I'm just getting started, but yesterday: frittilaria, few hellebores (most got away from me, I'll be yanking self sown seedings next spring), meconopsis cambrica Muriel Brown. It's raining this morning, the plan had been to check bleeding hearts, corydalis blackberry wine for seed pods that might be ready.

Bleeding hearts and Virginia Bluebells saved so far. I'm waiting for foxglove and Trillium to ripen. I hear that Trillium is a really slow germinator, so I might just throw them down in my patch of Trillium and hope they are happy there. I get really tired of having milk jugs laying around--especially when I don't even know if there is anything alive inside. I'm also waiting on coral bells (heuchera). Those blooms last forever! And I have primarily shade, now. So, I need attractive foliage and long lasting blooms in the shade. I sure wish coleus could survive our winters. I may try to keep some cuttings alive next winter.

I'm looking forward to hearing what others are saving. And I hope some of them end up as donations to the newbie seed project for next year. Happy Gardening!

Martha

I had to get out all my seed saving stuff today to organize the seeds I have already saved and get them off the dining room table. I had just put away my seed boxes after finally finishing all my spring direct sowing too!
So far I have:
virginia bluebells
sweet william
fringed pinks
basket of gold alyssum
prairie smoke
chives
perennial cornflower
some different columbines
wild geraniums

Some things may go belly up before they make seed this year though. The last time we had a drop of rain was less than an inch on May 31st and that was after over three weeks of no rain as well. Winter and spring was so warm and dry so there were no real water reserves. The ground is bone dry, all the lawns have gone dormant, and we keep getting heat spells with 4 days in a row of upper 80's to mid 90's and not much cloud cover even. The forecasted rain skipped right by us again today.

So far only Dianthus basket of gold.

next will be chives.

Fran

Lots already:

Penstemon Cambridge Mix
Linaria triornithophora
Red gerbera (from a store bought plant, not too sure about this)
Papaver orientale
Gaillardia, Gallo Peach (new store bought hybrid)
Aquilegias - from Sunburst Ruby, Magpie, and caerulea
Snapdragons (my snaps are lovely this year)
Geranium praetense alba
Dianthus - alwoodii and Super Parfait Raspberry
Salvia officinalis
Feverfew, Virgo
Siberian Kale
Rose campion
Gaura
White horehound
Santolina tomentosa
Calendula officinalis
Lavendula angustifolia
Gypsophila, Covent Garden

That's about it so far - more to come. I have two hollyhocks, Carnival Rosy Red and Queeny Purple, in bloom right now and they are gorgeous. Looking forward to those seeds.

Kinda disturbs me how much seed I've been able to collect already, though - it got warm here early, and everything has bloomed early. Even my Joe Pye weed looks as if it may be getting buds. I am wondering if I am going to have anything left by fall - guess I better start spring (summer?) sowing.

mini groundcover daisy
ox-eye daisy
larkspur
columbine
chives
foxglove

Only Allysum basket of gold and Bleeding heart so far, and I have planted both of those. The fresh seed from the Allysum germinated in less then a week and I have a lasanga tray FULL of seedlings. I love this plant and plan to pot them up and grow them on, planting out along the edges of a bed that is just screaming for a better edge in the fall.

I am just getting started, but I have saved:

Pink Hollyhocks
Bachelors Buttons
Columbines
Petunias
Verbena
Morning Glory
Coreopsis
Pansy

My gardens are overflowing! I am ready for DH to build the next one, but I think I might have to wait till next year. I am saving for the newbie project and Christmas swap. Everyone was so generous to me last year, I cant wait to donate back. :-)

Yikes, seed saving!!! I'm still planting out the last couple of containers. So far I've only had time to collect seed for the blue columbines

Columbines
Malva zebrina
dianthus
Sweet William
Salvia greggii
Bachelor buttons
larkspur
cosmidium brunette
Nigella
Berlandiera/chocolate daisy

I have tulle bags over my columbine and dicentra seed pods. But nothing else is really blooming yet.

I've actually bought quite a few seed packets. Does that count?

I think some one swiped my Jacob's Ladder seeds. I've been going out to my shade bed by the road every day to see if the pods are dry yet. Tonight, every stalk that had a pod on it is neatly cut just below where the flowers originally branched off. I am crushed. These are some of my favorite flowers, and I bought mature plants so I'd be sure to get blossoms and seed so I could wintersow a bunch of them. Grrrr! Fortunately, the second plant is still in bloom. I'll have to cover these with nylon stockings or something to protect them.

Still waiting on foxglove, but I summersowed theVirginia Bluebells, since that's what someone recommended.

Stay cool! We're headed for some hot weather the next few days.

Martha

alyssum gold dust is done

chives are done

Now doing

columbines
lupin
chinese forget me nots
dianthus firewitch

Fran

Docmom - I can't believe someone stole your seeds. Now I'll admit that I've swiped a few seed pods in my day - but it's typically been only 1 flower seed head when many are available. And it's typically been from public places - not from someone's personal garden.

Those Chinese forget-me-nots reseeded faster than rabbits..I pulled all mine up but I am sure some will show back up next Spring. I'll stick to the old fashion type and put them in a container if I grow them again.

I'm working on gathering rose campion from my two plants.
The original seeds came from seedmoney in NC(Outer banks area.
They sure put on a pretty display when they are blooming.

Well, I got some Jacob's Ladder seeds tonight! They're difficult to gather. Each blossom's seeds ripen at different times, and some are gone before others have even started on the same stalk. I really do need to find a way to catch them. I tried a knee-high nylon, but it got heavy in a rain and broke the stalk. I've heard that some use bags made of tulle fabric. Does anyone know of another way that doesn't require sewing? Is there some sort of pre-made fabric bag with a drawstring? I'm going to go google and see what I find.

Martha

Martha - I've seen both tulle bags and tulle circles in the party favor aisles at craft supply stores and party supply stores. You want to look where they have wedding favors or bridal shower favors. Wilton comes to mind as a brand.

The tulle bags usually have a drawstring. The tulle circles you could attach with a twist tie or clothes pin. I have made my own tulle bags and I just attach to my plants with a clothes pin

Although I have been gardening since 2000, this is my very first attempt in seed saving. I got a taste of it last autumn, when I tried my hand in saving some of our favourite tomato seeds. I winter sowed them this spring and they have developed into nice, sturdy healthy tomato plants. This whole experience has encouraged me to save some of my flower seeds.

This morning I harvested some very cute and hairy Pulsatilla vulgaris seeds. I have two varieties growing in my garden, the ordinary blue one and a pinkish red one, called "Rote Gloche" Unfortunately I didn`t mark the colours, so the seeds are a mixture of both varieties.

I`ve read somewhere that Pulsatilla seeds like to be sown as fresh as possible, in August or so. I wonder if storing them in a fridge would keep them fresh enough to winter sow them in December or January? Has anyone sown Pulsatilla seeds?

I have some Trillium seed that I just got last night. I've never grown Trillium from seed (or any other way), but there is a large patch of them in the garden at my new house. There were also seedlings which obviously self sowed. The growing conditions must be perfect here.

Anyway, I won't sow these. There were a ton of blooms that already dropped their seeds. So, if anyone wants fresh Trillium seeds, let me know. I hear that they germinate best when sown fresh and not allowed to dry out.

Martha

oriental poppies, orange & salmon
flax, blue
zinnia, tall
knautia
dianthus, red perennial unknown
I believe that's all collected so far.

Went out today and got California poppy, TONS of cilantro/corriander, love in a mist, and columbine. I took some bachelor button seeds and just spread them over the ground.

It's addictive... LOL

They normally have a couple of different size tuelle bags at our local Dollar Tree. With the wedding stuff.

So far only a few things...

Columbine, dk. purple spurless & white/pale lavender, also spurless (I think this one is a result of unauthorized hanky-panky going on out there!)

Astilbe, pale pink & white

Campanula persicifolia (Peach Bells), blue & white

Oriental Poppies, plum, lt.salmon, orange, white/black blotch (These are actually named varieties if anyone's interested)

Bachelor buttons

Oxeye daisy

Lupines, variety of colors

I've also got lobelia popping up everywhere, but I've never collected seed. Thought I'd try this year by tying tulle bags over a few to see how it works...they're tiny little buggers!

I'll have several varieties of Rudbeckia soon, some Father Hugho's yellow rose, hopefully lots of herbs, including about 8 or 9 varieties of lavender. Also have blue perennial cornflower, golden millet, 'Firefly' heuchera & plan to try collecting seed from a few of my shrubs later.

yesterday, I collected:

sweet pea
coreopsis &
red hot poker :)

Just got my first daylily seeds yesterday! Had no idea that you could collect those seeds. Actually, this is the first year I've actually saved seeds. It's addicting!!
I've collected:
marigold
petunia
cleome
larkspur
columbine

waiting on the datura seed pods. I'll have a garbage bag full of those with all the seed pods on my monster plant! lol

I just collected some beautiful deep pink and purple holly hocks from a house I drove by while working. Fortunately, the owner was home and was happy to share. Holly hocks are so fun, because there are so many pods, and each one has a neat little circle of perfectly stacked seeds.

I went home and immediately summer sowed half of the seeds. I need to fill in my new gardens and I need some tall stuff for the back edge. Happy gardening!

Martha