Every year around this time the plant and seed catalogs start arriving like lifesavers, thrown out from the garden-planning gods to those of us struggling through winter, no matter how benign or nasty. Mom recently received the Burpee’s catalog, but since she gets most of her seeds locally, she let me take it and peruse the colorful photos and pages. I’m not big on seeds – our short growing season in Zone 4/5/6a allows for limited options, particularly regarding vegetables and fruit – so if I’m doing any of that I simply go out and purchase starter plants which have already been hardened off. Saves time and effort (and an elaborate seed-starting set-up), and worth the extra bit of money. It also allows for a more precise number of plants – with seeds I tend to either get feast or famine, with hundreds of seedlings or none at all.
These catalogs, coming as they do when many of us are garden-hungry (well, starving), are mostly just inspirational guides for me. Occasionally, for more rare plants, I will order a seed packet and try it out, but I’ve had much success. I only bother with direct sowing anyway, and maybe that’s my problem. My Mom can work wonders with seeds, as could my Dad when he was alive. Perhaps this year I will learn some patience and try again.
