Sunday, March 1, 2009

Ordering - Who do you Trust?

It was a lazy day Sunday in my neck of the woods. Too early and cold to do anything outside. I have been doing research and ordering my seeds for this up coming season. As I continue to check through my piles of seed and flower catalogs I can't help but wonder WHO will have the best product. Curious to what my fellow garden friends thoughts are on ordering seeds and plants this year. Last week at a garden club meeting I couldn't stop ranting about the seed selection and quality of the product over at Territorial Seed Company. So here is my pile of catalogs I am looking at right now:



If you have ordered from these companies before I would love to hear your opinion. There aren't many of you blogging about what seed catalogs you use. I know many of my friends in the garden group use your own seeds that you have dried.


Territorial Seed Company - I have wonderful success ordering from them. When I requested a catalog it came with in a week. The seeds look very healthy and I will be able to get most of the planted by the end of this month so I can give more info at that time.

BURPEE - Has always been a favorite of mine mainly because you can find a great selection locally and online. Fast SERVICE and I have Never had a problem with their seeds. This year I hope to try some of their plants.

BlueStone Perennials - This is my first year ordering from them. They are offering a 25% discount to those who get their order in my March 25 so be sure to check them out soon. I can't wait to see how those plants arrive when it is time to plant in my zone.

Spring Hill - I filled my city garden with their annuals a few years back. I have an order sitting on my desk ready to get in before the Double your Money offer expires on April 15. They are the only catalog I have received with the Chocolate Cosmos . Can't wait to give these lovely blooms a try. Check out the photo at their site. I might have to drive down to Tipp City on one of our Garden Summer tours. Does anyone know where that is in Ohio?!

Stark Brothers - Had to add this grower because we have purchased many fruit trees of of them in the past few years that have been producing like crazy. Not to mention they had the best prices and the product was in good quality when it arrived.

Michigan Blub - I have ordered spring bulbs from them in the past. They have some great sales running this time of year so I do have an order for them as well. I am curious to grow these Crocusmia because they say little care and they attract butterflies and humming birds.

Off to dream of the spring soon to come!

9 comments:

Phillip Oliver said...

Bren, here is a site that might interest you - http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

I myself have ordered from Burpee and Bluestone. They are both great and very reputable. I ordered from Michigan Bulb many moons ago and was less impressed with them.

Bren Haas said...

Thank you Philip - Heading over to the blog you suggested. I am so pleased to hear that you are using Burpee and Bluestone as well. I feel like I am heading down the right path with seeds this year knowing that someone with your experience recommend those as well. THANK YOU!

Fenway said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Gardening is Ms. Alpha's other passion...besides me. Her garden is elaborate and has so many perennials that were given to her over the years when friends & neighbors divided them. Our backyard garden has become quite shady and provided a new exploration of hostas, hydrangeas and other more textural plants. There are lovely swaths of green in infinite hues with lots of variegated leaves. We even managed to start hydrangea plants from little slips and they are growing quite large!

The best thing is that there are so many plants that my owner NEVER gets mad when I run through her garden. She thinks gardens are for fun.

As for starting seeds, there's a company you didn't mention...Cook's Garden. It's for heirloom vegetables. The leafy greens can make wonderful and edible borders and clumps among the other plants. A swath of red swiss chard can be really lovely!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Ditto on the Michigan Bulb. Burpee, Territorial and Park are all good companies. I have never dealt with Stark or Bluestone.
Spring Hill has a great catalogue..but I thought they were a tad overpriced.:)

Samantha ~ Holly and Zac ~ said...

This is a great time of year, looking through seed catalogues is fun. I don't plant much nowadays but i use to love to grow my own plants from seeds.

Thank you for your kind comments on my blog. I am still following your blog the same as i was, it is just that it is on the anonymous setting at the minute. I think i might have worked out how to sort that link and pic out so i may be able to follow publicly again soon though. :-)

My Mother's Garden said...

Hi Bren~
Seeds, seeds and seeds! I love seeing the new seed and bulb catalogs with all the pretty pics. I haven't ordered from any of companies lately so I won't leave an opinion. I like to save seeds and share them these days. In the past I have had great success with Renee's Garden seeds.

It'll be interesting to see the other opinions from this post, personal recommendations are always the best.

Happy day~

Karrita

Kylee Baumle said...

I agree with Phillip - check out Garden Watchdog at Dave's Garden. I always consult with them, and although I don't always follow what's said there, they are generally a good guide for who is safe to order from.

One of the exceptions - FOR ME - has been Michigan Bulb. I have gotten great plants from them and nice bulbs, although some were smaller than they could have been. They replaced a plant that failed for me and the replacement did well.

You can't go wrong with Bluestone and if you have a 25% discount, load your shopping cart, girl! They are one of my very favorite places to order from and I currently have an order that will be shipping in late April. Their things always do well.

Another great nursery to order from is Big Dipper Farms. Very healthy root systems on their plants and Deidre is wonderful to work with. She knows her stuff and is more than glad to help you.

Unknown said...

I ordered my raspberries and blueberries from stark. The order came quickly and they were wrapped q
well. My plants are doing great.

Maggie Sullivan said...

That's an interesting list! It's pretty different from the catalogs on my table, perhaps because I've been focused on organic seeds. I really love
- Seed Savers Exchange (Iowa)
- Baker Creek Heirlooms (Missouri)
- Peaceful Valley (California)
- Trees of Antiquity

I also of course get seeds from the seed company where I work, Nature's Crossroads (Indiana).

If you haven't read it, Michael Pollan's book "Second Nature" has a great section about seed companies discussing how you have different garden cultures out there - breed snobs, hybrid maniacs, hippie organic-lovers, etc. It's a fun read.