Spring Is Coming ...

Flower Catalogs

It is a sure sign that spring is coming when the garden catalogs start arriving! Just about every day I receive another full-color plant catalog and start making a list of my "wants". It is exciting to see all of the new varieties of plants developed for northern gardens. It just makes me want them all...until I remember just how much room I have left to plant. Before ordering anything I also consider my perennials and how many will need to be divided (see next article on dividing perennials). I may have room for six new plants, while needing to divide existing plants that may total twelve new starts.

Flower catalogs are a great resource of information for a gardener. If you are not on a mailing list I encourage you to order a catalog (or go online and view them). In the back of any garden magazine you will find many advertisements and places to order from. Once you have ordered one or two…..you will receive lots of them. It seems they all place us on a mailing list. (If you have children, the catalogs pictures provide unlimited ideas for craft projects.)

Many gardeners, including myself, use the catalogs as great sources of garden information in a synopsis form. All of the plants are listed with the zone that they thrive in, soil information, preferred light exposure , watering requirements, etc. Also listed is the size of the plant at maturity and their growth habits. The pictures provided in the magazines also provide a great element if you keep a plant diary of any kind. The quality of the picture is usually much better than a snapshot.

So, as some of you may be tempted to toss this unsolicited mail in the trash can, please think twice about doing so. If you do not garden think of someone who does…or that child next door who may love to have those beautiful pictures for a craft project or two!

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