Today was a dark and rainy Saturday but staying curled up at home was not on the agenda. I registered for a seed-saving workshop through the civic college earlier this autumn and we were going to save those seeds whether the weather approved or not. Luckily for us, it did, by the way.
One — Teacher’s Pets
Established in the very early 20th century, this is Finland’s only remaining teacher training college garden. The kids from the attached normal school are in there all the time learning about gardening and plants as part of their curriculum, which is pretty awesome. Google is telling me that’s variegated giant reed in those clay pots. They look similar enough to bamboo and actually survive in our climate, so I think I’m going to have to hunt some of it down one of these days. There was also this impressive ginger lily that I would very much like to attempt. I never would have suspected something so tropical-looking could handle cold winters.
Two — Three Bags Full
So after the lecture portion, we were each given three paper bags and ventured into the flower and kitchen gardens to see what seeds were available. As you can see, they packed a lot into a compact area, so it was a bit of a treasure hunt trying to figure out what was hiding in all the nooks and crannies.
Three — Scarlet in Name Only
My first pick was this dainty little Salvia coccinea ‘Cherry Blossom’. It was such a contrast from the deep reds and purples of the other plants surrounding it. I have been meaning to start a Salvia collection for a while, and this seemed like a sign.
Four — Living Up to the Name
Then I went for the Salvia splendens right next to it, with the giant flowers. Because contrast.
Five — Unidentified Flowering Object
Then I wandered around for several long minutes, trying to find something I couldn’t identify. Which led me to this adorable slipperwort (Calceolaria tripartita) stuffed into one corner. My first thought was “Huh, you’re a weird little thing” so we had a winner.
Now I need to finish drying and processing what I collected and figure out the best times to start them all, but am looking forward to having fun new additions next spring.
Six — The Usual Suspects
And finally, my latest haul from the garden — ‘Pepi’ pears, ‘Blauhilde’ French beans, and the typical assortment from the tomato wall.
Six on Saturday is hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations — go see what everyone else is up to.