Buy From Gardeners

Consider buying seeds and plants from people who understand gardening... other gardeners.

More gardening catalogs are arriving every day. Some are good, some are great, and some are to be avoided. I've ordered from catalogs and online sites for years; I also buy from great local nurseries, but they are small and I often look for new plants that can't be found locally. Many of my catalog purchases were selected based only on photos and plant descriptions because the companies were unknown or unfamiliar and I placed orders as a way to gauge the quality of the products. I've learned a few things about gardening catalogs as a result.

You can often feel the gardening passion of the growers through the words in a catalog, or not. It took me awhile to figure that out. Getting quality products is more than pretty pictures and low prices. My experience is that the best products usually cost a little more because the growers are gardeners who take extra time and make extra effort to grow quality plants.

Some of my worst experiences were purchases from "Burgess Seed & Plant Co." that I made years ago, before I became a Master Gardener. I received their new catalog a few days ago and read through it as a comparison to better catalogs I now have. The Burgess catalog is basically a laundry list of inexpensive seeds and plants with colorful pictures. There is very little information about proper planting methods and nothing about where or how they grow their products. Most of the plants I received from them arrived as a bundle, inside waterlogged plastic bags, and were in terrible condition; very few survived.

Contrast that experience with some of my best from "High Country Gardens." HGH identifies every plant in the catalog with sun and water requirements, soil preferences, and often a history of the cultivar. They explain who they are, where they are, and how they grow their products. Plants I received from them were planted individually in over-size pots, in plastic sleeves, inside protective plastic clamshells, divided by cardboard, in a sturdy box. Every plant arrived intact and in great shape. Survival rate was very high. The gardeners at High Country Gardens ship great plants.

I'm looking forward to my new purchases from "Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds", a new discovery that I wrote about a few weeks ago. They spend two very large pages of the catalog explaining who they are, where they are, and how they grow. They're gardeners.

A new catalog I ordered shows great promise. "Territorial Seed Company" also uses two pages of their catalog explaining who they are. They take pride in telling how they plant and pot transplants for quality. The best features of their catalog are lengthy growing instructions for every type of seed and plant. Their descriptions of proper culture, insect and pest concerns, and harvest methods are better than many gardening books I own. They're gardeners too.

Buying plants from local nurseries is usually better than buying from a big box store. At the big store you only have a small plant tag to identify the requirements for planting. The employees are rarely knowledgeable enough for moderate questions and may not even be gardeners. At a local nursery you can usually talk to the person who actually planted the seeds and fertilized the plants. They're gardeners who know the plants and can help you make appropriate choices for your garden.

It comes down to quality. Gardeners have a passion to grow, and grow well. Major retailers, through stores or catalogs, are out to make a buck through quantity sales and the gardening passion is often lost. When given a choice between a plant grown by a gardener and a similar one from an unknown source, I prefer to choose the one grown by someone with similar gardening thoughts as me. The extra care and attention from a gardener usually produces a better plant.

I do buy from major retailers. For generic annuals, I can save money at a big garden center; the quality of those plants aren't as important to me because they are short-lived. It's also better to see and feel a new plant purchase as compared to an unknown selection from a catalog. For some common, proven cultivars of various vegetables, I've found that the garden centers provide good plants, especially when they buy from a local or regional grower (a question you should ask). I usually know about the plants I'm buying and can determine for myself if the quality is good enough, without having to ask a clueless clerk.

But when it comes to uncommon plants, I turn to nurseries and catalogs. And I select catalogs that use real gardeners. High Country Gardens offers plants that do well in my semi-arid, mountain garden, but that I can't find locally. The other good catalogs mentioned above offer seeds that are unique.

When you're looking for new seeds and plants, look for the gardener behind them. If the catalog blatantly leaves out any description of who they are, you're at risk of receiving inferior plants. If the store sells a plant with no one knowledgeable to discuss it, you may be selecting the wrong plant for your garden. Proper plant selection requires a little research and experienced gardeners can help.

As I read through catalogs selecting the plants for this year's garden, I'm aware of the person, the gardener, who wants me to succeed. They've put their passion into the seeds and plants. That little extra attention and positive energy deserves a place in my garden.

Consider buying seeds and plants from people who understand gardening... other gardeners.

More gardening catalogs are arriving every day. Some are good, some are great, and some are to be avoided. I've ordered from catalogs and online sites for years; I also buy from great local nurseries, but they are small and I often look for new plants that can't be found locally. Many of my catalog purchases were selected based only on photos and plant descriptions because the companies were unknown or unfamiliar and I placed orders as a way to gauge the quality of the products. I've learned a few things about gardening catalogs as a result.

You can often feel the gardening passion of the growers through the words in a catalog, or not. It took me awhile to figure that out. Getting quality products is more than pretty pictures and low prices. My experience is that the best products usually cost a little more because the growers are gardeners who take extra time and make extra effort to grow quality plants.

Some of my worst experiences were purchases from "Burgess Seed & Plant Co." that I made years ago, before I became a Master Gardener. I received their new catalog a few days ago and read through it as a comparison to better catalogs I now have. The Burgess catalog is basically a laundry list of inexpensive seeds and plants with colorful pictures. There is very little information about proper planting methods and nothing about where or how they grow their products. Most of the plants I received from them arrived as a bundle, inside waterlogged plastic bags, and were in terrible condition; very few survived.

Contrast that experience with some of my best from "High Country Gardens." HGH identifies every plant in the catalog with sun and water requirements, soil preferences, and often a history of the cultivar. They explain who they are, where they are, and how they grow their products. Plants I received from them were planted individually in over-size pots, in plastic sleeves, inside protective plastic clamshells, divided by cardboard, in a sturdy box. Every plant arrived intact and in great shape. Survival rate was very high. The gardeners at High Country Gardens ship great plants.

I'm looking forward to my new purchases from "Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds", a new discovery that I wrote about a few weeks ago. They spend two very large pages of the catalog explaining who they are, where they are, and how they grow. They're gardeners.

A new catalog I ordered shows great promise. "Territorial Seed Company" also uses two pages of their catalog explaining who they are. They take pride in telling how they plant and pot transplants for quality. The best features of their catalog are lengthy growing instructions for every type of seed and plant. Their descriptions of proper culture, insect and pest concerns, and harvest methods are better than many gardening books I own. They're gardeners too.

Buying plants from local nurseries is usually better than buying from a big box store. At the big store you only have a small plant tag to identify the requirements for planting. The employees are rarely knowledgeable enough for moderate questions and may not even be gardeners. At a local nursery you can usually talk to the person who actually planted the seeds and fertilized the plants. They're gardeners who know the plants and can help you make appropriate choices for your garden.

It comes down to quality. Gardeners have a passion to grow, and grow well. Major retailers, through stores or catalogs, are out to make a buck through quantity sales and the gardening passion is often lost. When given a choice between a plant grown by a gardener and a similar one from an unknown source, I prefer to choose the one grown by someone with similar gardening thoughts as me. The extra care and attention from a gardener usually produces a better plant.

I do buy from major retailers. For generic annuals, I can save money at a big garden center; the quality of those plants aren't as important to me because they are short-lived. It's also better to see and feel a new plant purchase as compared to an unknown selection from a catalog. For some common, proven cultivars of various vegetables, I've found that the garden centers provide good plants, especially when they buy from a local or regional grower (a question you should ask). I usually know about the plants I'm buying and can determine for myself if the quality is good enough, without having to ask a clueless clerk.

But when it comes to uncommon plants, I turn to nurseries and catalogs. And I select catalogs that use real gardeners. High Country Gardens offers plants that do well in my semi-arid, mountain garden, but that I can't find locally. The other good catalogs mentioned above offer seeds that are unique.

When you're looking for new seeds and plants, look for the gardener behind them. If the catalog blatantly leaves out any description of who they are, you're at risk of receiving inferior plants. If the store sells a plant with no one knowledgeable to discuss it, you may be selecting the wrong plant for your garden. Proper plant selection requires a little research and experienced gardeners can help.

As I read through catalogs selecting the plants for this year's garden, I'm aware of the person, the gardener, who wants me to succeed. They've put their passion into the seeds and plants. That little extra attention and positive energy deserves a place in my garden.