Can You Name These Garden Seeds?

The Often Overlooked Beauty of Seeds

Sowing seeds, is one of the best parts of gardening. Each one is a self-contained, yet undeveloped entity, that under the right circumstances will sprout. It’s a special kind of magic; to plant a seed and witness the greenery emerge from the soil.

But how often have you stopped to really examine the seeds that you’re handling? Can you identify what plant will emerge from each of these seeds?

Image by Alexander Klepnev (Разнообразие семян)

The first row: Poppy, Red pepper, Strawberry, Apple tree, Blackberry, Rice, Carum.

Second row: Mustard, Eggplant, Physalis, grapes, raspberries, red rice, Patchouli.

The third row: Figs, Lycium barbarum, Beets, Blueberries, Golden Kiwifruit, Rosehip, Basil.

The fourth row: Pink pepper, Tomato, Radish, Carrot, Matthiola, Dill, Coriander

Fifth row: Black pepper, White cabbage, Napa cabbage, Seabuckthorn, Parsley, Dandelion, Capsella bursa-pastoris.

The sixth row: Cauliflower, Radish, Kiwifruit, Grenadilla, Passion fruit, Melissa, Tagetes erecta.

How many did you guess right?

Here are a few more to try, courtesy of SIG (Seed Identification Guide). And if you’re not interested in trying to guess them, have a look anyway, they are well worth it based on their beauty alone.

Daffodil (Narcissus ‘poeticus’)

Queen Anne’s lace (Ammi majus)

Celery (Apium graveolens ‘dulce’)

Wild carrot (Daucus carota)

Butterfly weed aka Orange flowering milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Tatarian aster (Aster tataricus)

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)

Sunflower (Helianthus annus)

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa ‘crispa’)

Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Borage (Borago officinalis)

Beet (Beta vulgaris)

Castor bean (Ricinus communis)

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum)

Narrow-leaved lupine (Lupinus agustifloius)

Skullcap (Scutellaria scordifolia)

Bread seed poppy (Papaver somniferum)

Blue gama grass (Bouteloua gracilis)

Switch grass (Panicum virgatum)

Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

Tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum)

Vervain (Verbena officinalis)

We hope that you’ve enjoyed a bit of a visual break today. and maybe picked up few seed ids. It’s always worth taking a few moments to connect with nature and get out of your own head. Plants make brilliant friends ;)

Sara-Jane at Virens Studio

We’re a planting design studio located in Vancouver, Canada. If you’re looking for naturalistic design, urban greening or garden writing, please get in touch today on our site or on instagram.