The Outside

This morning my boss brought this gem into work. Seed Bombs by DuneCraft. They’re little balls of clay and who knows what else mixed with what this (American) company has deemed a “native perennial mix” of seeds.

At first I thought, awesome! But no, in reality, it’s a mishmash of primarily weedy European wildflowers, at least one of which (dame’s rocket, Hesperis matronalis) is listed as a noxious weed/banned in a few states here in the US. So uh, Hobby Lobbys of Connecticut, Colorado, and Massachusetts, hope you’re not selling these.

Below is a table showing the nativity of these species. I deemed “native” as hailing from the Midwest because that’s where the seed bombs were purchased (Illinois) and where viability testing was done (Ohio). But really, there’s nowhere in the world I would recommend using this product except perhaps indoors, as a demonstration of seed germination (they have a nice timelapse video on their website).

I am all for native wildflowers, habitat restoration, and gardening/landscaping with native plants. It’s what I do! And I am sure that the lack of proper seed sources for native landscaping sold at big box retailers is not likely to go away soon. But man, is this product misleading. If you do want to use native plants in your landscape, search the web for a native plant nursery near you (or if you have any questions send me a message!).