The New Catalog Is Here! The New Catalog Is Here!

Spring is just around the corner. A couple days ago I received the first gardening catalog of the new year, and it isn't even the new year yet. They seem to arrive earlier and earlier every year, a little like Christmas items being sold in stores before Halloween. I was mildly surprised to see it in the stack of mail.

It is from one of my favorite nurseries, High Country Gardens. I've had the pleasure of visiting their store in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and have ordered plants from their catalog for years. Their shipping methods are among the best in the industry and I'm always satisfied with their plants. Unlike many online nurseries, they allow you to select the shipping date of your plants to match your plans and the planting zone of your gardens.

Many nurseries assume they know what's best for you. Last year I ordered hundreds of dollars of bulbs from K. Van Bourgondien & Sons, a company that specializes in bulbs of many types. Their website says: "...we will ship at the proper planting time." Though my zip code rests in USDA Zone 5, my gardens are more appropriately Zone 4. The bulbs were in fair condition, but arrived more than a month before the frozen soil could even be worked.  Our spring warming was slow in coming and it was almost two months before the new beds were ready. I tried to store them in as stable an area as possible, my garage, but some dried out, some rotted, some sprouted before planting, and some failed to grow after planting. Their definition of "proper planting time" didn't match mine.

Be careful when ordering from a company that assumes what is proper for you. Every garden is different and your experience is most important in determining when the proper time is. There are many gardeners with gardens in an average zone and letting others decide planting times may not be catastrophic, but if you grow in unique areas and micro-climates within your garden you should be the one deciding what is best.

Also, in an effort to entice your purchase, nurseries and plant distributors pull out all of the stops to hook you. High Country Gardens is offering free shipping on orders of $100 or more; that's a savings of about 25%. The catch is that it's only good through January 2, 2011. I called them to confirm that you can still choose your delivery date, but the order needs to be placed very soon. Last year K. Van Bourgondien offered similar savings for orders before mid February. Some of us are already thinking about new plants for next year, but having to make a decision by early January may be too early for many of us.

Some times a good deal makes us act a little too hasty. As they intended, I'm ready to order right away to save some money. It's difficult to interrupt the euphoria of a new gardening catalog by putting the brakes on and deciding to wait, but that is often best.

I'm always encouraging gardeners to plan ahead and think about future plantings. Gardening catalogs are a great tool for getting new ideas and developing new plans. But it can be like shopping in a specialty chocolate shop -- everything looks good and it seems like a good idea to buy one of everything. Resist that impulse.

More catalogs will arrive soon. Lay back in your chair or curl up on the sofa as the temperature drops outside and look through them. Compare prices. Jot down the names of new plants that sound intriguing. Research water, sun, and fertilizer needs of new plants. Draw out your garden on a piece of paper and determine where new plants will go. Only when you have a good idea of what you really need and when you really need them should you place an order.

By taking your time and thinking about your gardening goals you can save money by not making impulse purchases of plants you really don't need. By checking out the shipping policies of a nursery you can save time, money, and dissatisfaction by not receiving plants too early. By knowing the best garden location for a plant, you can improve its likelihood of success.

Make your plant buying decisions educated ones. Will I order plants before January 2nd for delivery in May? Maybe. I know that I have a space specifically laid out for Penstemon and Agastache, plants that High Country Gardens specialize in, but I still have more research to do to select the best plants. If I can do that in time to benefit from promotional savings I'll take advantage of it. If not, I'll wait. There will always be more catalogs with more bargains.

Spring is just around the corner. A couple days ago I received the first gardening catalog of the new year, and it isn't even the new year yet. They seem to arrive earlier and earlier every year, a little like Christmas items being sold in stores before Halloween. I was mildly surprised to see it in the stack of mail.

It is from one of my favorite nurseries, High Country Gardens. I've had the pleasure of visiting their store in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and have ordered plants from their catalog for years. Their shipping methods are among the best in the industry and I'm always satisfied with their plants. Unlike many online nurseries, they allow you to select the shipping date of your plants to match your plans and the planting zone of your gardens.

Many nurseries assume they know what's best for you. Last year I ordered hundreds of dollars of bulbs from K. Van Bourgondien & Sons, a company that specializes in bulbs of many types. Their website says: "...we will ship at the proper planting time." Though my zip code rests in USDA Zone 5, my gardens are more appropriately Zone 4. The bulbs were in fair condition, but arrived more than a month before the frozen soil could even be worked.  Our spring warming was slow in coming and it was almost two months before the new beds were ready. I tried to store them in as stable an area as possible, my garage, but some dried out, some rotted, some sprouted before planting, and some failed to grow after planting. Their definition of "proper planting time" didn't match mine.

Be careful when ordering from a company that assumes what is proper for you. Every garden is different and your experience is most important in determining when the proper time is. There are many gardeners with gardens in an average zone and letting others decide planting times may not be catastrophic, but if you grow in unique areas and micro-climates within your garden you should be the one deciding what is best.

Also, in an effort to entice your purchase, nurseries and plant distributors pull out all of the stops to hook you. High Country Gardens is offering free shipping on orders of $100 or more; that's a savings of about 25%. The catch is that it's only good through January 2, 2011. I called them to confirm that you can still choose your delivery date, but the order needs to be placed very soon. Last year K. Van Bourgondien offered similar savings for orders before mid February. Some of us are already thinking about new plants for next year, but having to make a decision by early January may be too early for many of us.

Some times a good deal makes us act a little too hasty. As they intended, I'm ready to order right away to save some money. It's difficult to interrupt the euphoria of a new gardening catalog by putting the brakes on and deciding to wait, but that is often best.

I'm always encouraging gardeners to plan ahead and think about future plantings. Gardening catalogs are a great tool for getting new ideas and developing new plans. But it can be like shopping in a specialty chocolate shop -- everything looks good and it seems like a good idea to buy one of everything. Resist that impulse.

More catalogs will arrive soon. Lay back in your chair or curl up on the sofa as the temperature drops outside and look through them. Compare prices. Jot down the names of new plants that sound intriguing. Research water, sun, and fertilizer needs of new plants. Draw out your garden on a piece of paper and determine where new plants will go. Only when you have a good idea of what you really need and when you really need them should you place an order.

By taking your time and thinking about your gardening goals you can save money by not making impulse purchases of plants you really don't need. By checking out the shipping policies of a nursery you can save time, money, and dissatisfaction by not receiving plants too early. By knowing the best garden location for a plant, you can improve its likelihood of success.

Make your plant buying decisions educated ones. Will I order plants before January 2nd for delivery in May? Maybe. I know that I have a space specifically laid out for Penstemon and Agastache, plants that High Country Gardens specialize in, but I still have more research to do to select the best plants. If I can do that in time to benefit from promotional savings I'll take advantage of it. If not, I'll wait. There will always be more catalogs with more bargains.