Diane's Garden Collection
Item Details
Item Details
Grandma Einck's Dill
Iowa heirloom grown near Festina, Iowa since 1920 by Katherine Einck’s family (Diane Ott Whealy’s grandmother). Large fragrant heads and abundant long-lasting foliage. Great for canning or fresh use. Germination is erratic, so please be patient.
- Organic
- Self-seeding annual plant
- Plants grow to 24 inches tall with yellow flowers
- Strong aroma and large flower heads
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
- Dried seeds
Spider Flower Mix
(aka Cleome) Introduced from the West Indies to England in 1817. Airy blossoms in a mix of rose, pink, purple, and white. Flowers are followed by narrow 4-5" intriguing seedpods which resemble spider legs. Moderately thorny stems. Very easy to maintain.
- Conventional
- Self-seeding, half-hardy annual plants grow to 3-4 feet tall
- Pink, purple, and white flowers
- Thorny stems like a rose bush
- Great as a cut flower or in ornamental plantings
Hopi Red Dye Amaranth
A commanding presence in the garden, this heirloom amaranth grows 4½-6' tall with a showy display of dark purple-green leaves, solid purple stems, and long, draping deep purple-red inflorescences. Used for dye or as an ornamental, it comes to Seed Savers Exchange through Native Seeds/SEARCH, which notes this variety was collected in the lower area of Moenkopi, Arizona. The Hopi people make a natural scarlet food dye from the flower bracts to color piki bread. It flowers in mid-to-late-June at our Heritage Farm headquarters in northeast Iowa.
- Organic
- From the Collection
- Stunning ornamental
- Grows 4 1/2-6' tall
Australian Yellowleaf Lettuce
Australian variety from our friends at Digger’s Club near Melbourne. Very tender texture. Unique chartreuse color. Slow to bolt, large plants.
- 50 days
- ±23,000 seeds/oz
- Conventional
- Looseleaf and cut-and-come again
- Australian heirloom
- Chartreuse leaves
- Slow to bolt
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
Aurora Pepper
Stunning 1½" long fruits borne on foot-high ornamental plants, perfect for container growing. Fruits ripen from lavender to deep purple to orange and finally to red.
- 60-75 days from transplant
- Organic
- Medium hot pepper
- Colorful fruits grow to 1-2 inches
- Plants grow to 12 inches
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
- Salsa
- Pickling
Love-in-a-Mist "Miss Jekyll"
First appeared in England around 1570. Some very imaginative folk names include Love-Entangle and Jack-in-Prison. Intriguing striped seedpods dry well. It is hard to resist popping the seedpods when they are green because they pop like little balloons!
- Conventional
- Self-seeding, annual plants grow to 18-24 inches tall
- Blossoms are soft blue
- Tolerates dry weather
- Great as a cut flower
Scarlet Kale
Remarkably attractive dark green kale with red veined, frilly, tightly curled leaves. A vigorous performer with good cold tolerance. Leaves darken to deep scarlet in late season. Begin harvesting leaves when young, and allow plant to grow well into the early winter.
- 60 days from transplant
- ±11,000 seeds/oz
- Conventional
- Plant grows to 24-36 inches
- Leaves spread to 24 inches
- Red veined, tightly curled purple leaves
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
- Steaming
- Stir-fries
- Baking
- Soups
- Freezing
Designed and planted each year by our co-founder, Diane Ott Whealy, this garden, to the south of the barn, displays a variety of plants from our collection. Collection contains one packet of each variety:
- Grandma Einck's Dill
- Scarlet Kale
- Hopi Red Dye Amaranth
- Australian Yellowleaf Lettuce
- Aurora Pepper
- Love-in-a-Mist “Miss Jekyll”
Please note: In the event of a seed packet shortage, we will substitute a variety. Rest assured—you're still getting six great varieties!