Seed Savers
Seed Savers, acrylic on wood panel, 24” x 36”, 2024. SOLD
I garden because my mother gardens.
My mother gardens because her father gardened, and his people gardened, and their people gardened.
We come from a long line of east Mississippi dirt farmers.
My little garden, courtesy of husband Aaron and the Creekmore family line of east Mississippi :)
The beauty of Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm, located outside Decorah, Iowa, is feeling connected to everybody’s long line of dirt farmers. This nonprofit preserves over 20,000 varieties and seeds and their corresponding family histories, celebrating biodiversity and cultural diversity in one fell swoop.
It’s quite a place - nearly 900 acres of gorgeous farmland in Winneshiek County that the public can visit, support and become educated about participatory preservation of heirloom and open-pollinated seeds.
When Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy began saving seeds in 1975, they started with two of her grandfather’s heirloom varieties: Grandpa Ott’s Morning Glory and the German Pink Tomato. The pattern underneath Seed Savers is a tribute to those morning glory seeds.