![](./pubData/source/images/pages/page17.jpg)
17
BASICS back to
The Joy of Seeds
Spring overwhelms our thawing senses with
warm, perfumed breezes, boldly painted petals and vibrant green landscapes.
Almost instantly the inner gardener emerges from nearly all of us.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
by Jamie Walker
photography by Allison
Breiner Potter
Patios fill up with pots of geraniums,
marigolds and variegated greenery.
Garden beds are flush with young
color and nursery parking lots are packed.
Patrons buzz back and forth pulling carts
loaded with pots of perfectly formed little
plants. Until recently, most gardeners would
anxiously whisk by the seed packets hanging
neatly from the rack by the checkout counter
without a glance.
In the last couple of years, however, it seems
they’ve started to linger a while. Seed sales have
climbed steadily and significantly since 2009.
The potential of turning a tiny low-priced
packet of seeds into a row of vegetables or a
flower bed that would otherwise cost $10 to
$20 more is enticing in these frugal times. The
once risky and labor-intensive prospect of starting
plants by seed has morphed into an adventurous,
do-it-yourself possibility.
While most seed shoppers have their hearts
set on vegetables, a few gardeners are turning to
seeds for spring and summer color. More people
are answering spring’s call with seed-starting
kits and freshly amended beds ready to add to
spring’s palette.
•
•
Seedl ings flourish in the hoop house at Federal Point Farms.