Seed Sources:
The following sources have been used and recommended by our members:
Applewood Seed Company is based in Arvada and has provided wonderful service and seeds to Garden Club members in the past.
http://www.applewoodseed.com
Renee’s Garden sells vegetable seeds which have been highly successful in Summit County.
http://www.reneesgarden.com
Burpee sells a wide variety of seeds and plants.
http://www.burpee.com
Harrisseed
http://harrisseeds.com
Park Seed Company sells organic seed.
http://www.organicseed.com
Gourmet Seed International
http://www.gourmetseed.com
WILDFLOWERS FROM SEED
You may be surprised to learn that many of us grow plants from seed. Doing so saves a great deal of money. Some plants need irrigation to germinate and get established, others only require that which is provided by the environment.
Wildflower seeds are particularly successful. Perennials will take 2 years to produce blooms. Annuals tend not to seed because our frost free growing period is too short. Following are some suggestions for this altitude:
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Annual(A), Biennial (B), Perennial (P) |
Conditions |
Comments |
Baby’s Breath |
Gypsophila elegans |
A |
Needs irrigation. |
Looks great amidst corn poppies. |
Basket of Gold |
Alyssum saxatile |
B |
Best with irrigation. |
Yellow flowers. |
Catchfly |
Silene armeria |
A/P |
Best with irrigation. |
Pink flowers. |
Clarkia |
Clarkia amoena |
A |
Best with irrigation. |
Very colorful. Blooms in August. |
Columbines |
Aqulegia caerulea |
P |
Will grow in shade or sun but need to be moist. |
Mixed colors. Will self seed. |
Cornflowers |
Centaurea cyanus |
A |
Need irrigation. |
Mixed colors. |
Cottage Pinks |
Dianthus plumarius |
P |
Need little water. |
Pink flowers. |
Creeping Thyme |
Thymus serpyllum |
P |
No irrigation. |
Great over gravel and rocks. |
Daisy - Shasta |
Chrysanthemum maximum |
P |
Needs irrigation. |
Sensitive to frost. |
Flax |
Linum perenne |
B/P |
No irrigation. |
Blue germinates well. Red is unreliable. |
Gaillardia |
Gaillardia aristata |
P |
No irrigation. |
Red & yellow blossoms. |
Lupine - Mountain |
Lupinus alpestris |
P |
No irrigation. |
Small, blue blossoms. |
Lupine - Perennial |
Lupinus perennis |
P |
No irrigation. |
Large, blue flowers. |
Lupine - Russell |
Lupinus polyphyllus |
P |
Need irrigation. |
Attractive, pink flowers. |
Penstemon – Rocky Mountain |
Pensemon strictus |
P |
No irrigation. Will grow on gravel or rocky areas. |
Will self seed and spread easily. |
Poppy - California |
Eschscholzia californica |
A |
Need irrigation. |
Traditional yellow one does best. |
Poppy - Corn |
Papaver rhoeas |
A |
Need irrigation. |
Red, white or pink blooms. |
Poppy - Icelandic |
Papaver nudicaule |
P |
Need water to get established. |
Yellow, white or orange blooms. |
Siberian Wallflower |
Cheiranthus allionii |
B |
Best with irrigarion. |
Deep yellow blooms. |
Snow-in-Summer |
Cerastium biebersteinii |
P |
No irrigation. |
Great for gravel and rocky areas. Prolific blooms, once it gets established. |
Sweet William |
Dianthus barbatus |
B |
Best with irrigation, but not absolutely necessary. |
Most rewarding plant, but only blooms in its second year. |
Viola – Johnny Jump Up |
Viola cornuta |
P |
No irrigation. |
Basic purple with yellow variety only. |
Yarrow |
Achillea millefolium |
P |
No irrigation. |
The white and pink varieties are most successful. |