It's not too early to dream of next year's garden and to begin thinking about what you would like to plant. And while you are dreaming and thinking, why not browse (and buy) a seed library that has beautiful art packets at the same time?
Last year I bought some of Hudson Valley Seed Library's Art Packs and seeds for the very first time and I am smitten. I am thrilled to see that their Art Packs are out for 2011 and are available through their Holiday Gift Catalogue.
The artists for 2011 were picked from a pool of over 70 submissions and come from all over the Hudson Valley and New York City. The mediums they used were collage, encaustics, oil, watercolor, digital, paper cutting, and ink. Each artist's rendering celebrates the joy and beauty of heirloom gardening. You can read about the artists in the holiday gift catalogue.
Also, while you're over there, visit the Hudson Valley Seed Library blog to read a fun post on how Victoria Gardens photographed their art packs.
I recently discovered that there is a Moon Tree in Sacramento.
I learned that on the 1971 Apollo mission, astronaut Stuart Roosa took along 500 Douglas fir, loblolly pine, sweetgum, sycamore, and redwood seeds with him in his personal kit. He orbited the moon in the command module, Kitty Hawk, while Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the moon.
The idea to take the seeds to the moon belonged to the Chief of the Forest Service, who had worked with Roosa when he was a smoke jumper for the Forest Service years earlier. He oversaw the project and selected the types of tree seeds that Roosa carried with him on his moon mission. When Roosa returned to earth, the U.S. Forest Service germinated the seeds and the seedlings, known as the 'Moon Trees' were sent all over the U.S. and the world as part of the 1976 Bicentennial.
One of the redwood seedlings was planted at the state capitol in Sacramento. It is surrounded by much older and taller redwoods that stand as majestic sentinels watching over the moon tree. They aren't the only ones protecting this special tree; however, the design plans for the security pavilion at the state capitol were designed to ensure the Moon Tree's safety. I think this is so awesome that our state went to such lengths to ensure that the tree remained safe. It is flourishing in that spot and is truly one of the living monuments to Stuart Roosa, the U.S. Forest Service, and the NASA Space Program.
Unfortunately, there was no systematic tracking of where the moon trees were planted, but NASA does have a list of some of the trees, so you can check to see if there is one where you live.
I learned about this wonderful project from Robyn over at gardenrooms. Sophie Munns is the artist in residence at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens in Australia and she is having a postcards from the blogosphere "homage to the seed" show at her open house July 12 - 18.
Visit Sophie's blog for more information on how you can participate. Hurry, though because you will need to act quickly so that Sophie will receive your handmade postcard before July 12th.
