A few years back the Kew Garden (absolute heaven for any gardener, stunning beautiful and an amazing collection of plants) started a program called the Millennium Seed Bank Project, where they are trying to save as many plants as they can. It is sad and alarming the amount of plant species we lose every year. Many of these are plants that we do not fully understand....like in the Medicine Man movie, these plants could hold the cure to cancer or other diseases, we could be destroying our own future.So part of Kew Garden's plan to save the plants is to offer people the chance to sponsor a plant species or a seed. The cost to sponsor a species runs from £1,000 to £2,000 ($1,600 to $3,200)but for only £25 ($40) you can sponsor a seed. Here are the details directly from their site
Adopt a Seed
Here's a selection of plants which are incredibly useful to humans, limited to only one habitat, endangered - or a combination of the three. Take them to your heart. Adopt them and find out more about the seeds and the work of the Millennium Seed Bank over the year. We'll thank you by sending an adoption pack which also makes a great gift. It includes an adoption certificate, a photograph of your plant or the habitat it survives in and more information about the Millennium Seed Bank partnership.
And if that isn't enough, you'll be helping to fund one of the most exciting and vital conservation projects the world has ever known.
They offer gift adoptions so that you can buy one for your favorite gardener as a gift and they will get this nifty "adoption" packet with information on the plant they have adopted. I would much rather have that then a dozen roses that will die in a week.....doing this I am helping keep a plant species alive for future generations, and I don't have to yell at my cats for trying to eat the leaves off my roses :D
That's a fantastic idea! We're having spring here where I am in Arizona. It's in the 70s and the grapevines and fruit trees are all getting their leaves. I worked in the garden today and picked a few roses from the bushes for in a vase inside. My husband is always smart about Valentine's. He brings me home a new houseplant--I can never get enough of them, they clean our air, cheer up our home, and give us a compatible balance of Co2 and O2, as well as a little humidity in this dry climate. Hope you ge something wonderfully alive for Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea! The perfect gift for those with a green thumb.
ReplyDeleteReally wonderful! Seeds and plants are the perfect Valentine's Day gift. I have an endangered and rare plant list for my area. I did purchase seeds of some of them. I've had luck with many of them. I've also rescued many native plants from a family owned property that's up for sale. Many endangered and rare plants worldwide can be saved by home gardeners. I totally agree there are cures to be found in the plant world!
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