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The Seedkeeper – A tiny pot with purpose

Have you spotted these unique, colourful ceramic vessels in the shop at HCP?

Their maker is Saanich potter Terrice Bassler, who calls them Seedkeepers. She crafts one after another of this rounded, almost-closed stoneware form on the wheel in her Cordova Bay home studio.

"I owe my inspiration to a ceramics residency long ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico," Terrice recalls. "It was love at first sight when I discovered the beauty and story of traditional seed pots made and used in the Pueblos there."

Across the desert and mountains of the Southwest, a handmade earthenware seed pot was a way to store collected seeds for a future planting season, commonly corn, beans or squash. The pot design was centered around a hole opening large enough to pass one or more seeds through and small enough to help protect the contents from insects or rodents. Some users added a plug. The vessel exterior was decorated using natural pigment designs or etching details, said to symbolize the keepers' hopes and prayers for future growth, life and prosperity.

Early seed pots were fired to retain a dry, porous dark interior that was optimal for seed preservation. When time came to plant, the clay container was smashed open. Broken shards of these vessels account for many of the pottery findings at ancient sites in the Southwest region.

Fast forward to the 21 st century, and authentic seed pots handcrafted by Pueblo artisans are collectors' items, much too exquisitely designed and costly for intentional breaking. Terrice describes herself as a modern-day potter and keen gardener. "What I've enjoyed about creating the Seedkeepers is how the form, function and spirit of traditional pottery can be revived for contemporary use and colourful design. I love imagining someone choosing just the right personal vessel for a home garden shed, as well as gifting a pot of cherished seeds to a loved one."

As a relative newcomer to life and gardening on Vancouver Island, Terrice wondered about the historic and indigenous seed storage traditions hereabouts. So, she did some digging. Sources shared by anthropologist Dr. Brian Thom at the University of Victoria provided context, confirming that the first peoples of Coast Salish likely relied on collecting native plant bulbs (especially camas), berries and nuts for food sources. Potato planting with tubers and seed crops came later, after first contact and via settlers who may have been transplanting their garden traditions. It's no surprise that seed pots weren't widely known or used here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seedkeepers at HCP honour an indigenous tradition from elsewhere on Turtle Island (North America).

"To me," says Terrice, "These tiny pots seem fit for purpose and full of relevant meaning in today's diverse local gardens, where we seek to seed and grow planting practices that contribute to the nourishment and well-being of Mother Earth, humans and more-than-human creatures."

Learn more about Terrice Bassler's ceramics by following @potterywithpurpose on Instagram or at www.potterywithpurpose.com. Her Spring Summer 2026 collection of Seedkeepers is available for purchase in the shop at The Gardens of the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific (HCP).