Gorgeous grains: I’m currently captivated by thoughts of gorgeous grains and grain-like annuals adding drama to my upcoming garden, and at the same time potentially feeding me and my beloved bird friends. Sarah Kleeger, of Adaptive Seeds in Oregon, has a passion for these dual-purpose, edible ornamentals like sorghum, millet, amaranth, and more. 

Sarah Kleeger, with Andrew Still, founded Adaptive Seeds in 2009 as a farm-based, organic seed company where they grow and harvest more than 80 percent of the seed they sell, including a gorgeous assortment of grains and grain-like annuals that were the subject of our conversation.

We talked about high-yielding and statuesque sorghum—perfect for porridge or even popcorn-style—and amaranths in a range of colors, plus flowering oil-seed crops like sunflowers, poppy seed, Camelina, and flax. We even got into some hints on cover-cropping for soil-building. 

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