• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

In the old seed box I found…

February 25, 2016 By Carol Michel 6 Comments

On the top of a bookshelf in my den, I keep an old cardboard shipping box with the seeds my Dad ordered back in 1987 for a garden he wouldn’t end up planting in its entirety.

The seed packets, some still unopened, make a soft rattling sound as I look them over to remind myself of what he liked to grow.

Some of the packets are still unopened. Others he opened and planted early that spring.

On the packets of tomatoes and eggplant, Dad wrote “sown Feb. 22nd”. He did like to start his tomatoes inside much earlier than I generally start mine.

On a packet of peas, variety ‘Green Arrow’, he wrote “sown on Mar. 6 with onions”.

That’s the packet of seeds I used several years ago to figure out why my peas never seemed to be as good as the peas he grew. When I saw that packet, I realized I was sowing my peas too late and I just hadn’t picked a good variety.

Now, of course, I always plant ‘Green Arrow’ peas around St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, and have great success with peas.  Thanks, Dad.

I looked over those seed packets again this evening, on the eve of what would have been Dad’s 88th birthday, and  discovered a packet of Amaranth seeds, unopened.  I don’t remember him growing Amaranth before so it must have been a plant he wanted to try. Or maybe, while looking through the seed catalog, I pointed it out and suggested he grow it.

Either way, now that I know he was going to grow some Amaranth that year, how can I not grow some in my garden this year?  Never mind it never occurred to me before. Never mind I’ve already ordered seeds galore, enough for two gardens.  Never mind all that.  I’ll find a spot now for Amaranth, too.

Dad was going to grow an Amaranth variety called ‘Illumination’.  I’ve decided to try an Amaranth variety called ‘Cinco de Mayo’ from Renee’s Garden.  It will add some nice color along the back row of the garden, where I grow zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, hollyhocks and now amaranth.  And while I’m sowing the seeds for ‘Cinco de Mayo’, I may open this 29 year old seed packet of ‘Illumination’ and see if any of those seeds will germinate. Why not? I have nothing to lose in doing so except a little time.

Of course, I’ll keep the seed packet, regardless of whether or not the seeds inside germinate.

It will remind me again how blessed I am to have a Dad who gardened, and let me garden with him.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: seeds

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    February 25, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    My dad was also a gardener. I have a few dried hydrangeas from the last garden he ever tended … and they are precious.

    I also had found old seeds in his shed, a few years back, but, alas, none of them sprouted.

    My dad was a gardener…

    Reply
  2. Covegirl says

    February 25, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    My dad was a vegetable gardener, while my mother was the flower gardener. I get very excited looking through garden catalogs and displays of seed in the stores.

    Reply
  3. PetalTalk says

    February 25, 2016 at 1:46 pm

    Carol, what a wonderful memory of a Dad who gardened. I can almost picture him going through his box of seeds, a compilation of dads at kitchen tables or in recliners, or even pottering around in basements we can recall from past years. Thanks for jogging my own Dad memory visual.

    Reply
  4. Jodi says

    February 25, 2016 at 5:00 pm

    What a lovely post! I come from a gardening family too. My parents kept a box of both current and old seeds in the basement when I was young, I'm sure they probably still do. And now so do I, learning how long I can keep different seeds and still get any germination let alone growth. 🙂

    Reply
  5. ARK says

    February 25, 2016 at 6:28 pm

    Knowing amaranth…I bet several WILL sprout for you 🙂

    Reply
  6. RobinL says

    March 1, 2016 at 1:07 am

    What a treasure to have your dad's old seed box! I wonder what conclusions my children would draw from my seed box. I haven't yet purchased my seeds for this year. Normally, I would have rushed to this task, but we are unsure if we'll be here to enjoy the garden this year. Hopefully the job situation will resolve itself soon so that I know whether or not to get my seeds. It's one of the first things I'll do when word comes about this job!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT