Sunday, December 30

It came in the mail

Most gardeners prefer purchasing plant material from local nurseries. Like other consumers, we enjoy seeing what we're buying. But the fact is, no matter how large any given facility may be, it can't begin to carry every single variety of every single plant.

That's where specialty garden catalogs come in. Besides being a source for the 'latest and the greatest,' these catalogs are also an invaluable source of information when you're planning your garden. Just be sure to remember that, reduced to their lowest level, they are advertising pieces, so use discernment when evaluating all their claims.

After more than 20 years of trial and error buying, I've developed a personal list of favorites that I now rely on for hard-to-find plants and seeds. Call or go online to request all these catalogs. They're free and a great way to compare plants, photos and prices.

Plants

Bluestone Perennials
I've been ordering from these folks for decades -- way before local nurseries started having neat stuff. Bluestone doesn't always have the very latest introductions, but they are one of the best for prices. If you want more unusual/ newer plants, look in the "Collectors Corner" of their catalog (nice and has many good pictures). They often have 25 percent off sales and give you coupons after you order something. Plants are small but always shipped well and take off well.
Madison, Ohio
www.bluestoneperennials.com
800.852.5243

High Country Gardens
Excellent source for perennials, grasses and many drought tolerant plants. Good shipping. Nice people.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
www.highcountrygardens.com
800.925.9387

Klehm's Song Sparrow
Excellent, high-quality plants. Many newer varieties. More costly than some and shipping is pricey, but plants arrive excellently packaged - not all beat up like I've had from some places.
Avalon, Wisconsin
800.553.3715
www.songsparrow.com

Plant Delights Nursery
Excellent! Newer plants. Unusual plants. Great shipping. Watch for plants that are not hardy here, though (Zone 5). Many are intended for Zones 6 or 7 and up and may not live through our winters. The print catalog is free but if you enjoy it, nursery owner Tony Avent says, "feel free to send us either 10 stamps or one box of chocolates...we prefer the chocolates!"
Raleigh, North Carolina
www.plantdelights.com

White Flower Farm
The granddaddy of mail order. Beautiful catalog. Wonderful to look at and to dream about and to get lots of ideas from. Plants are pricey, but they offer a good selection.
Litchfield, Connecticut
800.503.9624
www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Greer Gardens
Wow! AMAZINGLY well done shipping and very high quality plants (I got a six-foot tall Japanese maple from them last year and it arrived in perfect condition, hardly a leaf bent!). A great place for unusual perennials, trees, shrubs, conifers and their specialty, rhododendrons. Greer offers more than 4,500 varieties of plants. Not as many perennials as some other outlets, but some very good and unusual ones.
Eugene, Oregon
800.548.0111
www.greergardens.com

Oakes Daylilies
I LOVE this place for daylilies. Big fat rhizomes. Mostly double fans and healthy. A great place!
Corryton, Tennessee
800.532.9545
www.oakesdaylilies.com

The Lily Garden
Fantastic new and older varieties. A wide selection of cultivars. Great people! Look for "Orienpet" bulb lilies, a cross between the Oriental and Trumpet or Aurelian. They are much hardier and most are tetraploid (double chromosomes), which are supposed to be more rabbit resistant because of their tougher stems and stronger growth.
Vancouver, Washington
360.253.6273
www.thelilygarden.com

Garden Crossings
Specialize in new and unusual perennials, shrubs, and clematis vines. They ship larger-sized plants. Online only.
Hudsonville, Michigan
www.gardencrossings.com

Seeds

Buying seeds is much cheaper than buying plants. And when you start them yourself you can grow varieties that you can't get anywhere else -- from heirlooms to the unusual.

Select Seeds
I love this one, WONDERFUL treasure of seeds and some plants -- annuals, tropicals, perennials. No vegetables. I order every year.
800-684-0395
www.selectseeds.com

Burpee
An old standby and always excellent.
www.burpee.com

Park Seeds
Annuals, perennials, vegetables. Also offers some plants (smaller 'six-pack' size, but mostly nice).
www.parkseed.com

Thompson & Morgan
Excellent. A variety of different flowers, perennials and vegetables. Neat catalog. Good information about starting seeds, too. A bit more expensive than some others.
800.274.7333
www.tmseeds.com

Ann Tice is a very busy gardener. Not only does she tend filled-to-the-brim, award-winning borders in her own Champaign yard, but she also serves as an officer for that county's Master Gardener program and is a volunteer at the University of Illinois' Idea Garden. Ann loves experimenting with new plants, new colors and new combinations.