The seed catalogs should start coming this week! I can dream about spring and summer gardens despite the snow and ice we are supposed to get this week. Anyone else looking forward to it?

By Fraggle on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 09:49 am:

I don't do very well with seeds. I'm more of a perennial gardener, so it will be a long while before I can even think about those. Right now I am more worried about my perennials I may loose this year if we can't keep any snowcover. Everytime it snows it melts this year. Grrrr. At least it hasn't been too cold up here.

By Sunny on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 12:16 pm:

I bought two amaryllis bulbs and a calla lily back in December. All three are in bloom, so I'm getting a little taste of Spring now.
I usually start anticipating Spring and Summer when I cut back my roses at the end of February. I also have a lot of perennials in my garden and start getting excited when I see them sprouting in early Spring.

By Colette on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 02:18 pm:

Meredith, I don't usually do seeds for vegetables. I just like to look at the catalogs and plan what I am going to buy at the nursery. It was 61 this morning....of course it is snowing now, but it was SO nice to open up the door at 5am and feel the warm spring air. We are not getting a great snowcover here either.

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, January 15, 2005 - 11:57 am:

One of the best catalogs for flowers, imo, is Dutch Gardens" http://www.dutchgardens.com/ I have bought bulbs from them many times and found them always oversize and excellent quality, and very good prices for the quality and size compared to the prices/size at local garden shops, Home Depot, etc. They only send out two main catalogs a year, Spring planting and Fall planting, and a couple of mailers for specials on a specific kind of plant, so they are not intrusive as catalog houses go.

That said, if I want perrenials or something like tomatos, I go to a local garden shop which has been in business for a couple of generations and all of the staff except the kids who load your car with bags of mulch from the warehouse are knowledgeable about garden matters. I think this kind of place is much better than a Franks Nursery or a place like Home Depot for the quality of plants.

By Fraggle on Monday, January 17, 2005 - 09:44 am:

I agree Ginny-my DH bought a few perennials from Home Depot 4 yrs. ago and we lost most of them and the ones that are left do almost nothing each year. We have a guy who just grows perennials-so all of them come from an area a few miles from my house. They do so well. And since he is the only employee and it is his land his prices are so cheap. He is also a great source of info.

There is also a place a few miles north of our house that does annuals-they choose ones that are different than just your run of the mill pansy, marigold and geranium and they do really well in Maine's short growing season. They tend to be more expensive than a big retailer but the quality is worth it.

I would love have a vegetable garden but sometimes it is just a losing battle with the wildlife. After having the deer eat our gardens several years in a row I figured I would put large pots on our deck and just try tomatoes and basil-well the squirrels would make their way on to the deck each night and take bites out of the tomatoes as they ripened. Grrrr. My uncle, who lives in MA, has an amazing garden set up with electric fencing to keep out all kinds of critters. I would love to have one like his someday-it is so beautiful in the middle of the summer.