Do you have rocks in your head…or your garden?

We’re members of many plant groups, and each are quite wonderful. One of the groups of which we’ve been member the longest is the North American Rock Garden Society.  We’re blessed not only with a great national organization, but also with a superb local chapter.

We were thrilled to host the groups’ National Meeting last year in Raleigh.  One of the incredible bonuses of membership is access to their incredible seed exchange, where one can get lost in a list of over 3000 rock garden plant seed, donated by members from around the world. These are not plants that are usually found anywhere else, and certainly not in typical seed catalogs.  Round two of the 2018 seed exchange will start in a few weeks, so if growing unusual rock garden plants from seed appeals to you, check out the seed exchange and consider becoming a member. 

4 thoughts on “Do you have rocks in your head…or your garden?”

  1. Thanks for all your support for our chapter and rock gardening in the South!! We would love for anyone to attend our meetings and join the Piedmont Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. Check us out on Facebook.

  2. Consolidation in the seed industry, changes in breeding methods and technology, restrictive intellectual property practices, and the loss of wild and farming land to development all contribute to the erosion of the plant genetic materials that are essential to sustaining life. In addition to this loss in genetics there has been a concurrent loss in the base of knowledge and skills necessary to properly steward and improve plant genetics in a ecologically and ethically sound manner. Farmers, once the primary seed stewards around the globe, have rapidly been removed from the seed circle – no longer participating in plant breeding or conservation. Only a few generations ago, the practices of on-farm seed saving and basic crop improvement were not only common, but necessary. While university and private sector involvement in seed systems has provided much gain, it has also created a field of specialization that has left the farmer as an “end-user” of a product instead of an active participant in building and maintaining plant genetic health and diversity. The diversity of our domesticated plant genetics – flavor, color, abundance, nutrition – is a direct result of the relationship between farmers and their crops. The unhealthy trends in seed systems put us at risk of losing our seed heritage – and the skills necessary to conserve, reinvigorate and improve this heritage for future generations.  Please watch the video below for a better understand and “in the field” look at organic seeds: From the Organic Seed Alliance. Jere Gettle always had a passion for growing things, and at age three, he planted his first garden. Ever since that day, he wanted to be involved in the seed industry. So at the age of 17, he printed the first small Baker Creek Heirloom Seed catalog in 1998.

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