Summer annuals have transitioned to fall mums, but for one Crown Point resident, this is where next year’s colorful garden begins.
For retiree Marty Ryan, who has been gardening all his life, capturing the tiny seeds that will become the bounty of next year’s bouquets is part of the fun. Ryan grows all the flowers that decorate his Silver Hawk home from seed. Not the seed packets found in stores ready for gardeners to plant but gathered from the flowers themselves once their colorful beauty fades.
“I have always been interested in gardening,” the 72-year-old said.
Some of the seeds are smaller than a poppy seed, yet Ryan over the years has learned the techniques to capture the tiny seeds for next year’s flowers. Those flowers bloom throughout the yard attracting passers-by.
“People are stopping to take photos daily. They ask to buy his seed-grown flowers,” daughter Kim Winter of Crown Point said.
The colorful display stands out in the neatly kept neighborhood, attracting neighbors and passers-by. Ryan is happy to share his knowledge about flowers — and even some of the life-giving seeds — when those neighbors stop by to admire the display.
Ryan can be found outside most days, spring, summer and fall, tending to his well-manicured lawn, mowing it himself before the lawn service each resident must use as required by the homeowners association even has a chance.
He plants, transplants and fertilizes the many pots bearing the fruits of his labors until his yard is just the way he likes it. Then come fall he carefully clips the dried buds and works the tiny seeds from their hiding places inside.
“It’s relaxing. I really enjoy it,” he said.
Ryan said anybody can gather seeds from their annuals, keep them in a cool dry place over winter, and then plant them in the spring. He keeps his seeds stored in recycled plastic containers with tight lids and out of the light.
He starts most of his flowers indoors about a month or so before he is ready to move them to the yard and looks forward to the looks he gets once they come in full bloom.
“It keeps me busy and out of trouble, and I love the results,” Ryan said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
