Saving seed and saving pennies

On a dry day at the beginning of the week, I went round the garden collecting seed heads to dry.

Some seeds such as honesty (left) and love in a mist (below) manage fine if just left on the plants to sow themselves.




















Others I prefer to collect and start next year's plants inside in seed trays. As I've collected them late in the season, most of them were fairly dry but I've spread them on old foil pie trays and put them on the kitchen window sill, hopefully to catch a bit of late sun.

Here, I have (clockwise from top left) calendula, fennel, nasturtiums and marigolds with sweet peas in the centre. When they're definitely dry, I pop them into small paper bags and store with a silica gell pack (as found in shoe boxes or handbags) to absorb any damp.
Hopefully I'll have a colourful flower garden for next to nothing in summer!