Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging!
Vol. 12.04
It’s the dead of winter and once again we find ourselves inundated with a colorful assortment of Spring seed, bulb, and plant catalogs arriving in the mail in earnest. Some are impressive glossy-paged mini-magazines with glorious digital photography while others are nothing more than scrappy leaflets on newspaper stock with small artist’s renderings and even finer print. Whatever the style of presentation we find ourselves combing through the pages looking for the latest “must have” while compiling wish list after wish list after wish list. Browsing catalogs and placing orders is the gardener’s annual Rite of Spring and helps us focus on the seasons ahead and encourages us to once again begin planning our gardens and landscapes.
While the catalogs are fun to peruse and helpful for making selections anymore I place all my orders on-line at their various websites. Most still have order forms included in the catalog as well as phone numbers but ordering on-line is just so quick and convenient. Plus after placing an order they typically send a confirmation e-mail that really comes in handy come March and April when you’re trying to remember what the heck it was you purchased way back in January!
Join me below as I share some of the sources I use for seeds, bulbs, and live plants. I mostly order flower seeds and landscape plants so I ask those of you who are knowledgeable about vegetable seeds, shrubs, and trees to please share your experience and sources with us in the comments.
Seeds!
The flowers in the photo above began as seeds ordered from Park Seed. I’ve ordered countless seeds from them over the years but the salmon four o'clocks have been by far the most successful. I simply adore their bountiful blooms and heavenly fragrance.
Other sources for seeds I’ve used include:
Wildseed Farms
I order wildflower seeds from Wildseed Farms almost every year. They have a wide selection of wild and flower garden seeds. Their website offers helpful tips and pointers for sowing seeds, care of seedlings, and maintaining flowers. I’ve had success with a variety of their seeds but have learned that when it comes to wildflowers two things are of equal importance; rain and patience!
Native American Seed
If you’re looking for wildflower seeds, native grasses, or conservation information then Native American Seed is a wonderful place to start.
I admire the effort Native American Seed (NAS) is making to inform people about the importance of conservation and care of our native environment. Their dedication to reestablishing thriving ecosystems goes beyond just selling seeds and grasses. The educational work they’re doing is vital in these challenging times. From their website:
A Choice for the Future As we come to know more about the interdependence of all life, we understand more and more how important it is to make intelligent choices about how we use the precious resources of nature.
I’ve been ordering seeds from NAS for a few years now to sow in the nearby meadows. Success has been hit or miss depending on the soil conditions and the weather but again, patience is key. Last year I ordered the fascinating American basketflower for the first time. I didn’t get a lot of blooms but I’m hoping more will show up this year.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Frankenoid turned me on to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I’ve come to love their selection and I appreciate their goal of reintroducing seed varieties that have been lost to time and changing tastes. Last year I ordered baby blue morning glories and white four o’clocks. Earlier this week I placed an order for rare Japanese morning glory seeds. I also tried to order the magnificently vibrant orange four o'clocks which are new this year but unfortunately they’re already sold out. Apparently this old bird wasn’t early enough to get that particular worm so keep that in mind if you plan on delaying any orders!
Swallowtail Garden Seeds
I didn’t even know Swallowtail Garden Seeds existed until LIcenter told us about them a few weeks ago. I checked out their website and found all sorts of things I’d never seen before so of course I promptly dropped $50 on an impulse order. I’m sending LIcenter the bill and a “thank you” note for encouraging me to throw budgetary concerns out the window. It didn’t help that they had these unusual beauties available:
Like I mentioned, I order a lot of seeds. For me, it’s the least expensive way to try new things. The success rate isn’t always the greatest but then again, as a gardener that’s nothing new! Most seeds companies are able to process and mail your order in a timely fashion because they’re not as concerned about regional climate zones as companies that ship live plants are. I’ve never experienced any difficulties in receiving my seed orders within a week or two.
Bulbs!
Occasionally I will order bulbs. I planted a few dozen blue anemones bulbs in the Fall of 2014 but can’t remember where I placed the order! Many of them sprouted and bloomed last spring and I’m hoping they come back better and stronger this year.
High Country Gardens has a variety of anemone and other bulbs available. This is a source that Frankie recommended often.
Most of the sources listed below sell both bulbs and live plants.
Michigan Bulb Co.
One of the more attractive catalogs I receive in the dead of winter is from Michigan Bulb Co. This is the first year I’ve ever ordered anything from them so I’m unable to share much about the experience so far. Like most sources that sell bulbs or live plants they delay shipping based on your climate zone. My order won’t ship until late February or early March. This is crucial for me because our season starts earlier than in many other parts of the country. If I’m forced to wait too long for bulbs or live plants it diminishes the success I’ll have transplanting them because by May it can be too hot already.
I’d been eyeballing these black and gold lilies for a couple of years now. Michigan Bulb Co. has them on sale for 50% off through the end of the month so I bit the bullet and ordered them for my neighbor. I’m going to mix them in with the yellow daylilies from Plant Delights that I planted for her last year. I also ordered Commander in Chief lilies to mix in with my orange ditch lilies. It should make for a striking combination if they bloom at the same time.
Another plant I ordered is the serene Samaritan Jo clematis and I can’t wait until it arrives!
Live Plants!
Nothing beats having plants arrive at your door already growing and waiting to be stuck in the ground. Every Spring I purchase a smattering of live plants from a couple of on-line sources and over the years I’ve learned to be careful about what I order. The first thing I double check is to make sure the plant is appropriate for my climate zone. The catalogs are chock full of amazing plants that I would love to have but they just don’t survive the heat of our brutal Texas summers. The next thing I check is whether the plant is being sold “bare root” or “potted.” This is a very important consideration for me because I’ve had minimal success in planting bare root plants and thus avoid them. However, it’s more a factor of my challenging soil conditions and semi-arid climate than anything else. The last thing I check (other than price!) is the shipping date. As I mentioned above, if the shipping date is delayed too long into late Spring or early Summer it can have a negative impact on the success of transplanting. By the time many of you finally begin digging in the dirt I’m already mostly done for the season!
One thing I started doing with live plants is an intermediate, temporary transplant into a pot before finally planting them in the ground. This gives the roots time to grow and strengthen as well as allow the plant more time to acclimate to zone 8B. So far it has worked really well and has noticeably cut down on the number of failures.
Below is the primary source I’ve used for ordering live plants:
Plants Delights Nursery
With few exceptions, I want at least one of everything they sell. It has taken tremendous willpower and resolve to keep my wish list at Plants Delights to a manageable and realistic minimum. Their plants are reliably healthy, well-potted, carefully packaged, and ship in a timely manner for my zone.
The plants I order are not intended to be the native backbone of my garden but instead I’m looking for the rare or unusual plant that may be just the perfect choice for a special spot or something interesting and unexpected to shake things up. I’ve only been ordering from them for a couple of years now so I’m still waiting to see how things go before giving a more thorough evaluation. But so far my Afghan fig, giant fennel, white Mexican bush sage, and wonderfully unique white lion's tail among a few others all seem to be doing quite well.
White Flower Farm
This is a new source for me but they come highly recommended by Missys Brother. They offer an incredible selection of clematis so it’s very likely I’ll give them a try. There are at least three varieties I’d like to have but I need to make sure I have room for more vines first! I’ll definitely be ordering the sapphire indigo and recta purpurea as they are non-climbing bush clematis.
Bluestone Perennials
kishik told me about Bluestone Perennials and they also have a wide variety of clematis available. What really caught my eye though is summer glow agastache which immediately made my wish list. I’ve realized that agastache does well here so I’m exploring adding more varieties to the garden.
Rare Find Nursery
leu2500 mentioned Rare Find Nursery in the comments. I’ve already found a couple of items on their website that I’ve been searching for. And another wish list is born!
There are countless other sources available so please join in and share your favorites with us whether they are for seeds, bulbs, plants, vegetables, shrubs, or trees. If you have any additional tips about ordering from catalogs or on-line please include that information as well.
Thanks!