March 3, 2012
Seed collecting is a time-honored, and time-consuming, process. But rewarding, as are so many old-fashioned pursuits. There is a pleasant beauty one can find in such a task. Amy Tudor, Tasha's granddaughter-in-law, as I'm sure you all know, has agreed to share her process.
Basket tucked under her arm, Amy Tudor collects Sweet Cicely seeds in Tasha Tudor's garden near the lower shed. You can see it is high summer in Vermont, quite literally as the Scottish jewelweed blooms high over Amy's head, and the many shades of green are almost too bright for one's eyes.
Amy shows the lupine seeds inside a pod that is ready to be collected. The pods must be collected at just the right time--dry enough, but not too dry, and before they have the time to twist on their own and spray their seeds.
Of course, a straw hat and handmade basket are necessary tools of the trade, as is a quiet stretch of afternoon to escape into the garden without interruption. The seeds are then dried in the sun or the shade of the barn and sifted through.
They are then hand-packaged into tiny vellum envelopes reminiscent of Tasha's sparrow post missives, and inserted into our beautifully designed, BRAND NEW, seed packets.
