy

These Rudbeckia plants are all over my yard. The colors are constantly changing. I have ordered seeds for a burgandy and a green Rudbeckia and can’t wait to see the flowers next summer. Rudbeckia blooms all summer and long into the fall.

Flower                  Seed Head            Seeds

Zone  3  – 10      Herbaceous perennial   -  Attracts  Birds Bees Butterflies

2 – 4  Feet tall   2  Foot spread  Full Sun/Partial Shade   -   Asteraceae Family

Deer and rabbit resistant   -   Blooms  summer to early fall   –   Clump forming thistle  plant

Globe Thistle Echinops bannaticus has long prickly stems & is a very striking & showy flower.

Great ornamental cut   flower for arrangements before during & after it has bloomed.

Globe Thistle does well in any well drained soil  is  Drought tolerant and will reseed itself.

Sow seeds indoors or outside in early spring.  Do not cover the seeds as they require light to germinate.

Will bloom in the second year.  I found that harvesting the seeds was a bit difficult and time consuming.

Below please read an email received from Jonna on harvesting and sowing Echinops seeds.

Jonna’s website is  http://www.seedsite.eu

The seed is in the individual parts of the seedpod.

The best time to collect these seeds is when they are loose in the seedpod. That means that you can only harvest a part of the seedpod at the same time, because the ones above will be ripe earlier than the ones below. Never use any pressure to harvest them. If you do that you’ll harvest unripe seeds. If you want to harvest a lot of seeds you’ll have to check the pods 2 times a week.
Or you can use organza bags to gather the seeds. The ones who fall in the bags are potential ripe.
After harvesting you must put them in paper bags and take out the seeds of the individual parts of the seedpod. You’ll notice that not every ’seed’ is viable. Only the seeds that are thick and can’t be crushed with your nail are potential viable seeds. It’s a lot of work.

The seeds must be sown in autumn or winter, they prefer (or even need) a cold period. If you prefer to sow indoors you’ll have to stratisfy the seeds a few weeks.

Thank’s Jonna for your wealth of knowledge on seed collecting!

Plants I have saved the seeds from

It is going to take me awhile to get the images and information of each plant onto my blog. If anyone would like the images of the seeds and information on any of these plants add a comment and I will try to get the images and info entered for you. Or email me at sherriebohan@shaw.ca for a quicker response. This list is just a start on the seeds I have harvested from plants so far. I have about 200 different plants for this list.

Stay Tuned!

Aconitum cammarum “Monkshood Bi-Color”

Aegopodium   podagraria “Variegatum”- Snow On The Mountain

Alcea – Hollyhock  (Black)

Alcea – Hollyhock  (My Kids House)

Amaranth “Love Lies Bleeding”

Anaphalis margaritacea “Pearly Everlasting”

Anthemis tintoria Kelway “Golden Marguerite”

Beebalm Monarda “Raspberry Wine”

Campanula glomerata “Clustered Bell Flower”

Centaurea Macrocephala

Delphinium

Echinacea Coneflower “Coconut Lime”

Echinacea  Coneflower “Magnum”

Echinacia “Pink Double Delight”

Echinacea “White Swan”

Foxglove Digitalis

Gaillardia “Goblin”  Blanket Flower grandiflora

Gazinia “Day Break”

Heliopsis helianthoides scaba ‘Summer Sun’

Lady’s Mantle “Alchemilla Vulgaris”

Lamb’s Ear “Stachys byzantina”

Ligularia stenocephala “The Rocket”

Lupine “The Pages”

Painted Daisy

Peony “White”

Peony “Red”

Peony “Pink”

Phlox “David’s Lavender Tall Garden Phlox

Poppy “Papaver”  California White Linen

Poppy  “Papaver” Champagne Bubbles

Poppy “Papaver” somniferum ‘Black Beauty or Black Peony’

Poppy “Papaver”  Pink Peony

Rudbeckia Toto

Rudbeckia Hirta

Saponaria

Sea Holly Eryngium palnum

Silene “Druett’s Variegated”

Thalictrum flavum glaucum “Meadow Rue’

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Thank You to everyone @ my Garden Web Forum for helping identify these 10 plants. It was a fun and interesting experiment to see how many other Gardeners there are to help out.

Plant ID
	Thalictrum flavumglaucum	Lychnis
	Campanula glomerata	Potentilla atrosanguinea
Echineacea Pink Double Delight Photo Compliments of Nora Dowsett	Saponaria	Phlox "David's Lavender Tall Garden Phlox"
Petunia peaking through the Clematis Vine	Clematis "Jackmanii"

The mystery flower. Clematis or Petunia?   This pink flower may have been peeking through from a plant box behind the Clematis vine. I guess I will have to wait until next summer to figure this 1 out. There are 2 Clematis plants together but I’m not sure if the pink flower is actually attached to 1 of them or not.

Flower            Seed Head         Seeds

1 Foot          12 – 18 inches Full sun or Partial shade
Zone 3 – 9      -      Accent Perennial     –      Attracts Bees Butterflies

Asterceae Family    -   Deer Resistant   -   Originated in North America

Great ground cover or border.  Nice cut  flower for arrangements.

Blooms are bi-color with red centres and yellow tips. Each flowers last about 4 weeks.

The Gaillardia flowers will bloom contiuously from June to September if dead headed.

Also known as x grandilora Kobold.  Resembles a firewheel or Native American Blanket.

Centre of the flower is like a disk or button and are very Daisy like.

Gaillardia does well in hot conditions and is drought tolerant.

Prefers well drained soil and does just fine in poor soil.

Easy to grow from seed. Plant seeds in early Spring or Summer anytime right up until 2 months before the first fall frost.

Gaillardia reseeds itself and may also be divided  in the Spring or Fall.

I consider the Harvest of  Gaillardia seeds as simple to do.

Riddles for Gardeners

Email your answers for a free pack of flower seeds!

“The answers are names of flowers”

1. How might you describe a silent person
2. Name for a lady who marries for riches
3. Everyone has these on their face
4. You might find one of these on a safari
5. An appropriate gift for a banker
6. A fastener on a single man’s coat
7. A country of automobile lovers
8. Good name for a guy’s biking club
9. He’s an awfully sugary bill
10. They’re the dairy best blooms
11. A peevish fairytale creature
12. A Woman’s nightly foot ware
13. They hate to wait
14. A fine looking jungle ruler
15. Cross between a violin and a clarinet

Email your answers to sherriebohan@shaw.ca for a free pack of flower seeds from my garden

Flower          Seed Head          Seed

Zone 3-9    Hardy     Great Prairie Flower       Heritage Perennial   Full Sun

3-4 Feet   2 Feet      Attracts    Butterflies       Bees      Birds

Blooms in  Mid Summer/ Fall             -          Each yellow flower blooms for 2-3 Weeks

Asteraceae Family     –     Originating in Armenia     –     Great for the back of borders

Some other known names include Yellow Hardhat, Lemon Fluff, Basket Flower, Giant Knapweed, Great Golden Knapweed, Globe Centaurea, Golden Thistle, Globe Coneflower and  Big Head Knapweed.

Centaurea Macrocephala is an excellent ornamental cut flower for fresh or dried arrangements. The base of the flower resembles a pinecone, artichoke or wicker basket.

Harvesting your own seeds from Centaurea Macrocephala is easy. Direct sow after the last frost in the Spring. Sow half inch deep in well drained soil.

Well, I’ve been busy as a bee collecting annual & perennial flower seeds from my garden and from my family and friends gardens too. I’m having so much fun that I’m sure everyone thinks I’m crazy. So far this past few months I have harvested seeds from almost 200 different flowers.

My biggest challenge is making sure I have the correct name of the plant and then identifying the seed. Once I have figured out where the seed is hiding I get a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Each flower and seed is so amazing & different. Some flowers give up their seeds easily and others keep them a secret hidden deep inside somewhere.

It’s been difficult finding images of the plant and the seed together in books or on the web. SOOOO! I’m now taking pictures of the seed pods etc and the seeds. I plan to put them together with my pictures of the flowers. Over the winter I will germinate the seeds and add pictures of them as well.

Maybe one day I’ll have enough information and photo’s to write a book!

Dare I dream? I plan to hold on to this vision!

Do any other gardeners and seed collectors think this information would be of any interest to them?