Seed Snatchin' IX - Reminiscin'

It's a Gipper Grab!

Y'all are a hoot! I'm enjoying reading all the antics. Keep'em coming. I'm starting to "look" at plants when I'm out and about too. Y'all are rubbing off on me.

I ran across some seeds the other say, marked "Yellow plant stolen from SF beach" and "Pink Jupiter's Beard nabbed at Alcatraz" and thought of you guys. What a bad influence this thread is. (blink, blink) Tee hee!!!

Yes, ladyanne, I've got some strangely labeled seed packets myself, but the Alcatraz seeds take the cake! My poor husband has resigned himself to waiting for me inside businesses while I'm outside the building raiding their planters. If we ever get stopped for a traffic violation, all those little baggies will probably mean they'll be tearing our truck apart for drugs. I have a quart ziplock filled with little baggies of unlabeled 'mystery' seeds. I've numbered the bags for future reference. Each spring, I plant the seeds indoors or winter sow them, and when they get big enough to identify, I can label the bags. It never occurs to me to just pitch the seeds in the garbage!

HA! I've got mystery seeds.. mystery plants.. I've even got a mystery tree that I pulled out of the trash and am growing.. I'm just so glad that I'm real familiar with all my local weed varieties, as I make sure now to only pull what I know and of course I'm the only one to pull these... I had some help once last year spreading mulch and the guy pulled the top right off the new growth of my confederate rose. I couldn't believe it. He thought it was a trash tree as he had not seen if before.. While it didn't produce flowers last year, when it's sisters did, it still came back.. wheww! :)

I am so happy to grow all and everything at least once that it really took me by surprise when I offered my mom friend some plants and she couldn't take them since they were not in her "landscape plan".. and I certainly knew what her yard currently looked like and it could have used my plants.. oh well...Their is always room in my garden for more plants :)

Susan

This message was edited Mar 16, 2007 4:25 PM

sorry, I've been lurking a long time and I just have to jump in. Your Moms friend reminds me of a past neighbour of mine. She was always over drooling over my gardens and wanted help starting one of her own. Well, me and Hubby dug a whole bunch of plants and took them to her, but, lol...she turned them down because she only wanted blue and peach...that's it, just blue and peach, and only certain shades of blue and peach. I gave her a lovely peach lily and when it bloomed she ripped it up and threw it in the trash because it wasn't the proper shade of peach!!!! I went and retrieved it and put it back in my garden....
Your post brought back this memory and I just had to share...

Oh my, sounds like she has more problems than blue and peach blooms can help! Good for you getting your lily back.

Okay... I've got another one and I'll probably get in trouble with folks going to the upcoming GA roundup.. or very particular people that go to roundups in general.... Oh well.. nothing new to me.. getting in trouble that is..I was there, at the fall RU trying to pass along tons of lovely tropical hibiscus I had purchased in a co-op.. I do mean lots. I could not overwinter them as my husband and I mutually decided that we would park in the garage that winter and my half built hoop house got picked up, turned over and thrown by the strong winds in a storm and my hubby threw in the towel so now I wintersow :)

Most attendees gladly took at least one and I pushed more on them if I could as I could not take them home. They were happy to have them and some reported back that they had bloomed a lovely bloom and such.. Nice to hear.. :)

Now I certainly do understand that folks have to turn down plants for certain reasons... Maybe it's a japanese style, maybe they are jam packed and almost out of room.. they can't overwinter it.. etc..

I was just so surprised that one attendee turned down my plants since it did not have the name of the variety on a tag listed and they only grew named varieties in her garden??.. Gee wiz.. are you growing plants in a garden or a horticultural collection to impress the professor?? While I appreciate knowing what I 'm growing... Like I learned about bee balm spread the hard way and I didn't plant the pretty chameleon plant from a RU orphan table after I read up on it,... Our local garden radio personality calls it "Satan's ground cover" and that was all I needed to know not to plant it.....

However, I'm really easy and grateful for unnamed plants that others share with me. I just came from Sam's club and they have tropical hibiscus standards for $20.00.. now mine wasn't a standard, but gee, I'd have taken it if I could have overwintered it!! I've got a tropical circle that is surrounded by daylilies and the vast majority of them were wal-mart specials and unnamed gifts.. some are named and I can't always pick them out.. but anyway, when they bloom they are pretty... and pretty is the same whether they are named or not and not a single person yet has asked for their pedigree. :) I garden for pretty, not for names and I'm just as amazed at the flowers whether they came from the bottom of a rescued trash heap or the top of a prize list.
:)
Susan

Threegardeners, welcome on the bus to seedsnatching adventures! I have a little nursery in my small town, and you'd be surprised at the number of people that have special garden requirements. One nice lady will grow nothing but white flowers, so every spring we search for the white ones. I hate to think what happens to any mavericks that show up in her garden. I'll bet the get yanked out.

Susan, the constant quest for cultivars is a frustrating endeavor. In the first place, one seldom knows if they are getting the true cultivar or not. Labeling gets mixed, growers are mis-informed, or mis-inform, and most of us are not qualified to judge whether there is an error or not. I have received seeds in trade that aren't even the same genus and their labels! I think that most of us who collect seed are less interested in the new cultivars because they are less likely to come true from seed. If I can find any plant that grows well in my area, puts out good seed, and looks a great deal like its mama, it's got a seat at the table!

I found the thread! Weezingreens, that is the funniest thing -- you'd think somebody from Alaska, with all that snow on the ground for so very, very long, would want any color flower EXCEPT white! ROTFL!

I don't remember if I posted already on a previous SS thread, but this was the very first thread I read when I became a member of DG. After reading it, Mr. Clean and I went every single week to a particular seed snatchin' place where he would hold the bags and I would do the snatchin'. (Totally out of character for him) They had an incredible planting -- all yellows and blues. There was this really tall Ageratum Leilani Blue (I know this because I found the tag from the flat in between some plants) and a perfectly matching gorgeous big blue Scabiosa Daisy. And some matching Salvia. They had 100s of each. For the yellow there was more variety - 2 kinds of threadleaf Coreopsis, a taller Coreopsis, gorgeous yellow Lantana -- don't snicker if you're from the south, it may be common to you, but it is rare to us! Aaah, I can't remember what else in yellow, but the whole thing was gorgeous. By the end of the summer everything was cascading over the walls and was very attractive. I would love to do it at my house, but unlike the pal of threegardeners, I could never limit myself to just 2 colors - blue and yellow!

I went and took those seeds I had in quantity and used them on the trading forum or swaps and I now have, well, a lot of different seeds! LOL.

This winter I sowed some snatched Impatiens seed from the church up the street and now am the proud owner of a flat of purple Impatiens and a flat of red ones. :) They were hard to catch, those little Impatiens seeds, but I think I must have had 100% germination! A lot better germination than the seeds I bought from Value Seed! And it only took me 15 minuutes to not only get the seeds, but also weed the little planter they had. :)

I also have some mystery seeds from a plant collector friend of mine....the packs read like this: 'Tusseemussee Mystery Yellow by Driveway'. I saw the plant and flowers when I took the seed, and still didn't know what they were! Shoud have taken a camera & posted in the ID forum.

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My problem with snatched seeds is the containers to collect & carry them in . Brown paper bags "breathe', but the seeds get caught in the seams and sometimes leak out if it's a cheap bag. Big bags have big seams, but little bags are hard to fill on the sly because the mouth is too small. Plastic is bad because most of what I get needs to be dried for at least a few days and will mold in the plastic. What do most people use?

Suzy

Yes.. Ha.. Impatiens are hard to "catch" if they are ripe enough for seeds :)

The last time I snatched seeds out in front of a large Home Depot Landscape supply & garden center, I had just had lunch at chick-fil-a and I used that paper bag :) I should keep bags in my car too! :)

Susan

Illoquin, I am not only a seed-snatcher but also a paper-bag snatcher!

I do this everytime I get my supermarket supplies. I grab a cart and go straight to the 'fresh bread' section, where I cover the bottom of the cart with new paper-bags. Both times I was asked by the personel what I (thought I) was doing. I gave them by best 'offended lady look' and told them that as long as they allow kids to ride inside the carts (they do!), which in my opinion is very un-hygenical(?), I will cover the cart with paper bags to protect my food from their germs. Both times they told me there is no way to avoid people doing that and agreed there was no better solution than mine. Of course, when I unload the purchases into my car's trunk, the paper baggies go in there as well LOL.

You should see what a great supply I collect during the non-seed-snatching-season!

Hugs,

Ursula

Ursula, that's really funny! I seldom get paper bags these days, they only seem to have plastic. I even purchased a case of lunch sacks once in order to have some handy. As for my method of collection, if I go on a seed collecting mission, I carry a kit that includes small bathroom cups, a Sharpie felt pen, my camera, and a large whole flat insert that will hold the cups. It gives me a place to put the unprocessed seeds that allows for drying, and I can collect lots of different kinds of seeds. The flat rides shotgun beside me in Bruno, my old pickup truck. When I get home, I transfer the cups to another flat for drying, thus freeing up my flat for the next mission. The digital photos become my reference, as well as strange names for the packaged seeds

Ursula - that is classic - and wise.

Carol, you must buy in a supermarket that has a bakery and sells fresh (warm) bread that cannot be packed in plastic LOL.

Thanks, Dyson. My 'tactic' serves two purposes: hygenic food and free paper bags. My supermarket provides two sizes and both are big. You require 4 bags to cover the bottom of the cart, sometimes 5.

I use the bags several times for regular to big seeds and even let the seeds inside to fully dry on my balconies. For fine seeds (like Mimulus, Calceolaria, our native Lobelias, etc.) I use a new bag only one time, but keep using it with bigger seeds. When they are ready to 'retire', I cut them in small pieces and throw them into the compost bag. Yes, my supermarket is considerate enough to use Kraft paper bags LOL.

Hugs,

Ursula

Ursula.. you clever clever woman.. :) I love crafty and creative ideas :)

Susan

*blush*

Thanks, Susan.

Did I tell you that I made my debut in dumpster diving as well? And not just ANY dumpster, but the one from Summer remodelation works at one of our finest ski centres, LOL. You should have seen the stuff they discarded!

Hugs,

Ursula

I'm so proud of you!!! :) YEA!!!! Another one joins in the fun of salvaged trash :)

Susan

International Snatchin' & Divin'... I love it!

Hi everybody - I just got a case of the willies thinking about whatever might be on toddler's shoes in a grocery cart... o well, if I made it this far I guess I won't worry about it too much...!

What I use for snatching seeds is newspaper. I get a couple newspapres delivered at home and a few sections always make it into the car to read when girlfriend is driving. (She's a good driver but sometimes it's better if I don't pay attention!) So when we're out someplace and I see some seeds with potential, I can grab them however works at the time, and just fold the paper around a dried flower or whatever the case may be, and they always fit. And paper makes a good surface for separating chaff from some seeds anyway, once you get them home.
Mike

Great idea!! :)

I love this, now I don't feel so guilty. I can't go past a place that I can snatch a few seeds from without grabbing a few. My son and my sister give me the guilt trip, but it doesn't stop me. Looks like I am among people like me. ....Peg

Yes, your people are here. :)

I was out with a friend of mine last summer, she was mortified because the garden centre lady was going around with a wheel barrow deadheading all the plants and I was following along behind taking the pods out of the wheelbarrow......
You are among your own kind here :))))

Chesapeake, this will help you get rid of your guilt feelings: ask the plant (or mother earth) for permission to collect seeds and promise you will take good care of them to propagate such beautiful species. I recommend you do not verbalize this - your telephatic skills will do.

Threegardeners, what a wonderful garden center tour!

Hugs,

Ursula

Ursula that is so funny about the bags! Last time I needed some I went to my local liquor store and asked for a pile! LOL! They gave em to me too!

Well my latest -non-snatchin- experience ended me with several cuts on my face!! I found a red switchgrass I JUST HAD TO HAVE but of course wasn't on my 'shopping list' at the local nursery. Anyway, as I stood up (it was heavy) to carry it out I hit my head on the greenhouse and slammed the thing into my face! LOL!! I am such a klutz!! I was bleeding too!! Imagine the look on my son's face! LOL!! Anyway, got it home and safely in the ground. I have in my life NEVER had a plant so root bound. There was not a speck of soil in the pot.. NOT ONE - all roots... They do have a return policy so we shall see if she comes up..... :)!

Hey Weez!! How's the weather up there these days? When is the 'big crack' - forgive me I can't remember what it's called!!!!

Nicole

Well, our nights are still in the low teens now. I'm getting anxious, since I have lots of green babies in the basement that will need to go out to the greenhouse by the end of the month... hopefully!

Yikes!!! It was 47 on the way in this morning!! * runs and hides*

Nicole

50 with a high of 74!! ..... But the tree pollen is KILLING me!! :(

Susan

Nicole, "The Big Crack"!!! You're crackin' me up!.... I know you mean "Break Up" named so because the frozen rivers break up and start flowing.
The "Other" Carol

ahhhhhh.. I was wondering about the big crack myself :) Hope your okay after your incident with the grass Nicole!! :)

Susan

He I could have called it the big POP!!! HA!!!!

Nicole

*snap and crackle to follow* Ba dom dom... LOL!!

How could I have missed the 'big crack'! Boy, I'm entering the frenzied little greeny phase of my season. Soon I'll be walking around the basement with a flat of seedlings looking for a lighted spot to set them down. As for the big crack, we haven't seen it yet in Seward, Nicole. The ground is still frozen solid and the temps have been in the teens at night. This morning was more encouraging... 31 F out there and clear! Maybe it truly is the first day of spring.

Ceeads, so glad to see you posting... are you back home?

LOL Yep, back home about a week now. Really dodged the bullet on that one. Stayed with Ava for about 3 weeks, so you know I was pretty far gone. That cold spell was really wearing on me, glad it's up to 30 today! I can almost hear the CRACK!!! HAHAHAHA LOL

Susan!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nicole

Hi Susan!

Hope you have a great birthday. I would wish more bulbs for you but that would create more work!
Enjoy your special day.

-Kim

Happy Birthday, Susan!

Big hug,

Ursula

you all are the best (smile) Thanks so much. I love coming here and thanks again. :)

Susan