Thanks Beth! I am totally going to do this next year and I love the idea of gifting them at the holidays. Thank you so much!

So easy! At the end of the season, let the flowers dry on the stem a bit, until brown. Snip flower heads off and put in brown paper bag and store in a cool dry space. The seeds want to drop away from the flower head after they dry. Our flower heads were dry enough to give seeds away for the holidays this year.

I have never started anything indoors, but I am very tempted to try it, but we are gone a lot, so I fear that I’ll put out the effort then kill ’em. I usually go one one or two major shopping sprees and buy most seedlings at the Farmer’s Market and then have a planting day with my husband and cousin. What I don’t get there I buy at Eggplant Urban Farm Supply over here in St. Paul. It is a treat in the spring to swing by there on my way home from work and pick up a few things to plant after my big planting day is done and I know what space I have left. I also buy my seeds at Eggplant. I have a lot of success with Zinneas too, and I love being able to make up bouquets to give away at the end of summer.

Hey Beth, That sounds awesome! I’ve never collected the seeds before, I should do that, is it hard? What do you have to do?

Hey Meg! I start some of the veggies inside, but Zinnias do best for me when I sow them directly. I’ve tried seeding them inside in the past and the transplant crippled them. It took them more time to recover then if I just sowed them directly. How about you? Do you ever try and start flower seeds indoors?

Mindy! I agree, greenhouses and nurseries are the best medicine around this time of year!

Hi Shavonda – We obviously live in different climates, you have to worry about high temperatures and I have to worry about too little sun when it comes to our Dahlias. That is too bad that you lost a few last season, hopefully you can find a nice shady spot this year. I wish I knew what hummingbirds like, I don’t know too much about them. Butterfly weed is a plant with a lot of nectar and is a big attractor of butterflies (duh) and hummingbirds – I would start there.