Terrene,
Are you planning to trade? I've been wishing I had some Melampodium in my world. I sent most of my old seed (last year's) to Bakemom for the newbie seed project. But I'm still collecting this year's. I'll check back here after I get a list of what I have drying/dried so far. I also went a little crazy buying online, recently. I was in an emotionally fragile moment, and seed shopping is very soothing, right? It sound like a good excuse, anyway.

Martha

Docmom, I occasionally do trades, but mostly do SASBEs (in both directions). In the winter, I do a SASBE offer on the seed exchange, and also at other times too. I love Melampodium and collected plenty of seed this year, as well as some of the other seeds on that list.

I buy most of seeds, just a little indulgence. I've had pretty good results this year starting interesting cultivars from seeds purchased at Swallowtail.

Here's a couple of the melampodium this year - sown in cups in the spring. The zinnias were direct-sown.
{{gwi:437467}}

Send me an email if you want some, no problem!

I've also collected lots of salvias, digitalis, columbine, geum, echinacea Ruby Star, etc. Will have plenty of seeds for the WS swap that Wendy is going to post. However, I'm very impatiently waiting for the following seeds to be ready:

Amaranthus 'Intense Purple'
Snapdragon 'Black Prince'
Lobelia siphilicata (purple & white)
Double gloriosa daisy
Purple basil

Margie

Thanks, so much. I will, if I get around to it. I'm getting remarried in November, and we just became aware of a house we might want to buy--so we're busy and I'm not sure what I'll be doing about gardening in the next 12 months. I also generally do natives--but my 11 year-old son asked me today "Mom, could we plant some PRETTY flowers?" I couldn't decide if I should laugh or cry, LOL. He'd love the melampodium.

Martha

I've been slowly collecting seeds. Most of my plants didn't feel like producing seed this year, and I didn't keep track of plant names last year. What a shame... However, I did manage to collect from other sources:

Heuchera
Canna
Melampodium "Derby"
Lemon Basil "Mrs. Burns"
Purple Basil
Celosia plumosa
Petunia
Clematis
Zinnia
Hibiscus
Begonia
Cypress vine (hummingbird vine?)
African daisies
Gladiolus
Portulaca
Gerbera daisy
Columbine

Waiting to collect hosta, oriental lilies, another variety of celosia (red blooms & red-purple foliage), moon flower, romaine, another variety of hibiscus, butterfly bush "black knight", datura, impatiens (having the hardest time with these), amaranthus "love-lies-bleeding", sedum, and possibly another variety or two of canna.

Wow Vajeff, lotsa seeds!

Docmom, any time you want some seeds just email. I grow lots of natives too. Melampodium divaricatum happens to be a North American native - just native to Florida, haha. It can't tolerate frost.

That's cool your son wants some pretty flowers, they're wonderful. Butterflies hummers and bees really like the tropical annuals, and so do I! They are the most colorful prettiest things in the gardens now, cuz we haven't had a frost yet. First hard frost and they'll be gone though...

I enjoy melampodium. It's so easy and forms a neat little bush, and they attract hordes of ground bees (well, those ity-bity ones). Does your melampodium self seed? Mine goes crazy. Sometimes it seems like I'm pulling more of those out than weeds. Same thing with celosia, snapdragon, and impatiens. Now if only the new guinea impatiens would do that... I've got a feeling that I'm going to regret having planted amaranthus this year.

I don't think I'm harvesting the quantities I did last year but am definitely gathering lots of varieties. So far these are set in paper bowls on shelves in my garage to dry:

Adenophora/ladybells
White turtlehead
Persicaria virginiana/Painters Palette
Stokes aster
Heuchera/coral bells
White flowering dogwood
Joe-Pye weed
Lychnis coronaria/rose campion
Lobelia cardinalis/cardinal flower
Lobelia siphillitica/great blue lobelia
Penstemon 'Mystica'
Dianthus/sweet William & carnations
Columbine
Gaura
Tall phlox
Candytuft
Spirea
Verbascum 'Milkshake'
Echinacea
Baptisia australis/false indigo
Rudbeckia
Lupine
Gaillardia
Balloon flower
Blackberry lily
Cupid's dart
Siberian iris
Globeflower

I'm keeping an eye on the pink turtlehead & St. John's wort--seedpods are still green on both.

I need to get out and do some more collecting so I'll have some seeds to trade with. I've been lazy.

Terrene - I have one on your wishlist. I collected some seeds this year from asclepias viridiflora. It normally doesn't get a chance to make seeds since it's in our hayfield but our second cutting was much later than normal this year. It's not a showy plant but very tough. I'll email you.

I haven't collected nearly the seeds I have in previous years. One reason is I took out quite a few perennials that had a growth habit I didn't particularly like. Some that I have collected so far:

Digitalis purpurea, grandiflora, and lutea
Solomon's Seal
False Solomon"s Seal
Cimifuga racemosa
Clematis viorna
Aquilegia
Lamb's Ear
Heuchera
Thermopsis carolinia
Lady Bells
Showy Beardtongue
Geum
Daylilies
Ratibida columnifera
Ratibida pinnata
Asclepias exaltata
Veronicastrum virginicum
Thalictrum
Aruncus dioicus

I am waiting for:
Toad lilies
Clematis stans
Anemones
Hostas
Lobelias
Turtleheads
Mimulus
Anemones
Actaea pachypoda

I am hoping the first freeze holds off until the rest of my seeds ripen.

Rhonda