Seeds for the Future

Above: Calochortus albus, fairy lantern - maybe one of the mystery seeds planted.

On this tenth anniversary of the massively sad 9/11 event, I breathe to try and reconcile the warp and woof of joy and sadness that form the fabric of life. I sit looking over the forest-filled valley and realize that's the way life is, down to the smallest insect that feeds a chick.

However, I can't stay there for long. As is my nature, I return to the optimism of the old American song: Remember whenever you're down and out, the only way is up. -- Especially if you're a seedling!

Like good ideas, many seeds have been languishing in my stores, and many won't be viable any more. But I'm hoping for surprises - if you never plant 'em, you'll never know, eh?

This year I did a clean-out and sowed around 10 mysteries from the vaults, poor things that had lost their nomenclature. If any succeed, it will be like winning a prize!


I also planted seeds saved from this year's crop of wild natives I managed to grow in my garden.

And I'm not done yet - madia and eriogonum (soon) and lupine and madrone and manzanita and clarkia await their turn. And I have some yerba buena layering away in a moist spot - I'm hoping it will root.

Here are pictures of the seeds I sowed this year so far.

The Low Likelihood Bunch
Aquilegia formosa, Colombine:


Cardamine californica, milk maids:


Cynoglossum grande, western hound's tongue:


Disporum hookeri, Hooker's fairy bells:


Dudleya caespitosa, coast dudleya (or some kind of dudleya anyway)


Maianthemum racemosum, western false Solomon's seal or feathery false lily of the valley


And/or Maianthemum stellatum, stary false lily of the valley (tentative ID):


Trillium chloropetalum, giant wakerobin


Trillium ovatum, western wakerobin:


Viola ocellata, western heart's ease:


Viola sempervirens, redwood violet:



The unknown likelihood of germination bunch - two penstemons that I grew in my garden, not from local wild and I'm growing them for the hummingbirds specifically.

Penstemon centranthifolium, scarlet bugler, is native in the county south of us, Monterey and it did just beautifully on a dry sunny mound:

and Penstemon strictux X gloxinoides 'Midnight Blue' - photo from Paghat's Garden web site as I forgot to get one of my own:


The More Likely to Germinate Bunch

Eriophyllum confertifolium, golden yarrow:


Heuchera micrantha, alum root:


Holodiscus discolor, sea foam (actually I'm not sure if these will grow easily or not)

Iris fernaldii, Fernald's iris:

Melica torreyana, Torrey's melic:

Nassella cernua, nodding needlegrass:


Ranunculus californica, California buttercup:


And that's all for now - Here's hoping!