Ken Greene on the Power of Seeds and Sunflowers – A Way to Garden With Margaret Roach – March 30, 2020

Seeds and Sunflowers: Before the weeks got darker, Ken Greene and I had planned a chat about a sunny subject: sunflowers. Ken is co-founder of Hudson Valley Seed Company and also of the nonprofit called Seedshed, and though he and I did get to do some sunflower dreaming, we first veered into how seeds figure into such tough moments as we are currently facing, offering resiliency. And then the talk turned to Helianthus, including the silverleaf species I adore called H. argophyllus (below)—about which the birds and beneficial insects emphatically agree.

On the Hudson Valley Seed homepage this late March 2020 and at other seed sellers, you'll probably see a notice like this: "Please be aware that, because we are currently experiencing an increased demand for seeds, you may see a slight delay in receiving your orders." I asked Ken about that, too.

Besides being a seed person, Ken Greene is my across-the-Hudson River neighbor. We connected remotely from his home to mine, cell phone to Skype, to talk about the power of seeds and also the literal bright spot that sunflowers can provide.