The time-honored tradition of saving seeds merges botany, history, observation, and experience. On Thursday, October 15, from 7 – 8:30 in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum, Lee Buttala, editor of The Seed Garden, by the Seed Savers Exchange, will provide an overview of plant reproduction and pollination, how to preserve varietal traits, and the many reasons for saving seeds from your favorite heirloom and open-pollinated plants. Even if you don’t have seeds to save, Lee will help you understand the origin of that heirloom tomato that you picked up at the farmers market and share knowledge that has been passed down through generations by farmers and home gardeners for preserving the plants that sustain us. Lee Buttala is an Emmy Award–winning television producer of Martha Stewart Living and was the creator, producer, and director of Cultivating Life, a PBS series on outdoor living and gardening. He has written for The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, New York, and Metropolitan Home. He also served as the preservation program manager for the Garden Conservancy and has studied garden design at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, the Chelsea Physic Garden, and the New York Botanical Garden. Free for Arboretum members, $5 nonmembers. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.
