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You Know You’re a Gardener When…

January 4th, 2016

…you find seed pods knocking around in the bottom of your purse that you’ve collected while out and about. These particular seeds are for a red leaved hardy hibiscus with pink flowers. I collected the seeds when I was in Ohio in September.
Seeds in my purse
I also carry pruners and plastic bags in my glovebox for cuttings. I really should add a few small envelopes to my purse to put seeds in when I gather them.

Do you gather seeds and cuttings while out and about?

8 Comments to “You Know You’re a Gardener When…”
  1. Christine on January 4, 2016 at 5:52 am

    Happy New Year!
    Oh yes I do gather seeds and cuttings… I have several fig trees grown from cuttings taken in various countries. A fellow gardener once gave me an excellent tip: always keep a potato (raw of course) in your car or backpack. Stick your cuttings into the potato and the moisture and nutrients will keep them in the best condition for several days, until you get home. No need for water or plastic bags. Even with an old, inedible-looking potato, it really works.

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  2. misti on January 4, 2016 at 10:31 am

    My husband will carry baggies when he thinks there’s seed collecting opportunities!

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  3. kristin @ going country on January 4, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    Several years ago I was visiting my parents in Tucson and I found a few garlic cloves in a shirt pocket. Apparently I hadn’t washed that shirt between planting garlic and packing it for a trip. It was pretty funny. I gave them to my dad to plant in his small raised bed garden, but I don’t think they did anything.

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  4. PennyAshevilleNC on January 5, 2016 at 9:27 am

    I love the potato and envelopes ideas, I often forget what I have collected! Once, I collected a vine seed pod of some kind and once I found the seeds was afraid to plant in case it was invasive- THAT would be bad ;)

    Reply to PennyAshevilleNC's comment

  5. Nebraska Dave on January 5, 2016 at 11:44 pm

    Susy, I don’t intentionally collect seeds but folks just give them to me. They are mostly flowers, rhizomes, bulbs. The only seeds that I have to plant next year are the hollyhocks that a friend gave me from her plants. I’ve always wanted Hollyhocks but never could grow them. Hers looked so nice that I thought I’d give it a try again. so, yeah, this is the year that flowers will invade my gardens.

    Have a great seed saving day.

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  6. Michael on January 13, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    In the back hatch of my car, there is a box with my “stealing scissors” and the small “stealing shovel” in case I find things that need to be liberated. The shovel’s next deployment is likely to be oxblood lilies from an old house site, which is now receiving regular scalping mowings. About 90% of the time, it’s more like foraging, but occasionally it’s Plant Rescue. :)

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    • Susy on January 13, 2016 at 7:29 pm

      I really need to get a shovel, I sometimes see lovely plants I’d love to rescue from old home sites.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. Jennie on January 23, 2016 at 1:41 am

    There is a shower game where the person with the weirdest thing in their purse wins…

    Reply to Jennie's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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