Sprigs: Time for Seeds

I love the last harvest of all--the seeds that form on the dying flowers. Plentiful and free, they guarantee plenty of filler in the garden for the following summer. Just remember they won't be true to type. The colors narrow to predominant dark pink in the zinnias. The cosmos keep a little more variety, but you won't find that the two toned reproduce abundantly.

I like the different ways the seeds develop: the tightly packed marigold seeds in little bunches, the cosmos like exploding fireworks, and the zinnia seeds crispy and held together at the center of the bloom.

purple millet

This is my first year for millet. I started it from seed. I won't collect any this fall, but wait and see what they do on their own. The millet is a nice purple until the seeds develop. First they are colorful pinheads, and then they grow shaggy and fall.

cleome and pendants where seeds grow

Cleome may be hard to get started, but they add tall color at the back of a flower bed.

 Zinnia seeds.

 I've had marigolds grow from seeds that were at least three years old.

cosmos

progression of seed development


What seeds do you keep? Which have been truest to the original plant?