How Many Seeds??

   Dotted here and there throughout the gardens, a bright patch of marigolds can be found every year during the fall.  I do not plant the seeds.  These are volunteers from the original plants.  Nigh on ten years ago, I bought a little box of marigold seeds from DollarTree not knowing if they would even sprout.  Well, every last seed sprouted!  Marigolds were everywhere!  Knowing I should dead-head plants to prolong blooms, I decided on a whim to save a few seeds.  My thinking was that if I saved the seeds from year to year, I would never have to spend that big dollar again. I saved seeds.  I saved pint jars of seeds.  That grew into quart jars of seeds that very first year.  Finally, I just gave up and let the plants do their own thing.

  The next summer, what do I see?  Hundreds of tiny marigold plants popping up in the gardens...and in the lawn...and even on the gravel path.  Marigolds were everywhere!  Now...what was I supposed to do with quart jars of seeds?  I definitely did not need to plant them so I gave seeds to everyone...the neighbors, friends, family members, complete strangers...anyone who would take them.  

  Fast forward here ten years and marigolds come up in the most surprising places. They are like little drops of sunshine that pop up to bring smiles. I still do the same thing about seeds. I dead-head the plants to encourage new buds and save the seeds.  So far this year, I have at least a quart of the tiny seeds and the plants show no sign of stopping any time soon.  Who knew that cheap seeds would give such lasting results?  I am seriously thinking of broadcasting the seeds over the entire yard and letting them grow where they wish.  No more cutting grass!  After all, I cannot cut down flowers, can I?  In all reality, I probably will collect enough seeds to do at least 5 acres!  These things are relentless!  This is perhaps the  best dollar ever spent!