Seed Saving & Texas Native Plants

By Laura Villareal

My interest in seed saving as a response to the climate crisis began last summer at Oak Spring Garden Foundation. I was working on my second poetry collection which explores the power of naming and human connections to the natural world and found myself perusing Oak Spring’s library for books to spark my writing.

Most of their books are on gardens and plants in general so when I found Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault by Cary Fowler its icy cover stood out. I read it the same afternoon. The urgency of seed saving and the necessity of seed vaults fascinated me. There’s a conversation between Olav Kjørven, state secretary for international development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Cary Fowler where it felt most potent.

In the text, Fowler recounts the story as follows:

Olav Kjørven: “Let me get this straight. You’re saying these seeds are the most important natural resource on earth?”

Cary Fowler:  “Well, yes, I guess so.”

Olav Kjørven: “And you’re saying that Svalbard is the best place in the world to conserve them?”

Cary Fowler: “Yes,” I said with conviction. “It is.”

Olav Kjørven: Then with a shrug of his shoulders and upturned palms he replied, “Well, then how can we say no?”

I spent the rest of my time at Oak Spring reading a variety of books on seeds. Through the Texas Folklife Community Fellowship I continued my research on seeds and seed saving, but with a focus on our Texas Native Plants. In my conversations with Central Texas Seed Savers, the Native Plant Society of Texas, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center I learned that our native plants are doing fairly well despite extreme weather patterns. I also had the joy of learning more about the people who are working towards preserving our native plants and what seems to be a trend of home gardeners planting natives.

Enormous action from global governments and businesses to slow and even prevent climate collapse is necessary. But even still, there are actions everyday people can take—votes of confidence in our future— like the seed-saving and prioritizing native plants. Glimmers of hope like these are necessary in preventing despair and apathy.

I encourage you to listen to my podcast where we dig into seed saving and native plants further, but I do want to provide some resources for anyone unsure where to get started. Thank you to Meg Inglis from the Native Plant Society of Texas, Colleen Dieter from Central Texas Seed Savers, and Jesse White at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center who shared their time talking to me and pointed out some of these amazing resources.

Seed Libraries

Seed Libraries are becoming increasingly popular in and around Austin. They are a vital way to provide free access to seeds and increase the amount of heirloom plants being preserved. They’re part of the growing seed sovereignty movement. You can pick up some free seeds from your local library. Patrons are encouraged to donate seeds as well, so once you’ve saved some seeds you can share them with the library. Central Texas Seed Savers has a great guide to locating seed libraries around Central Texas. Check it out here.

Buying Native Plants & Seeds

Native Plant sales are a fantastic way to support environmentally centered organizations, here are a few places you can go:

• Austin: Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Lockhart: Keep an eye out on Texas Parks & Wildlife’s events calendar for Lockhart State Park’s biannual Native Plant Festival.
• San Marcos: Two native plant sales a year (Fall & Spring).

There are, of course, commercially available sources which you can access year round like:

• New Braunfels: Native American Seed Source
• Austin: The Natural Gardener

Organizations to Join and Volunteer With

• Join the Native Plant Society of Texas. They offer a number of resources as well as classes such as their Native Plant Certification Program.
• Clean Seeds for Central Texas Seed Savers every second Monday of the month.

Want professional help getting your garden started?

• Check out Red Wheelbarrow which provides “Pro Gardening Advice for Do-It-Yourselfers”

Recommended Books

• The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving edited by Lee Buttala and Shanyn Siegel
• The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food by Janisse Ray
• What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds by Jennifer Jewell