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Taking a real Leap of Faith!

16 years ago

OK, so my Maman has been a pack rat all her life. She called me the other day and said she was clearing all her seeds out of the house and sending them to me. Not a problem! At 85, she doesn't sow seeds that much anymore and waits for me to show up with a car load of winter sown plants to keep her busy during the summer.

I received the box of seed packets today. I won't tell you how many there were, but will say that it's going to take me a couple of evenings to sort things out.

Among the packets was one which caught my eye. A packet of seeds from Burpee which we don't even get here in Canada so she must have bought it during one of her snowbird trips to Florida. They are seeds of Gilia Tricolor (Bird's Eye), a native American wildflower. Never heard of it, but the picture on the front is nice! The packet was never opened and had been 'packaged' in 1988 and sold for $1.75. I opened it and inside, the seeds are in a sealed foil envelope marked 'Life Lock'.

Wish me luck!!

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Comments (9)

greylady_gardener
16 years ago
That's funny cause I just looked them up today as I saw the name on one of these threads.....I will look to see where later.
Anyway they are cool looking...I hope you have great success with them!! :)
Keep us posted!
gg
kqcrna
16 years ago
Neat story, Tiffy. I bet some will germinate for you. They've just been waiting 20 years for you to come to their rescue.

Karen
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carrie630
16 years ago
Don't forget to take pictures, tiff - this is going to be interesting - good luck

Carrie
shimla
16 years ago
Ah, now that's going to be something if you can get them to germinate! I did them a few years ago. A nice dainty flower and I do believe it bloomed earlier than most of my WS'n annuals. Good luck!
tepelus
16 years ago
Very cool! Had to look it up...pretty plants! Hope they germinate for you...and reseed too!

Karen
tiffy_z5_6_can
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks folks!!

Just spoke to DM and she says they were probably bought on one of her snowbird trips. She's curious to find out if they germinate, but not as much as I am!! :O)

I will keep you posted.
terrene
16 years ago
That is a pretty little wildflower and how cool that you can sow your Mom's seeds, collected that many years ago!

Last year I direct sowed some Zinnias I had in a ziploc of flower seeds I've collected over the years. They were tall red zinnias called 'Scarlet Dahlia'. I figured they would attract hummingbirds (which they did). About half a dozen germinated and grew tall and red. The other day while organizing the seeds, I noticed the packet of Scarlet Dahlia was stamped "packed for 1991." Doesn't that mean they were harvested in 1990?! And some of them still germinated.

I have kept my seeds in ziploc baggies in the refrigerator for years. Apparently some last a lot longer than you would think.
dorisl
16 years ago
Everything we do here is a leap of faith, isnt it! From the lasagna gardening to the sowing ofseeds in a snowstorm.

When I think about all the maters that can come from that teeny tiny seed.....

:)
Good Luck! Ill be looking for your results!
medontdo
16 years ago
aww tiff i think that is so neat!! just think of all the miles and stories!! geez that is so cool!! :')) i cannot wait to see as the story goes :'))

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