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Intro Mary Garden
Seed Pages Index
Flowers of Our Lady Seed 5
Starting Plants From Seed
A Mary Garden can be started with grown plants purchased from
garden centers, roadside stands and local or mail order plant
nurseries. Mary-Gardeners are encouraged to sustain and enhance
their gardens by starting plants from seeds.
Plants started from seeds are healthier; better adapted to the
garden environment of soil, light and temperature in which they are
sown; less expensive; and of much greater variety than those which
can be purchased as grown plants.
In general, Annual, Biennial and some Perennial plants are of easy
germination - requiring the moisture, warmth and light of a
frost-free environment. Some perennials, however, require a cool,
moist after-ripening or "unlocking" of the seeds, which is provided
in nature by winter weather, in preparation for spring germination.
In seed-sowing practice this needed conditioning is commonly
provided by a moist chilling of the seeds through placing them in
small containers of moist peat or vermiculite (sterile, expanded
mica), available at garden stores, and putting in a refrigerator
for 6 weeks prior to spring warm soil sowing. Decide if you wish
to undertake the germination of seeds for those flowers with this
requirement.
Two of the seed catalogs, Park and T&M, contain detailed
instructions for starting each plant from seed (including moist
chilling, where applicable), so that ease or difficulty of
germination can be considered before ordering. Chiltern and
Burpee include sowing and cultivation instructions with the
shipment of seeds. The Burpee catalog also offers numerous seed
starting aids.
The Chiltern Catalog (273 flowers from the list) offers the largest
number of flowers, listing them with descriptions in alphabetical
order, with herbs listed separately at the back. Of special
historical interest to Mary-Gardeners is an index listing of
British Wild Flowers, which includes the flowers mentioned in "The
Mary Calendar" by Judith Smith, Ditchling, England, 1930 - the
inspiration for the Garden of Our Lady founded by Frances Crane
Lillie in 1932 at St. Joseph's Church, Woods Hole on Cape Cod,
Massachusetts: the mother garden of the present-day Mary Garden
restoration movement.
The Thompson & Morgan catalog (125 flowers from list) provides
detailed germination and caring information for each plant genus
listed, through reference keys to instructions at the front of the
catalog (including moist chilling where required), plus special
tips for each individual genus. Included is an indication for each
genus as to the level of experience and care required to achieve
the best results: "Easy", "Experience Useful" and "Challenging" as
to germination; and "Easy", "Understanding and Care" and
"Particular Care Needed" as to aftercare.
The Park Catalog (45 flowers from list) has similarly informative
keys for each plant, referring to an "Index, Germination and
Culture Guide" at the end of the catalog. Especially helpful is
the keying of each plant according to 10 different preferred seed
sowing and germinating environments - of temperature, time of year,
soil medium, container, location, etc. (including moist chilling).
(The Data Base of the Mary's Gardens Catalog of seeds provided in
the 1951-1965 period - before wider varieties of seeds became
commercially more readily available through the founding of
Chiltern Seeds and the opening of the Thompson & Morgan U.S. branch
- likewise lists 80 flowers now on the list, by germination and
other characteristics.)
The Burpee catalog (59 flowers from the list) offers assistance in
seed starting through a number of practical aids such as
seed-starting trays, germination soil medium, tray heating
elements, windowsill greenhouses, grow-light seed tray stands, and
ventilating outdoor cold frames. Burpee also offers 6-plant pot
packs and 58-plant trays of small started plants, shipped in
moisture-protected packages for arrival at the proper time for
spring plant planting in the purchaser's area.
Seed Pages Index