January is the time when gardeners curl up with seed catalogues and fantasize about the prefect garden. A friend gave me the most beautiful catalogue I’ve ever seen, Landreth Seed Catalogue. Landreth’s was founded in 1784 and specializes in heirloom seeds.Unlike most catalogues which arrive unsolicited in our mailboxes, this is one you have to buy, but it is a work of art and definitely worth the $5.00. From the catalogue:
Tomatillos, Chinese lanternsI don’t grow as much from seed as I once did. For one thing, my garden is so over-planted, there’s no room for new plantings. But as long as I’m capable of gardening I will grow some things from seed. There is something so magical about putting this tiny little speck in the ground (or in a pot) and seeing it turn into a gorgeous head of lettuce or a spectacular larkspur.
A tip for new gardeners: grow annuals (cosmos, zinnia, larkspur, and cleome are among the easiest) and grow salad greens from seed. Never buy over-priced super market arugula; it grows like a weed, by far the easiest salad green to grow. But buy perennials from the garden centers; perennials are so much harder to grow from seed.
The gardening season will be here before we know it!
Oh, glory, seed porn! Garden crack! I'm sold.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had a garden years ago February was my month for long evenings going over and over catalogues, gazing longingly at seeds and shrubs that promised to create a paradise in our bilevel back yard (a few came pretty close). The catalogues were satisfying in themselves and for the future they crafted in my imagining. I moved before online ordering was possible, and though I'm a happy ebook reader, I doubt that photos online could match the wonderful feeling of paging through gardens-to-be. Thanks for a fun foretaste of spring!
ReplyDeleteI agree there's nothing like a catalogue you can hold in your hands, but for those who would rather not pay 5.00, there are some gorgeous photos at the Landreth's online site.
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