March 2021 Seed Stories Series
March 2021 Seed Stories
Meet Garden Coach Lindsay of Fourth Street Farm from Eagle County, CO
This month we bring you another exciting seed story! We must be on a flower streak! I mean, what is not to love about flowers. This month we take a moment of appreciation, breathe in the fresh air of spring. Join us as we listen to Lindsay Graves and her uplifting seed story.
Her drive and enthusiasm about gardening is so inspiring. Additionally, we are all so impressed with her grit and grace tackling the challenges of higher elevation gardening. October 2020, the Gardenary platform introduced us. With Nicole as our inspiration, coach, and mentor, we both jumped at the opportunity to become Certified Gardenary Consultants last year. Lindsay continues to set the bar for many of us and motivates me to be a better garden coach everyday. We share an interest in Phenology as well as the passion to teach others how to grow food in beautifully designed kitchen gardens. This seed story is so amazing, you are going to love it!
Hey Lindsay! Thank you so much for sharing your seed story with everyone today! What is the seed or plant you decided to share and the reason why?
Calendula. The more I learn about it, the more I love it. It grows by itself, it's edible, medicinal, beautiful, it's the last pollen source in my garden along with cosmos, which I just noticed since we were given bees this year. I could see the bees returning to the hive with full pollen baskets, so I had to go looking to see where it was coming from. It's really easy to infuse the healing resins into oil for making winter skin care balm for my son. His hands crack and bleed from the dry air. What's not to love?
This flower provides you and your family so many benefits for the everyday. So where did you go to find your first seeds?
I originally wanted to grow calendula as a cut flower, but I don't really enjoy arranging them (or at least the varieties I've grown). They came from my favorite seed company, Fedco Seeds. My first gardening/farming experience was interning on a farm that grew seeds for Fedco and a few other companies, and I've been a loyal customer ever since for their values and varieties.
Calendula drying in the sunshine from Lindsay’s Garden
That’s amazing that you used to work on a seed farm. What an incredible experience for you. I love it. Please tell us more about yourself and why you feel called to share your seed story with everyone today?
I grow vegetables in a place where it's not easy to grow vegetables, so I take volunteer plants as the ultimate compliment- a sign that I'm doing something right in creating a mini ecosystem from what was once a barren, worm-free stand of noxious weeds in the high desert..
Wow, that’s amazing. It takes so much work and patience to transform barren land into rich soil. Will you bring us through cultivation of this special flower and what lengths you went through to care for it?
Where there any challenges did you face? Was there a special moment along the way you can share with us?
Well I don't even remember how it started. I "may" have started seeds inside. At some point I probably did. At some point I also threw seed in the bed.
I originally wanted to grow calendula as a cut flower and planted a couple varieties. It grows so easily- one of the first to sprout, even before it stops freezing and one of the last to stop. The only care I have to do is pull some sprouts out while they are tiny to make room for vegetables in the beds. Once I've pulled out as many as I can stand, the rest are allowed to grow- in the beds, in the pathways, wherever.
During the height of summer, there are some completely impassable pathways between beds because they are filled with calendula, so sometimes vegetables go unharvested because I can't reach them without destroying the flowers. I do love harvesting them to dry. Getting fingers covered in the healing resin and putting away some summer sunshine for winter.
I love your free spirit and the joy that comes with scattering seeds. It really is so exciting to watch and see what decides to take hold. There are certain plants that tend to give and give all season long, calendula is certainly one of them.
The way you described your garden with the golden buds scattered about your pathways paints a picture. Visualize a painting with a sea of golden flowers blocking the pathways at the height of summer. So pretty.
Well, we can definitely tell these were very special and meaningful flowers to you. Will you please share with us how you have grown as a gardener from growing these?
From calendula (and other self sowing vegetables and flowers; don't get my started on being "unable" to use the wheelbarrow to move mulch because it was overtaken by gourds), I've learned the importance of letting go- of pulling up some volunteer seedlings, of pruning extra growth, of giving some plants space needed to reach their potential by removing others. Just like in life where we have limited time, space, resources just because something demands my time/resources doesn't mean I have to give it, which gives more space for the things I want to grow to flourish.
Beautifully said Lindsay. That aspect of letting go and being okay with it is not easy for most of us. I know I personally struggle with thinning plants, pruning or removing to make room for others. But beyond the garden, we can learn from this practice too! It can be so hard to embrace on so many levels in our life, growth only happens where there is room to bloom.
Thank you so much for sharing your seed story with everyone! We wish you healing, balance, and a lots of volunteer plants this year!
We hope her story inspires you to try growing calendula or scatter seeds to see what happens. Embrace those volunteers in your garden and let them thrive. After all, they chose your garden. Take that as a compliment and welcome them all. Be sure to check out what Lindsay is up to on her Instagram feed or visit her website for more helpful tips about gardening at higher elevations.
Lindsay Graves
Instagram: @fourthstreetfarm
GET INVOLVED
We hope you enjoyed this month’s seed story. Do you have a seed story to share? We can’t wait to hear all about it!
Share you seed story and hit the button below to tell us all about it.
