My seeds of hope are a pack of Marglobe from 1991.

Bakemom, I've always added the four elements to Trudi's original 4 (Remembrance, Leap of Faith, trees for Mother Nature, Birds and Butterflies). This year, however, because I am still in no-man's land, I've decided to do something a little different.

From the many swaps I've participated in as well as just what's leaked into the bottom of the seedbox, I have unidentified seeds. At any given time, it's just a few here and there - do you think I could just toss them? Nope, I collect them all in an alien seeds envelope. I think on solstice this year, I will start one or two larger containers and sow all my currently collected unidentified seeds. That way I will have a surprise garden - to hopefully take with me to SC.

17-year old seeds? That's one big hope, Trudi!

Remembrance - Hollyhocks. I found my best friend dead in his bed a few weeks ago and they were his favorite flower.

Hope - Pink Balloon flower. Two days after the above, another really close friend found out that her cancer had not only spread to her other breast, but to her bones and liver as well.

Birds and Butterflies - gaillardia. Seed I harvested from my deceased friend's garden.

Trees - Japanese Maple tree. Another favorite of my friend.

I am not sure what I will be serving this year. My best friend who died was also my next door neighbor. We always celebrated the solstice together. His bedroom window is in a direct line with the potting area of my shed. It will be hard to keep my eyes clear of tears while I do my sowing.

Kathy

Oh Kathy, my heart weighs heavy after reading your choices and your reasons. I know that the presence of these plants in your gardens will bring you comfort and good memories in the years to come. Our thoughts will be with you on the Solstice.

I have yet to decide what will be sown. There's a seed package headed in my direction from an "Unusual Seed Trade" organized on the Canadian Forum. It should be in this week and I plan on making choices from that.

I usually don't do the solstice thing, but this year I've decided to. :O)

How do you do this,why?and what do you sow?
Thanks,Carol

Carol,
info about it is at the link below
gg

Here is a link that might be useful: solstice sowing

Thank you greylady,
That is beautiful, i will have to see what i can come up with.
Carol

I am SO not ready for Solstice. I have to look in my seed box and ponder.

Kathy, so sorry to hear about your friends. I will keep you and your other friend in my prayers.

I AM ready for Solstice in that this has been such a rough year, full of losses. I was so ready to put the gardens to bed for the season, so I'm glad for the early snow and now the prospect of a new year.

So now, I have to stop perusing (and salivating over) the "Totally Tomatoes" catalog and look at what I want to sow on Sunday (and dig for jugs).

Linda

Im sorry about your friend, Kathy. There's a special intimacy in finding someone like that. He'll always be with you. I found a friend once. While we were waiting at the door and trying to figure out why she wasnt answering, we took a walk to the garden and for the first time ever, I finally saw her three goldfish out in the open in her pond. They were always hiding before and I never even saw one of them. I even teased that she was fibbing about even having them!

I always felt that she "took" me back there to see them.

I had just finished planting her geraniums and white fan flowers (scaveloa? something like that). maybe there were petunias also, funny I cant remember any other that the first two. maybe Ill plant them for MY remembrance....

I am sorry for the loss of your dear friend/neighbor, Kathy. Several years ago I lost my friend/neighbor. I miss her still. Every evening Bobbi and I would walk through each other's gardens to see what was emerging or blooming.

I have been blessed with wonderful new neighbors including two little girls that help me in my gardens.

Doris, that is a lovely thought and a special gift from your friend.

Rememberance: Rudbeckia for my friend, Bobbi

Leap of Faith: Hellebore

Trees: Japanese Maple

Birds and Butterflies: Asclepia

Bobbie

what a lovely idea. Hope I have this right but it seems like you are planting various seeds as an act of rememberance, hope and some for wildlife. My father-in law, a man I have both loved and loathed at various times, has recently died so for remembrance it has to be very simple wildflowers - geranium pratense. For faith, I will try paeonia, trees will be cercis siliaquestrum and bees and butterflies will be getting echinaceas. I also will sow seeds for my children. Rowan, my eldest will have (what else) sorbus cashmeriana, Naomi, Dierama pulcherrimum and Tas, youngest son, sweet peas.

I'm not sure I'll be able to sow on the Solstice now! We're getting 14 inches of snow tonight, on top of about 4 or 5 inches we have now. Then another heavy hit on Saturday night. I don't think I'll be able to get into my cold frame... well that's if I can get out my back door!

Hmm... and just to think, winter isn't even here yet!

Kathy, so sorry to hear about your friend.

nancy, I'm in the same kind of situation as well.

Big snowstorm hitting MA and southern New England Friday into Saturay, and another one that will be snow, sleet and ice AGAIN, come Sunday into Monday.

OH, another big snowstorm will be with us starting very late Christmas Eve and all day Christmas day.

It will be clean up time and ice melt on Monday. No solstice sowing for me either.

Fran

Fran - when WILL you start? I figured that you always started rather early because you always have so much!

I usually do NOT start on the solstice because we don't usuually have snow and lately, it hasn't been cold enough.

However BECAUSE we have the storm(s) coming, I think that we WILL actually sow on the solstice this year.

Now to select seeds.

Three containers of orphan seeds, to make a surprise garden next year...sipping a good Stella...listening to TransSiberian Orchestra...candles burning...smiles (for all I have loved) and tears (for those that have had deep, recent losses) on my face at the same time...

To me, growing from seed - and especially, wintersowing, which places faith in nature - is the ultimate metaphor for universal time.

It doesn't get any better than this, and that's why I choose to participate in this ritual every winter solstice.

I wish all the members of the forum the blessings of the season.

Thank you drippy for the kind words,i could feel your warmth,this is the first i have heard of Solstice Sowing,and i was in a big hurry to get it done tonight,i posted what i did by mistake on a different thred.So i will tell you all what i did tonight.
First, i would like to thank all of you for posting this,it is a beautiful thing to do, and i will do this every year from now on.

For Rememberance**For*get*me*nots**for my very best friend who passed away a couple of years ago,oh,how i miss her,we were friends for 40 years.

For* Leap of Faith**Primula japonica**because i really want these to germinate.

For Mother Earth**Flowering Dogwood

For Birds & Butterflies**Gaillardia*Razzle Dazzle
& Gaillardia*Burgundy.

I also did some hosta,and because i am so tired right now, for the life of me, i can not remember what else i did,lol
But i am fellin good,and happy.

My thoughts go out to all who are going through hard times right now,from a broken heart to the economy,may the new year be good to all of us.
Carol

Happy Solstice everyone! I am sowing the following for my celebration:

Remembrance: Red Cannas for my dad who passed away almost 10 years ago.

Leap of Faith: An Unknown Aster I collected from the wild a few years ago.

Tree: Tulip Tree

Birds and Butterflies: Clethra/Summersweet (thanks Drippy!)

It is sooo cold out right now-I hate the thought of taking the containers out, oh well!

Rhonda

Remembrance: I did mock orange today. The lady that built this house planted some many years ago. Most of it has been taken over by the woods around the yard, so I thought it would be nice to put some back for her.

Leap of Faith: Plumbago. Yes, I know, but I got it from a neighbor.

Tree: I also did a tulip tree. I thought it was a Saucer Magnolia until I opened the envelope. Got it in a trade this fall.

Birds and Butterflies: I did Cherry Laurel. I want something fast growing and evergreen to hide the neighbors and the "crick" next to the house. I hear the birds like to eat it. I also did Buddelia "Black Knight" that I collected from a friend's mother's house in Roanoke, VA.

I sowed apple seeds tonight. They cover 3 of the 4 categories for me, birds and butterflies, tree, and remembrance because the seed was from my favorite aunt's tree. My leap of faith is juniper snatched from the parking lot of Long John Silvers. I have read that it can take years for them to sprout. But you never know.
Happy solstice everyone and happy winter sowing!
Mechele

This was my first time to sow on the solstice. After a rough start, to be discussed in another thread, I sowed morning glories in remembrance of my mother in law. Also, although I don't believe him to be "gone from my life forever" I sowed poppies in remembrance of a friend in military service. I last spoke to him when he had been called to active duty and I can no longer reach him. I first saw poppies on a trip we took to Greune, Texas.

I sowed Asclepias curassavica as seed of life. I saw monarch cats eating the leaves off my three plants this summer and decided I must feed more.

For trees I sowed Acer palmatum and Gingko biloba.

For seeds of faith I sowed White Pomegranate.

On the tenth day of solstice....
... I finally wintersowed. Hey, at least I got them in before the year closed. My New Year's Eve sowing/late solstice seeds this year were:
Rememberance: Zinnia (my Grandmother's maiden name was Zinniak)
Tree: Weeping larch tree
Birds, bees, butterflies: Clematis mix
Leap of faith: Oenothera pods (just couldn't see the seeds in them, maybe they are too tiny)
and also a leap of faith daylilly try.
Hope your sowing goes well. Got lots more in trades recently that I want to try so there goes any hope of limiting myself to 30 as I had thought.
Peace to you all and Happy New Year.
George