Park Seed Memories

More Images from the Olivers

Last week, I introduced you to the Olivers, a couple of rose-loving gardeners living in Oregon. This week, we'll see that Ann's green thumb extends to plants other than just roses. And that Larry's talents as a photographer do wonders with those other plants, too. Here's Ann, to tell you about their gardening experiences during their second year in Oregon, and also a little more about their hobbies and interests. Take it away, Ann!

"Our second year in our new home, the deer found the roses.  They didn't fair so well and we had to re-plant a couple and also wanted to add a few more.  We now have 14 J & P roses in the front and 3 in the backyard, along with one potted tree rose.   We have too many tall pine trees around to the west and could really use more sun, but they seem to do well getting most of their sun in the early morning and early afternoon. 

Larry is a chiropractic physician here in Corvallis and I work as a medical transcriptionist at a clinic here as well.  Our daughter CariAnn and son-in-law Arthur still live in Central Oregon in the Bend area, and she is completing her college degree.  There are no grandchildren at this time, but we are still hoping.

In my spare time, I like to scrapbook and started making greeting cards with my husband's photographs.  We would love to sell some but haven't really looked into that prospect as yet."

Don't you love that yellow and red Rio Samba rose? The hydrangea and the tulip are pretty spectacular, too. Thanks so much, Ann and Larry, for sharing your love of gardening and your artistic talents with us. I love to hear from anyone who enjoys gardening--especially if you've had success with plants from Jackson & Perkins, Wayside Gardens, and Park Seed Company. Contact me at ckuhl@parkseed.comn to share your images and your memories!

Rose Photos Make for Beautiful Greetings from Oregon

I received a wonderful email this week from a couple of serious Rose-lovers in Oregon. Luckily for us, they are partial to Roses from Jackson & Perkins. I haven't written about it here, but earlier this year, Jackson & Perkins, Park Seed Company, and  Wayside Gardens formed a special business relationship. So in addition to all the other great benefits of this decision, I now get to share stories from customers and friends from J&P! I know you'll enjoy meeting Ann and Larry Oliver and seeing some of their great photos! I'll start the ball rolling today, and share the rest next week.

" My husband Larry and I moved from Central Oregon to the Willamette Valley six years ago. In Central Oregon the weather was too cold and dry to be able to grow roses well so when we arrived in the Willamette Valley, we were thrilled that we would be able to do more gardening.

We settled in Corvallis, Oregon and bought a house five years ago. Along the side of the house in the front were a few roses. The first year we were here they did very well and we where pleased beyond words. Fresh flowers for the house! Roses at that!! What a thrill!"

I loved the roses so much and they were so beautiful that I talked Larry into photographing them for me. He became very good at doing just that and was able to capture their beauty. The only thing missing was the smell. "

In their spare time, the Olivers use special software tools to transform Larry's photos into greeting cards. Here are a few examples from their garden.

First is the Nancy Reagan Hybrid Tea Rose. I love the unusual apricot color!

The next photo also has a presidential link. This Rose is called Mister Lincoln. It's also a Hybrid Tea.

The name of the last one for today hints at that fabulous fragrance Anne mentioned--it's called the Melody Parfumee Rose.

Thanks, Ann and Larry! More from their great garden later! And if you've got great garden stories and photos to share from your experiences with Park Seed, Wayside Gardens, or Jackon & Perkins, please email them to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com.

SEEDS: a Celebration of Science

Last Friday, I shared some memories from Debbie Clark, a former Seeds in Space teacher and graduate of NASA's space camp. Debbie mentioned the publication that NASA produced documenting the student experiments using space-exposed seed from the LDEF project. The publication is titled SEEDS: A Celebration of Science (NASA publication EP-281).

Because we are approaching a whole new round of student experiences associated with NASA's current Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber, I have made the complete contents of that document available online. Go to www.SuccessWithSeed.org, click on the "Resoures" link near the NASA logo, and in the top navigation bar, click on A Celebration of Science.

The first 25 pages have lots of photos of students, teachers, and "space tomatoes," along with great stories from the Seeds in Space saga. The remaining pages provide all of the data collected by the student researchers. Remember, the 1984-1991 version of Seeds in Space was a really big deal! Almost 300,000 students around the USA and 30 other countries participated.

Everyone here at Park Seed is eagerly awaiting the safe return of STS-118, the Endeavour, and the Cinnamon Basil seeds it contains--ready to be shared with a new generation of student scientists!

Share your past, present, or future Seeds in Space stories here--just email me at ckuhl@parkseed.com with your pictures and your thoughts.

Indianapolis Teacher Remembers "Seeds in Space"

With 10 million Cinnamon Basil seeds currently orbiting the Earth, this is a great time to look back over some of Park Seed Company's earlier "Seeds in Space" adventures. I was delighted to receive these great images and memories from Debbie Clark in Indianapolis, Indiana!

I taught for an Elementary School. I was the Enrichment Teacher who taught science. In my position, I was an Instructional Aide and not a certified teacher. My class was all hands-on learning. I had 30 classes a week, each for 45 minutes. Our school was looking for a way to get the kids excited about learning and we decided to put Aerospace into the curriculum.

There was a magnet school in Fort Wayne that already taught aerospace to elementary students, and they shared with our school their program. We also received help from a now-retired Professor in Aerospace Education at Purdue and from the Civil Air Patrol.

Our school started putting aerospace into reading, math, science etc. The kids loved it. My class went to nothing but aerospace education. My room was filled with models, pictures, robotics, space computer programs, and a full-size lunar base. Everything was designed for the kids to touch, feel and learn from. I also taught the Young Astronaut Program after school.

When I heard about the Tomato Seed Program, it had already ended and NASA already had published the results. The program was also designed for grades 5-9. I was able to still get a packet of the space-exposed seeds and the control seeds. I also had the NASA Activity Book, and we used that information, but at a level for Grades 1-5, not 5-9.

The seeds were planted in our school courtyard, and we grew them and observed their growth. Never found any mutations in the plants, and they grew just like they normally would. Most of the kids were hoping for some strange-looking tomato but it was interesting to know how long the seeds had been in space and how they got there and why it took longer to retrieve them. It was great history for the kids including learning about the Challenger accident. Our school had over 900 children that learned from those 2 packs of seeds.

I met Barbara Morgan years ago when I attended Space Camp for Educators in Huntsville, Alabama. She waited a very long time to get her chance to go to space.

I left teaching years ago, but still have an interest in the Space Program and like to keep up with what is going on. I have all of my old space materials and sometimes I still instruct Scouts or other groups. This year, I did a show-and-tell with the Master Gardeners and showed the seeds, books, a shuttle model, pictures of the LDEF and pictures of plants grown in space. This group is older people who never knew what NASA was doing or that plants could be grown in space. They were fascinated and want to learn more.

Share your own "Seeds in Space" memories by emailing me at ckuhl@parkseed.com. And sign up for the current space-seed opportunity, the Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber.

...5...4...3...2...1...BLAST OFF!!!!!!!!!!

 Shuttle launches are always exciting for those of us who grew up watching the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. But around Park Seed Company yesterday, we were all extra wound up about the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. You see, it's carrying 10 million or so of our best Cinnamon Basil seeds into outer space. When those seeds return, they will be distributed to teachers all across the country as part of NASA's education outreach programs.

Specifically, Park Seed is providing these seeds to be used in the Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber. Students from kindergarten through high school will have the opportunity to design and build (or even just buy) a plant growth chamber such as one might use in outer space to grow food and flowers. In fact, the shuttle is carrying two plant growth chambers to the International Space Station (ISS). These plant growth chambers were built by Orbitec and are part of a 20-day research project investigating seed germination in outer space conditions.  Of course, NASA doesn't expect the younger school kids to develop anything particularly elaborate. The idea is to spark interest in science and in space travel.

So where do the "space" seeds come into play? Well, once you've got a plant growth chamber, you need some plants to grow in it to test it out! The first 100,000 teachers who register for the program will receive a packet of Cinnamon Basil seed that flew on the STS-118 space shuttle mission and a control pack of seeds that have not flown. (We're keeping those safe and secure in our famous temperature- and humidity-controlled seed vault!) And in case  you are wondering, you cannot buy space seed--it's available only through NASA for educational use.

If you are a teacher, or have friends who are, please tell them about this exciting program, and urge them to link to NASA's "Join the Challenge" page to sign up soon. And for additional resources, including recipes and step-by-step instructions for growing Cinnamon Basil, check out the special "Seeds in Space" section of our Success with Seed site

I'd love to hear from teachers who get involved in this project. Please plan to share your stories and photos here! And if you were a teacher or student involved in prior "Seeds in Space" adventures, please share your memories here, as well. Just email me at ckuhl@parkseed.com. Happy landings! Roger, over, and out...

Before and After

During spring and summer , as I drive in the entrance to Park Seed every day, it seems like something new has grown, or the plants have become taller and more lush. I pulled out my photos from April, and you can really see the difference when you see these pictures side by side!

Before  (April 2007)

After (July 2007)

If you have before and after shots of your garden this year, send them to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com and I'll post them for all to enjoy!