The Catalogs are coming! The Catalogs are coming!

And so is Spring. January and February can be very dreary for an avid gardener but hope springs eternal with the first spring catalog. I have a great collection that I have kept over the years. Here are a few that you may be familiar with.

McFayden Seed Co. Ltd.

This year their cover has a beautiful sunset coneflower that would take over a prize location in any garden. The colour is deep and rich and the plant almost jumps off the page. Throughout the catalog new varieties are featured that you may want to try. There is also a section on Herb Garden Layout that would help anyone starting out with herbs. They describe the plant, give the number of days required to grow from seed and their appearance. Timing with seeds is very important. It is also a great help if you are not into growing seeds but want to purchase plants in the spring as you will learn how to use the herb. You can visit their website www.mcfayden.com if you would like to learn more.

Spring Garden, Canada’s Mail Order Garden Centre Since 1912

On their Spring 2007 Edition they show a very exotic Purple Beauty Toad Lily. They go on to describe it as vigorous light green foliage with beautiful creamy orchid-like flowers speckled in vivid royal purple. Don’t you just want to have one? I know I will be tempted. Browsing through the rest of the catalog you can see a multitude of flowers that you have spied in someone’s garden but did not know the name. Big checkmarks are on my catalogs with plants I would like to try. The great thing about catalogs is they give you the name of the plant, describe the flowers and height, and also tell you what zone they will grow in. You can check them out at www.springgardencanada.com.

Gardenimport.com

Clematis EMILIA PLATER boldly shouts I love blue and is featured on their Spring 2007 catalog. The book explodes with colours. Want a yellow garden, pink garden or white garden. No problem. Choose the plants you like in the colour you want and you will be delighted. The plants are shipped in pots. Not on their mailing list. You can go to the website to order any plant you wish at www.gardenimport.com.

Garden Tools by Lee Valley

Need tools to work that garden. Go to www.leevalley.com to see the latest in gardening tools, seed starting kits, soil Test Strip Kits, netting, markers and so much more. Some of their items are unique that you will not see anywhere else. Plan your garden throughout the winter months, look at the catalogs to see the new varieties and colours that will be popular for the new season. Mark your calendar, spring is coming…