Though many gardeners find all the seeds they need on local seed racks and at Seedy Saturday events, it’s hard for the adventurous among us to ignore the siren call of the new catalogues. Here are some that I have used regularly. Unless a price is noted, the catalogue is free.
West Coast Seeds, 3925 - 64th St., RR 1, Delta, B.C., V4K 3N2. westcoastseeds.com. Vegetables and herbs, including many heirlooms, for the West Coast gardener. Flowers, books, gardening supplies. The best detailed, organic growing directions available. Seed racks in some local outlets.
Salt Spring Seeds, Box 444, Ganges, Salt Spring Island, B.C., V8K 2W1. saltspringseeds.com. Beans, grains, heirloom tomatoes, lettuces and other vegetables, all grown organically on Salt Spring Island. Herbs, annual flowers and perennials suited to the West Coast climate. Garlic for fall planting.
William Dam Seeds, 279 Hwy. 8, RR 1, Dundas, ON, L9H 5E1. damseeds.com. Reasonably priced vegetable, flower and herb seeds, none treated with fungicides. European vegetables, good selection of perennials and climbers.
The Cottage Gardener, 4199 Gilmore Rd., RR 1, Newtonville, ON, L0A 1J0. cottagegardener.com. This “Heirloom Seedhouse” offers historic perennials, old-fashioned annuals and heirloom vegetables plus seed collections and seed-saving tools.
Stokes Seeds, 296 Collier Rd. S., Box 10, Thorold, ON, L2V 5E9. stokeseeds.com. Vegetables, flowers and herbs plus gardening and kitchen aids. Huge selection of pansies and violas, and petunias. Detailed seeding information.
Dominion Seed House (W.H. Perron), Box 2500, Georgetown, ON, L7G 5L6. dominion-seed-house. com. Flower, vegetable and herb seeds, collections. Best sellers highlighted.
T&T Seeds, Box 1710, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 3P6. Catalogue $5 to new customers. ttseeds.com. An informative home and garden catalogue with reasonable prices. Vegetable and flower seeds, garden accessories, health products. Early order discount.
Lindenberg Seeds, 803 Princess Ave., Brandon, MB, R7A 0P5. lindenbergseeds.ca. A no-frills catalogue emphasizing value. Wide range of old standards and new varieties of vegetable and flower seeds at the lowest prices.
Florabunda Seeds, 1973 Villiers Line, Indian River, ON, K0L 2B0. florabundaseeds.com. Heirloom and unusual cottage garden flowers, wildflowers, antique sweet peas. In recent years the catalogue has added a listing of heirloom vegetables.
Vesey’s Seeds, Box 9000, Charlottetown, P.E.I., C1A 8K6. veseys.com. Continually expanding and interesting selection of vegetable, flower, and herb seeds for easy growing in short seasons. A colourful catalogue.
Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, Iowa 52101. seedsavers.org. A gorgeous, tempting catalogue filled with colour photos of vegetables, herbs and flowers. And they are all heirloom varieties , which this non-profit organization is dedicated to preserve and promote.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds, 955 Benton Ave., Winslow, Maine 04901. johnnyseeds.com. Renowned for its vegetable breeding program, this employee-owned company offers many exclusive varieties such as its “Salanova” lettuce mixes as well as a choice selection of flowers and herbs.
The Cook’s Garden, Box C5030, Warminster, Pennsylvania 18974. cooksgarden.com. Seed for select and unusual vegetables, with culinary tips, “for gourmet gardeners” including a fine selection of salad vegetables and herbs. Choice flowers for cutting.
Chiltern Seeds, Crowmarsh Battle Barns, 114 Preston Crowmarsh, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 6SL, U.K. chilternseeds. co.uk. Thousands of listings, including annuals, perennials, climbers, shrubs, trees, cacti, house plants, exotics for the greenhouse, vegetables and herbs.
Plant World Seeds, St. Marychurch Rd., Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 4SE, U.K. plant-world-seeds.com. Rare and unusual perennials, climbers, shrubs. Heirloom tomatoes, vegetables. Seeds gathered from all over the world.
J.L. Hudson, Seedsman, Box 337, La Honda, California, 94020 . JLHudsonSeeds.net. A public access seed bank established in 1911. Rare seeds from all parts of the world, all open pollinated and unpatented. Many heirlooms among the annual and perennial flowers, trees, shrubs, tropicals, herbs, vegetables.
GARDEN EVENTS
VHS meeting. The Victoria Horticultural Society will meet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Garth Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Ann Nightingale, past president of Rocky Point Bird Observatory and co-ordinator of the Victoria Christmas Bird Count, will present a slide-illustrated talk about birds you may see in your backyard this winter. Ann will describe how to help track birds with the Christmas Bird Count Feederwatch program. This is the society’s annual seasonal potluck. Memberships will be available at the door. vichortsociety.org.
Contained bulbs. The City of Victoria recreation department is offering bulbs in containers, an exploration with Jeff de Jong into bulbs suitable for containers and plants to grow with them, Dec. 6, 9 a.m. to noon. Cost is $25. For more information or to register, call the Crystal Pool and Fitness Centre at 250-361-0732.