Tagetes tenuifolia 'Lulu': seeds

Tagetes tenuifolia, known in English as "signet marigold" and in French as tagète tachée, is an annual native to Mexico and Central America. The low-growing plants have feathery foliage and flowers in various shades of orange, dark red, and yellow. This cultivar has single lemon-yellow flowers.

This is my first year growing signet marigolds from seed. I was surprised by the seeds, which are long and thin with a tuft of blond hair on one end.

The very day after I sowed the seeds, I was thrilled to see what I thought was a sprout! Then I realized it was just the blond tuft of the seed sticking out. Oh well, by next week I'm sure I'll have lots of real sprouts to admire.

Nicotiana hybrid 'Perfume Mix': seeds

Nicotiana, known in English as "tobacco" and in French as tabac, is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs native to to North and South America, Australia, south west Africa and the south Pacific. This hybrid (flowering tobacco, tabac d'ornement) is grown for its fragrant flowers in red, pink, purple, white, and chartreuse, rather than its nicotine-rich leaves.

This is my first year growing nicotiana. The seeds were so small and annoying to handle that unless it is really lovely I don't think I'll get them again.

Euphorbia marginata: seeds

Euphorbia marginata, known in English as "snow-on-the-mountain" and in French as euphorbe panachée, is an annual native to much of the continental United States. The small white flowers are surrounded by whorls of showy green leaves edged with white.

This is my first year growing Euphorbia marginata. I was pleased to see that the seeds are fairly large and easy to handle. Ironically, although this is a North American native and I ordered seeds from a North American company (Stokes), these seeds are from the Netherlands!

Solenostemon scutellaroides 'Wizard Mix': seeds

Solenostemon scutellaroides, known in English as "coleus" and in French as coléus or coliole, is a tender perennial native to southeast Asia widely grown for its colourful foliage. Cultivars are available with various patterns of white, pink, red, yellow, brown, black, and green leaves.

I last grew coleus back when I was in high school, from seed. It was a lot of fun since the seedlings show their colours from an early stage. (Of course, back then I actually had big windows with lots of sunlight streaming in, and this time around I'm in a dingy basement apartment with fluorescent light...) I'm hoping these babies will liven up the drab shady front yard this summer.

Can these Echinacea sprouts be saved?

On March 18, 2008, I put a bunch of Echinacea purpurea seeds in a plastic bag of damp potting mix to cold moist stratify in the fridge. They were supposed to be there for 6 to 8 weeks, but my fridge being what it is I didn't find them until August or September. By then they had sprouted, and they say that if they sprout while being stratified they should be planted immediately, but I didn't think I could put them outside so soon before winter so I just left them in the fridge.

Today, about 6 months later, the sprouts look much like they did back then. At least some of them look like they might still be alive! Here they are, sown at last. I just set up some fluorescent lights for starting seeds, so they will get a chance to grow a bit inside while we wait for the weather to warm up. If even one of these sprouts survives, it will still be a bargain price for Echinacea, since the whole packet of seeds (Gardener's Choice from Canadian Tire) was less than a buck!

Monarda didyma: seeds

Monarda didyma, known in English as bee balm, bergamot, Oswego tea, or firecracker plant, and in French as monarde, thé d'Oswego, bergamote, or mélisse d'or is a perennial in the mint family native to much of eastern North America, and also the northwestern United States. Its flowers are very unusual and hard to describe—some say they look like jester's hats or fireworks; and are a lovely red.

I collected some of the seedheads from our plant in the fall; they look like prickly dark brown pompoms. They come apart into papery tubes about 1 cm long which are open at one end; at the closed end (closer to the centre of the pompom) of each tube is a tiny black seed; at least, I hope it is a seed.

Since this is a native plant, I am assuming it needs to go through a Canadian winter, or at least part of it, to germinate, so I am wintersowing it.

Tradescantia ohiensis: seeds

Tradescantia ohiensis, known in English as bluejacket, Ohio spiderwort, or snotweed, and in French as tradescantia de l’Ohio, is a perennial native to much of eastern North America. The flowers are a lovely vivid blue, with three petals; a bit like small trilliums, but the foliage is completely different, almost grass-like. (The unfortunate name "snotweed" refers to the faded blossoms, which turn into a runny blob.)

This is my first year growing Tradescantia, starting with seeds from Wildflower Farm. The seeds are plump and about 2 mm long; I found them fairly easy to handle (especially compared to the other seeds I sowed tonight!).

Rudbeckia hirta: seeds

Rudbeckia hirta, known in English as black-eyed Susan, gloriosa daisy, or yellow ox-eye daisy, and in French as Rudbeckie dréssé is a biennial native to most of North America. Its daisy-like flowers have bright golden yellow rays surrounding dark brown cones in the wild type, though many cultivars with various colourings are available.

I collected these seeds from my landlords' garden; the parent plants came from seed given out by the High Park Nature Centre for Earth Day 2007.

Penstemon digitalis: seeds

Penstemon digitalis, known in English as smooth penstemon, foxglove penstemon, or foxglove beardtongue and in French as penstémon digitalis is a perennial native to eastern North America. Like foxglove, smooth penstemon bears tall spires of nodding flowers, but it is much lighter and airier than foxglove and usually has white blossoms (the striking cultivar Husker Red has dark red stems contrasting beautifully with the white blossoms).

This is my first year growing smooth penstemon, starting with seeds from Wildflower Farm. The dark brown seeds are about 1 mm long; small but doable.

Campanula rotundifolia: seeds

Campanula rotundifolia, known in English as harebell, Scottish harebell, or bluebells of Scotland, and in French as campanule à feuilles rondes, is a herbaceous perennial native to northern parts of the world.

This is my first year growing harebell. I ordered seeds from Wildflower Farm, an Ontario nursury specializing in native plants, little suspecting how tiny the seeds would be. I believe "dust-like" is the most apt description. They were difficult to work with, but if I get some beautiful harebells it will be more than worth it.