Seedsavers, Decorah Iowa

Last month we went with friends to Decorah, Iowa. Since their daughter had attended Luther College in Decorah, they were very familiar with the area and what there is to see and do. Seedsavers was our main destination. I'd heard so much about it.

The trip down and back was beautiful, although at that time we weren't yet at the peak of color. Still, the roads and countryside made it a fun trip, and Seedsavers was spectacular. Because there had been a few frosts, the plants were no longer blooming, but that didn't really seem to matter. I know what they look like. It was still fascinating to walk among the rows and rows of various vegetables and flowers (weed-free, I might add) and to tour the barnyard, seeing the white cows and the chickens.

 White Park Cow - What a beautiful animal!

From Seedsavers.org:

"Ancient White Park Cattle 

These cattle roamed the British Isles before the time of Christ, and are described exactly in ancient Celtic lore. Today only about 800 of these extremely rare, wild cattle survive worldwide, including slightly more than 200 in the U.S. (and about 80 of those reside at Heritage Farm). These distinctive cattle have white coats, lyre-shaped horns with black tips, and black ears, noses, eyes, teats and hooves (and sometimes black is splashed from the hooves up the front shins toward the knees). The cows are intelligent, alert, quite hardy, healthy, and are aggressive grazers that favor brush."

Feeling a bit Thirsty

Inside the Shop

From Seedsavers.org:

"Seed Savers Exchange has been promoting the preservation and utilization of heirloom varieties for 37 years. Working with our members--farmers and gardeners--to ensure that these unique varieties are not lost forever, SSE encourages "participatory preservation" through membership in the Seed Savers Exchange. Each year thousands of seed varieties are exchanged among backyard preservationists through the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook for diverse reasons such as connecting to our garden heritage, finding varieties suited to a particular region, enjoying the diversity of heirloom varieties, and sourcing material to use in localized breeding projects.

These preservation methods keep many open-pollinated and heirloom varieties circulating in the hands of gardeners and farmers, making them available to everyone."

Seedsavers was a fabulous place, and I'd love to visit again in August of 2013.

I could hardly come away empty handed, could I.

Among the seeds I purchased were calendula (for my Sweet Baby! Calendula soap) and Stevia. My daughter-in-law just sent me an interesting video about Stevia. One Stevia fan has discovered a way to eliminate the aftertaste that is a common complaint about Stevia. 

It will be nice to have some of the beautiful seed packets from Seedsavers to look at during the long winter ahead. In this climate, there's plenty of time to plan a garden.

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'Sweet Baby! Calendula'
Natural, Gentle Soap for Baby

...and more! Check out all our handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our Etsy Shop 



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Joining BARN CHARM