Hayefield
A Pennsylvania Plant Geek's Garden
Make the Most of Self-Sowers (Part 1)
![Verbena bonariensis [©Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/verbena_bonariensis_.jpg?w=530&h=398)
Since last fall, I’ve been writing about some of the many good reasons to make seeds part of your gardening experience. I obviously spend way too much time thinking about seeds: collecting, cleaning, packing those I already have, buying or trading for new ones, and—best of all—getting them all growing.
I think the only thing I like more than having lots of seeds to sow is having seeds I don’t have to sow—more than once, anyway. “Self-sowing” annuals, biennials, and short-lived perennials are such a gift to gardens and gardeners, from an aesthetic standpoint as well a practical one. Granted, they can get a little too enthusiastic sometimes, but their good points generally far outweigh the bit of management they may require. Unfortunately, self-sowers tend to be hard to find for sale as plants, for various reasons. So, even if you normally don’t choose to grow from seed, I encourage you to consider making an exception to get some of these gems growing in your garden. Read More
From My Garden to Yours 2020
[Please note that this year’s seed giveaway ended on January 25, 2020.]
This month spotlights yet another wonderful reason to work with seeds: the pass-along factor. If you’re lucky enough to have local gardening friends, sharing your favorite plants is a simple matter. For more distant trading, it’s possible to send plants through the mail, of course, but that’s tough on them, and paying for expedited delivery is hard on your wallet too. Seeds condense all that planty goodness into small, easy-to-mail bits of happiness. Read More
Consider the Source
It’s time to cover the next good reason for growing from seed: the ability to know where your plants come from. Why would you care about that when there are so many more obvious things to think about, like height, flower color, bloom time, and light requirements? It might be an economic, environmental, or ecology-related issue for you, or it might be a sentimental one. Unless you are lucky enough to connect with a grower who knows (and cares) exactly where their seeds and plants come from, finding and growing out the seeds yourself may be the only way to get what you wish for your garden. Read More
Eight Utterly Un-Ordinary Gems
Last month, I started the “Don’t Be Ordinary” series to explore the many excellent reasons to consider growing from seed. This time, let’s look at one of the most tempting, for many of us: the opportunity to grow truly uncommon plants that we can’t easily buy (or sometimes, even buy at all) as plants.
You’ve probably heard it said that there’s a good reason common plants are common: they are easy to find and easy to grow, thriving in a wide range of conditions with minimal care. Though uncommon plants are hard are find, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hard to grow, or that they are merely botanical curiosities with little garden value; it may just indicate that few gardeners have had the opportunity to give them a try. I’ve had good luck with all eight of these oddities in my Zone 6/7 Pennsylvania garden, most of them for several to many years, without providing any particular soil preparation or specialized care. And, it just so happens that I have seeds of all of these currently available in my Etsy shop, so if any of them strike your fancy, you have a chance to grow them for yourself. Some are also available from other sources, which you can investigate through an online search. Read More
Don’t Be Ordinary: Explore Intriguing Alternatives
![Petunia exserta [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://hayefield.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/petunia-exserta-plant-2.jpg?w=570)
I’ve heard it’s possible to have a garden for many years without ever starting seeds. I’ve even met a few people who claim to have “never bothered with seeds,” so I know they really do exist. I feel sorry for those folks, because they’re missing out on what I think is one of the most fascinating aspects of the whole gardening experience. So, I’ve made it one of my life’s goals to convince as many people as possible to give seeds a chance.
There are so many ways that growing from seed is worthwhile, it’s going to take several posts to get through them all—enough to keep us busy through the winter, at least. Welcome to the “Don’t Be Ordinary” series, in which I hope to convince at least one person to try seeds for the first time, and to tempt those of you who already appreciate seeds into trying something new.
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – September 2019
As usual, September is a most glorious month in the garden here at Hayefield. I could spend all day just wandering around with my camera. Looking through the images from the last few weeks, though, I realized that the garden pictures look pretty much like they do every other year. Rather than repeating the same garden views from previous Septembers, I thought I’d focus just on the plants–particularly those I haven’t shown before (at least this year), to keep things interesting. So, here are some highlights, starting with the annuals. Read More
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – August 2019
And so it begins…my favorite part of the gardening season. Except for a very brief groundhog incident, my unwanted-wildlife issues seem to have been resolved (for now, anyway), the garden and meadow are full of flowers, and loads of seeds are ripening. I did my best to pare down the photos for this post, but there’s just so much to share; let’s get to it.
Some of Nan’s Books
Available on Amazon; on Barnes & Noble; on IndieBound
Container Theme Gardens: on Amazon; on Barnes & Noble; on IndieBound
Five-Plant Gardens: on Amazon; on Barnes & Noble; on IndieBound
Perennial Care Manual: on Amazon; on Barnes & Noble; on IndieBound
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