A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

Oh my gosh @Pulsegleaner ! Those are all amazingly gorgeous!!


That 1st flower made my thoughts flash to these guys -

When I placed my order at Richter's I saw a flower that looked faintly similar to the Vietnamese Violet, called Mancharian Violet but your flower above actually has very African Violet looking leaves. So pretty!

That Teacup flower is unlike any flower I've seen . I guess it has a little resemblance to certain orchids, not in size or shape but in colouring. I hope you can get the seeds to sprout! Dust seeds - now THAT sounds like a challenge! I'd be so great if you post pictures of your journey with it. I'd love to see those flowers go from seed sown to flowers grown.

 

[flowerbug]

I'm trying my hand at a few new flowers myself. Though I suspect they prove more challenging than yours, both because most of them are semi to fully tropical and because all of them seem to be "dusters" (plants whose seeds are basically dust sized, which makes even sowing and thinning a real PITA)

Darwin's Slipper
View attachment 47574
I also got the seed for the Falkland Islands species of this genus but as that was on an independent site, I don't have a easy to get picture.

these look like a herd of cartoon cows coming through the gap.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Oh my gosh @Pulsegleaner ! Those are all amazingly gorgeous!!


That 1st flower made my thoughts flash to these guys -
View attachment 47578View attachment 47579

Well, that flower IS often nicknamed "The Happy Alien"!

When I placed my order at Richter's I saw a flower that looked faintly similar to the Vietnamese Violet, called Mancharian Violet but your flower above actually has very African Violet looking leaves. So pretty!
View attachment 47581

I think you mean "Manchurian". Yes, I can sort of see a certain resemblance. But Vietnamese Violet is not a true violet (anymore than African Violets are). I think it may be a member of the primrose family.

That Teacup flower is unlike any flower I've seen . I guess it has a little resemblance to certain orchids, not in size or shape but in colouring. I hope you can get the seeds to sprout! Dust seeds - now THAT sounds like a challenge! I'd be so great if you post pictures of your journey with it. I'd love to see those flowers go from seed sown to flowers grown.

Maybe, but thankfully, it is not an orchid. If it was, I would not even try, as no outside orchids ever grow for me (well, except for the hellebore orchids that are naturalized weeds around here).

There is supposedly a second species of this plant, with more purple flowers. Maybe I'll try and track that one down if this one actually works for me (according to what I have read, unlike the others, that SHOULD be perennial here, assuming I cover it when the winter gets unusually harsh.)

While I don't have pictures to hand, I also picked up a number of small ground spreading legumes for their flowers. Some are from the standard exotic places (like Australia).But surprisingly I managed to track down an astonishing number that are native to the California Coast. I never realized how DIFFERENT the flora is over there from here in the East, and how astonishingly beautiful some of the wildflowers there are. We may have Birdsfoot Trefoil (which I think is an European introduction, but they have HARLEQUIN Trefoil! I've familiar with white clover, red clover and crimson clover, but this was the first time I ever saw YELLOW clover (and I mean an actual clover, as opposed to the thin tiny flowered yellow bush clover we have here.) Some more bluish purple ones as well (though still no true blue clover, so the one in my stories remains a fantasy).

 

[Zeedman]

Meadow Foam / Poached Egg Plant

Potential as a cover crop? Self-sows? Attracts beneficial insects? Dies down by itself in the heat? Sounds like something I might want to introduce. A plant is only a weed if it is unwanted.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Potential as a cover crop? Self-sows? Attracts beneficial insects? Dies down by itself in the heat? Sounds like something I might want to introduce. A plant is only a weed if it is unwanted.

It also supposedly makes excellent honey.

 

[meadow]

Yes, my family loves meadowfoam honey!

 

[flowerbug]

Potential as a cover crop? Self-sows? Attracts beneficial insects? Dies down by itself in the heat? Sounds like something I might want to introduce. A plant is only a weed if it is unwanted.

also says it will grow in clay and damp areas. annual. not sure i want to deal with more of those.

 

[Zeedman]

also says it will grow in clay and damp areas.

I think I have a few of those... like everywhere. I actually considered putting a sump pit in the rural garden. Would have too, if it wasn't someone else's property.

Meadowfoam sounds much like the Shepherds Purse that has already adapted to my gardens (and will be much more widespread after all of the SP seed in last year's hay mulch ). Something which acts as an early ground cover, can easily be turned under in Spring as a green manure, and disappears in Summer. I'm always happy to naturalize another annual pollen source to the gardens.

 

[heirloomgal]

Well, that flower IS often nicknamed "The Happy Alien"!

I think you mean "Manchurian". Yes, I can sort of see a certain resemblance. But Vietnamese Violet is not a true violet (anymore than African Violets are). I think it may be a member of the primrose family.




Maybe, but thankfully, it is not an orchid. If it was, I would not even try, as no outside orchids ever grow for me (well, except for the hellebore orchids that are naturalized weeds around here).

There is supposedly a second species of this plant, with more purple flowers. Maybe I'll try and track that one down if this one actually works for me (according to what I have read, unlike the others, that SHOULD be perennial here, assuming I cover it when the winter gets unusually harsh.)

While I don't have pictures to hand, I also picked up a number of small ground spreading legumes for their flowers. Some are from the standard exotic places (like Australia).But surprisingly I managed to track down an astonishing number that are native to the California Coast. I never realized how DIFFERENT the flora is over there from here in the East, and how astonishingly beautiful some of the wildflowers there are. We may have Birdsfoot Trefoil (which I think is an European introduction, but they have HARLEQUIN Trefoil! I've familiar with white clover, red clover and crimson clover, but this was the first time I ever saw YELLOW clover (and I mean an actual clover, as opposed to the thin tiny flowered yellow bush clover we have here.) Some more bluish purple ones as well (though still no true blue clover, so the one in my stories remains a fantasy).

Good catch @Pulsegleaner on Manuchurian Violet! I was sure I had that right, so I went back to Richter's and - haha - they spelled it wrong! I thought it was a bit of an unusual name....

 

[heirloomgal]

Yes, my family loves meadowfoam honey!

Wow!

When I was reading about this plant last night I found out that it also played a role in protecting the Sperm Whale; something in the seeds of this flower contain an oil that replaced the oil being used that was extracted from the whales. I guess this flower must be cultivated commercially in some places.

A flower that helped protect a whale species, who would have guessed!

Limnanthes: Meadowfoam Facts, Uses and Growing Tips | LoveToKnow

Common Meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii) is also called poached egg plant. This California and Oregon native plant only grows in wet grassy areas. The seed ...

garden.lovetoknow.com