Gardening 101

So you want to grow a garden—but you don’t know where to start! As winter sets in it is now time to begin your gardens. There is honestly nothing better than curling up on the sofa under a warm throw with a cup of hot tea flipping through the pages of your favorite seed catalogs. Okay—so it doesn’t always go that romantically. Most often I am found riding in the vehicle with marker in hand circling the newest seed that I want to try and dog earing the corners of the pages so that I can find them quickly when I make my first list of what I want to buy. After marking my “dream gardening seeds” I then make a list and total up the cost. Then I scratch out what is the least important—and total it all up again. My final list usually looks nothing like my first list, but sometimes I save the dreams for another year. It took me probably six years before I finally got to grow cotton, and then the first year I tried it the sheep ate the plants to the ground right when the cotton bolls were ready to start opening. This year they were a great success and they added nicely to our fall décor.

Four of my favorite seed catalogs are Select Seeds (www.selectseeds.com)—they have the best variety of flowers, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (www.SouthernExposure.com)—great heirloom garden seeds. Johnny’s Select Seeds (www.Johnnyseeds.com)— a large variety of seeds from vegetables to herbs, and flowers to cover crops, plus they have LOTS of tools to make gardening easier. The last one is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com)—they have the largest selection of rare seeds from all over the world. You learn so much just looking through the catalog.

I encourage you to check out these seed sources and start planning today—because gardening seems to be the #1 hobby right now and seeds are selling out fast. During World War II people planted Victory Gardens as a way to provide food for their families during tough times. Victory Gardens are becoming popular again, may I encourage you to start your own—even if it is nothing more than a basil plant in your kitchen window.