|
 In Praise of Seed Catalogsby Carolyn Rahe Heirlooms and hybrids and herbs - oh my! The seed catalogs are coming in faster than I can go through them, so until I have time to settle into a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee and browse at my leisure, they’re stacked in a corner. Seed catalogs are just that: catalogs that sell garden seeds. About the time the Christmas catalogs stop appearing in the mailbox they are replaced by seed catalogs. For gardeners who’ve been cooped up inside all winter, these catalogs are the first signs of spring. For passionate gardeners like myself, they’re like the Christmas wish books we looked forward to as kids. The catalogs themselves have become works of art in their own right. Beautiful water colors of flowers, vegetable stands or farms grace the covers of some, while others have photography of tempting-looking fruits and vegetables dripping with dew. Over the years I find myself looking forward to seeing what “Shepherd’s”, “Irish Eyes” or “R.H. Shumway’s” will come up with each year - and each year they seem to get better. But inside the covers is what makes the gardener’s heart quiver. Descriptions like, “This is one of the secret stars of the garden.” “The mature fruits of these beautiful, wonderfully productive plants are a gorgeous, vivid, deep orange that absolutely glows! “ Or how could anyone not want a potato called ‘Rose Finn Apple’ - “a pale buff-colored skin with a slight rosey blush and rich yellow flesh that seems preternaturally moist. These luscious, mouthwatering tubers are delicious any way you prepare them but are perhaps best enjoyed baked in a cast-iron skillet with a bit of good olive oil, some coarse sea salt, and a few sage leaves. The big, rambunctious vines are heavy yielders.” With descriptions like that it’s hard to just “flip through” the catalogs. Along with the tantalizing descriptions the pages are also filled with gorgeous drawings and paintings. The Cook’s Garden Catalog uses woodcut prints by Mary Azarian. Her hand-painted prints and art books are also sold in their seed catalog. R.H. Shumway’s is a seed company that was established in 1870, and the drawings and catalog all have a classic Americana look. Another, Shepard’s Garden Seeds is also filled with beautiful water-colors of almost every plant of which they sell seeds. But the real reason for buying seeds through catalogs is by far and away, the selection. Every color, shape, pattern, and flavor is available in more varieties than you ever dreamed of. Lettuces that are speckled, frilled, oak-leafed, crimson, cold-hearty, heat-tolerant, drought-resistant, drought-loving - whatever you’re looking for can be found.
Okay, so I’m a fanatic. Perhaps you are too if you’re still reading. But the seed companies go to a lot of much-appreciated trouble to appeal to people like us. One day the seed catalogs that I’ve secretly been unable to part with may be valuable collector’s items and I’ll be happy I have some hidden away in a trunk. Or maybe some day a friend will be over and ask if I have a seed catalog I can spare. I’ll warn her though, that if she ever orders from one seed catalog she will never have to ask for another seed catalog again. They will find her.
For the catalogs mentioned, check out |
All Feature Articles, artwork and photographs ©2001 by Dervish Design. Some information on the 'County Info' pages is taken directly from brochures published by Visitors Bureaus and Chambers of Commerce.
Some catalogs specialize in one type of plant. The Cook’s Garden is my favorite place to go for lettuces and greens, with every leaf imaginable, and great mixes like, “cutting mix”, “mesclun mixes”, and “summer mixes”. These let you get a good combination of salad greens without having to buy each individual seed packet. Totally Tomatoes has over 250 varieties of tomatoes to choose from, and If it’s beans you’re looking for Vermont Bean Seed Company has more varieties than you ever imagined existed. They sell my all time favorite bean “Dragon Tongue”. Here’s my personal review: pale green with bright purple stripes, always tender and buttery flavored, never stringy no matter how overgrown they get, and the best producers I’ve ever seen in a bean. 